I did it! I gave myself a totally tech free holiday for 10 days and was amazed how it recharged my batteries!
It was exactly what I needed after a busy year and before we moved into 2015 with more lofty goals!
During the Christmas holidays, my family went on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. My parents, my 3 brothers and our families – total of 16 people (everyone got along and no one even thought of throwing anyone overboard!)
I had heard the cruise internet charges were excessive so I decided to make a bold move and leave my iPhone and laptop in my office – giving them a holiday, too. My husband did the same. My teenage girls still brought their devices, and whenever we were on shore with free wi-fi, they were sucked backed into the vortex of catching up on messages with their friends. However, my husband and I learned to relax, sit back and just ENJOY!
I’ll admit, I was a little concerned whether I should do this but in the end I gave myself permission and realized it was SO worth it.
My family re-learned how to communicate and meet without the help of texting. It was simply, “Let’s meet at the bar before dinner or at the elevators at 10am for a shore excursion.” And, it worked!
I’ll admit, it was hard at times but it helped knowing it was quieter during the Christmas holidays and I have a great team in place who I empowered to take care of things as they know me well enough on how I would handle a situation and/or make decisions.
Here’s 5 tips to help you have a tech-free holiday:
- Empower your team. It is a great way to ensure you have good communication and processes in place to allow others to step in and take care of things on your behalf.
- Leave your devices behind. It’s too tempting to check email messages if you have your iPhone/blackberry/laptop with you because you can easily get sucked into the electronic vortex!
- Let your clients know in advance that you will be away and if there is anything that needs to be addressed before you leave; otherwise your team will be there to take care of them.
- Relax, enjoy and recharge. When you turn it off, you’ll be amazed at how you will recharge your batteries and have to time to reflect on what’s really important – the bigger picture/vision in your life …and of course your business.
- If you start to get anxiety – then make a quick call to the office to ensure all is ok…or go to the bar and have a drink!
Are you willing to take the tech–free challenge this year (and get away from the snowy cold winter?) I highly recommend it!
Lisa is driven by the mantra – Be Strategic. Be Pro-active. Be Brave. – and has been successfully training and coaching sales leaders and their teams to do the same for over 15 years. As the President of Teneo Results since 2003, she has trained thousands of sales professionals at more than 250 companies across North America. She transitions salespeople away from the standard “product & price” approach to having purposeful business conversations with their customers that drive results.