How to Actually Switch Off on Holiday
It's peak summer holiday season here in the UK, and this week almost every conversation I've had with clients has circled back to the same question: how do you take a proper break and come back properly rested?
It's a good question, and I don't think there's one right answer. If we never fully switch off, does that mean we never fully rest? I'm honestly not sure that's true. It depends on the person, and it depends on what else is going on in their life and business at the time.
Some people have brilliant phone discipline. They can leave it in a drawer and not think twice about the inbox filling up. Others find that harder, and a lot of the business owners I work with actually tell me the opposite: checking in briefly now and then feels less stressful than coming home to two weeks of unread emails to wade through. Neither approach is wrong. It genuinely comes down to what works for you.
A few steps worth taking before you go
Set an out of office. This one's obvious, but it matters. It lets people know you're away and gives them a chance to adjust their expectations about when they'll hear back from you.
If you plan to check in, say when. An out-of-office message that doesn't tell people when you'll actually be looking at emails isn't much help to anyone. I like checking later in the afternoon or early evening, so I can deal with anything urgent before dinner and not spend the rest of the evening with work still on my mind.
If you'd rather not go near your inbox at all, give people another way to reach you for genuine emergencies. Ask them to text or WhatsApp instead. That way you can stay out of your emails completely and still know if something urgent needs your attention.
Tell the people you're travelling with what your plan is. If you think you might struggle to leave your phone alone, let them know so they can help you stick to it, rather than finding out halfway through the trip.
The help versus harm test
Whenever a client asks me whether they should switch off entirely, I suggest they run it through a simple test: will switching off completely help you, or will it cause you more stress and more problems? Only you can answer that, and it depends on what's going on in your business right now. There's no shame in either answer. Some seasons of business make full disconnection genuinely feasible. Others don't, and pretending otherwise just adds pressure to a holiday that's supposed to be doing the opposite.
It's worth thinking this through before you travel, so you head off with a plan rather than making it up as you go.
If self-discipline is the sticking point
If you know your willpower alone won't cut it, there are tools built for exactly this. The Brick, for example, is a small piece of distraction-blocking hardware: you choose which apps to switch off and for how long, and the only way back in is to physically tap your phone against it. There are software versions that work on a similar principle too. They take the decision out of your hands in the moment, which is often exactly what makes it possible to stay present with the people you're actually there with—which is, after all, one of the main points of taking a holiday in the first place.
Wherever you land on the switching-off spectrum, the goal is the same: coming back to your business rested, rather than just coming back.
Hi I’m Nicky!
I’m a London-based experienced career coach and leadership development partner with over 20 years shaping leaders and helping professionals navigate career transitions and personal purpose.
I work with individuals, teams, and organisations to build clarity, confidence and purpose, offering bespoke coaching that focuses on leadership skills, career change and purposeful progression.
I also supports professionals through tailored development partnerships and cultural transformation in business environments
