Is it only me, or has it now become truly impossible to take a break from one’s business life? The basic holiday rules used to be to switch off your cellphone and set an out-of-office notice on your email. But the truth is that unless my plans involve a serious nature break in remote areas, I need my phone and email for holiday activities too.
So if switching off is not a viable option, what’s the secret to getting away from the office? I don’t think there is one, to be honest. And besides, who wants to return to 1 000 unread emails, and, in one morning back at your desk, obliterate any post-vacation bliss?
The answer lies in a total reset: a new approach to holidaying that involves more work-leisure integration and less trying to get away from it all and panicking when you can’t! If work starts to include a little bit of holiday, the other way round becomes bearable too.
I was chatting about this to David Frost, CEO of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association recently, and something he said resonated with me: why, when most of us travel for business, do we rush in and out of our destination?
Instead of a day trip to Cape Town for a meeting, he now makes a point of spending the night and going out for a great meal in the city that has been voted the best spot in the world for eating and drinking.
With world-class eateries popping up in the Mother City and the winelands on a seemingly daily basis, it would be impossible to experience all that’s happening there in one holiday anyway. It’s best to grab any opportunity to sample little bits of what’s on offer when you get the chance.
So I’m changing my attitude to switching off and intend to blur the lines between work and fun: taking a call or answering a mail while on holiday means less lunacy when I return. And next time I drive past the Goodman Gallery on
a Wednesday morning, I might just pop in.
Jacquie
November issue: Wanted
Ed's Letter | Give me a break...
Is it only me, or has it now become truly impossible to take a break from one’s business life? The basic holiday rules used to be to switch off your cellphone and set an out-of-office notice on your email. But the truth is that unless my plans involve a serious nature break in remote areas, I need my phone and email for holiday activities too.
So if switching off is not a viable option, what’s the secret to getting away from the office? I don’t think there is one, to be honest. And besides, who wants to return to 1 000 unread emails, and, in one morning back at your desk, obliterate any post-vacation bliss?
The answer lies in a total reset: a new approach to holidaying that involves more work-leisure integration and less trying to get away from it all and panicking when you can’t! If work starts to include a little bit of holiday, the other way round becomes bearable too.
I was chatting about this to David Frost, CEO of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association recently, and something he said resonated with me: why, when most of us travel for business, do we rush in and out of our destination?
Instead of a day trip to Cape Town for a meeting, he now makes a point of spending the night and going out for a great meal in the city that has been voted the best spot in the world for eating and drinking.
With world-class eateries popping up in the Mother City and the winelands on a seemingly daily basis, it would be impossible to experience all that’s happening there in one holiday anyway. It’s best to grab any opportunity to sample little bits of what’s on offer when you get the chance.
So I’m changing my attitude to switching off and intend to blur the lines between work and fun: taking a call or answering a mail while on holiday means less lunacy when I return. And next time I drive past the Goodman Gallery on
a Wednesday morning, I might just pop in.
Jacquie