Summer, sun and vacation

It's unbearably hot in the office. The thermometer climbs well above the 30 degree mark. No relief in sight. The heatwave has Europe firmly in its grip ... and finally HOLIDAY! And then the question arises: should I take the plunge and "forget" my cell phone at home?

The destination was decided democratically within the family. The employees and customers have been informed that I won't be available for two weeks.

And the thought quietly creeps into the back of my mind: should I take the plunge?

Really be brave? Just leave my cell phone at home?

I'll think about it ...

• And then quickly check before I go on vacation:
• How is the power supply in the country of my travel dreams?
• Will the plug fit? Do I need an adapter?
• How can I reduce my data consumption?
• Google recommends a quick update of the operating system and
• A backup of the cell phone, just in case

BUT ... could it work after all? Going on vacation without a cell phone? Can I switch off if I know I can't be reached?

Hard to imagine - in the 1980s I spent almost a year as an au pair in Los Angeles, the city of movie dreams. And I got by without a cell phone. No quick WhatsApps to friends. No Facetime with family and friends.

By the way: I really tried it out. Four years ago on my cycling trip around Lake Constance. I left my cell phone at home. In the old-fashioned way, I read a road map beforehand to roughly memorize the towns and cities. I asked for directions because Google Maps wasn't on board. I read the time on the clock towers or on other people's wrists when I needed to.

And once I really felt like an alien. When I asked two young students in Constance for directions to my hotel, which was supposed to be very close by. You should have seen the puzzled looks on their faces when I said: "I'm doing an experiment and am traveling without a cell phone. Do you know where I can find Hotel XYZ? It's in street ABC, so it's very close by."

It was very unusual at first. It wasn't easy to quickly pull out my cell phone when I got stuck. Checking messages, checking emails. None of that was possible.

It was liberating. No more compulsion. Pure relaxation.

A vacation day in a bucket

How does it work? Leave your cell phone on!

My better half just wanted to answer her cell phone for a moment. An important customer. No more relaxing by the pool. It's a disaster alert. The anodizing plant has stopped. And so it goes on. Customer A has problem B, customer C has difficulties getting the newly installed frequency converter to work. Employee D has corona. A disaster! And then you're right back in the middle of the mental hamster wheel and your relaxation is gone for the day. The good mood too.

Does this sound familiar?

It probably doesn't work without a cell phone (anymore). The cell phone has conquered everyday life. But what can you do to really relax on your well-deserved vacation?

My tips for a relaxing vacation for you:

Learn to let go: Don't take yourself too seriously. Your team can also solve tricky things. You are certainly still available for real emergencies - it helps if you discuss these emergencies with your team in advance.

• Trust your team: Assume that your department/company will still exist after you return from vacation. You have selected your employees and trained them accordingly. Business will continue.
• Delete the e-mail program from your cell phone: This way you can play it safe during your vacation. It only takes a few minutes to set it up again afterwards.
• Allow yourself some offline time: also delete LinkedIn, Facebook etc. and all messenger services. After your vacation, you can jump back into the social media hamster wheel.
• Plan a relaxed return to work: Avoid important business appointments on the first day after your vacation. Your nerves will thank you!

Stay consistently offline. Even as a boss, you can relax and recharge your batteries for the coming weeks and months.

The great thing is that the number of messages in your inbox will decrease from day to day because employees and customers will know that you are on vacation after your out-of-office message and that they can't expect a quick reply from you.