The Modern Observer Group

Going on vacation? To get the most out of your time away, keep your phone out of sight and mind. Research shows the mere presence of a phone stresses us out, even if we aren’t using it. (Plus, moving your job from an office to a beach is no holiday at all.) Set clear boundaries in your out-of-office message by letting your team know you’re not available and won’t read email during your trip. You may even want to delete the messages you get while you’re away. That might sound extreme, but if an email is important, it can be sent again — and if not, you don’t need to read it anyway. And keeping your inbox clean means that post-vacation “refreshed” feeling won’t be buried by a mountain of email when you’re back in the office.