4 Tips to Actually Unplug During the Holidays

Holidays are stressful enough for most families - from stressing over what gifts to get and how to fit in four family visits in two or three days, to determining sleeping arrangements for the 6 cousins that are staying over, you’ve got enough to worry about. You shouldn’t be worrying about your business and team as well. 

Unplugging during the holidays is not a selfish, guilt-ridden, reluctant choice. It’s a decision to put yourself first. Let’s dive into the science behind unplugging from work and technology:

1. Increased Focus - studies have shown that attempting to multitask - because by now most of us know that multitasking isn’t real - increases stress hormones and adrenaline which negatively impacts your productivity and focus. When you choose to focus on one thing, in this case your family and holiday activities, you allow yourself and your brain to be fully present and focused. 

2. Decreased anxiety - Choosing to step away gives you the time and space to be more mindful. By making this choice, you’re also telling yourself that unplugging is okay, reducing the likelihood that you’ll feel FOMO (whether it’s new sales opportunities, or project details). 

3. Better Sleep - A McKinsey study found 43% of business leaders interviewed feel they do not get enough sleep at least four nights a week. Consistently inadequate sleep can cause you to perform a task as well as someone who is actually drunk or who just pulled an all nighter. Unplugging from social media, notifications, and the chaos of running a business can help you have a quality night of sleep and can even help you wake up with bigger and better ideas. 

So, not only is unplugging great for your mental and physical health, it can actually strategically benefit your business. You’re likely to come back to work with a spark of new ideas and the energy to execute them. 

If you’re convinced, but have no idea how you’re going to stay away from your emails and business activity, we have a plan for you: 

1. Review and Prepare - successfully unplugging means letting go of any worries that things might be going wrong or that something needs your attention. You didn’t build a successful company by letting go of your worries easily, so you need a plan in place to actually do this. Review open and upcoming projects, deadlines, and unresolved issues/challenges. Plan out how task timelines might need to shift forward (or back) so that you can be confident in your service quality and processes during your unplugged days. 

2. Empower Your Staff - explain to your staff what your expectations are while you’re away. It’s likely that if you’re unplugging during the holidays, then your staff might be as well. But, if there are any team members that will still be actively working, determine where they can take more ownership of task decisions so that they can avoid the temptation to bother you. 

3. Designate A Gatekeeper - for some of our clients, their virtual assistant guards their time wisely. This step builds on the empowerment from step 2. Team members that have questions for you should be redirected to your gatekeeper. If the gatekeeper doesn’t have the answer, they should know whether it’s something that can be tabled until you get back or if it’s an actual emergency. Be sure to clarify ‘emergency’ before you step away. If your gatekeeper is also your assistant, they could also be responsible for staying on top of all your business notifications (emails, scheduling requests, etc.) while you’re away so that you don’t feel like your important clients and connections are going unanswered. It also gives you a scapegoat if you feel the need to tell someone about an idea - just slack or email your VA and tell them not to respond. This way the idea is out of your head and somewhere besides your notes app on your phone, but you don’t have to worry about the action items for it quite yet. 

For more ideas on what a virtual assistant can manage while you unplug, get our Stay Focused & Delegate guide:

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4. Turn Off Your Notifications - probably the most important step is to actually stop your notifications from coming through. On your phone, you can go to your notification settings and disable notifications for your business apps. Alternatively, if you have an iPhone, you can create a new Focus, label it Holidays, and select the few apps or people that you want regular notifications from. You can then set it to automatically turn on at 12:00am and turn off at 11:59pm so that it’s essentially on all the time during the days you’re away. On a side note, I have an After Hours Focus that turns on at 6pm everyday so that I can unplug during family and dinner time throughout the week. 

Let the holidays be about recharging, ending the year on a celebratory note, and entering the new year with momentum. It’s inevitable that there will be a few stressors here and there, but choosing to unplug is something you have control over. So, why not choose to enjoy the holidays?