Being on Holiday...

I spend quite a lot of time working with and mentoring senior managers in law firms, chambers, and commercial organisations. There are often two main things that I start by trying to get across - the importance of having some time to think, and the importance of having time to relax and recharge.

At this time of year, it is the second that I concentrate more on. In August, many of us are either on holiday or are about to go on holiday. If you are on holiday, my main point at the moment would be this: why on earth are you reading business blogs when you are on holiday! You have probably followed a link to the blog from an email or from Twitter, of you have some sort of notification that lets you know a new blog entry awaits. Again, however, why on earth are you reading this sort of thing while you are on holiday?

Most of us work rather hard and managers in organisations - particularly law firms and chambers, where few professional managers exist, and where the leadership team are managing the organisation part-time - and so it is vital that we take some time to relax and re-energise so that we can carry on the good work.

So - being on holiday. In order to be on holiday, there are a couple of things that you can do in advance that will help.

The first is to have a conversation about emails - with your secretary, with your assistant, or with your clerk. Are you going to look at emails at all over the holiday? Are you going to look at them once a day? Are you going to trust your secretary/assistant/clerk flag particular emails and only read those? Or are you going to be like Cory Doctorow (link here) who is reported to set up an autoreply when he is on holiday that says:

"I'm on vacation until x/x/2010. When I get back, I'm going to delete all the email that arrived while I was gone, so if this note is important, please send it to me again after that date."

Personally I think that approach is a little brave. My point is that it doesn't matter which of those you opt for, you should have the discussion in advance so that everyone in the office/chambers knows what your particular deal is - that way no-one is surprised that you haven't read their email for example.

The second thing you can do is have another discussion with the same people as above on the subject of contacting you while you are away. "Call me if something important come up" is hopelessly vague - you must agree what 'important' means otherwise you will either get calls to let you know that they have run out of coffee on the second floor and don't know where the petty cash is - or you will return to a smoking ruin of a building and someone saying "Oh we didn't like to bother you...".

Finally - let your most important clients know that you are going away and what the deal is about contacting you. You might say that your phone will only be on for an hour in the early evening so that you can check messages or you might prefer to tell them that you are going somewhere that has no phone reception (whether you are or not). Again the point is to set a rule and let everyone know what it is. You will be surprised about how accommodating clients usually are - after all, they go on holiday too.

Have those three discussion and it will go some way towards making sure that your holiday is as restful as possible.

Have a happy - and restful - holiday.

Back to work, refreshed...

It is back to work time for many. The schools are either back already or about to start back for the new year and so lawyers - well those with school-aged children particularly - will be able to focus once again on the day job rather than on child care.

That is, of course, presuming that you (assuming you are a lawyer) took a break over the summer. I spoke to a lot that didn't seem to. I lost count of the number of people I spoke to who were on the beach or on a campsite...

This would suggest that we are all becoming a little less skilled at actually taking a break from work. Being in a different location is one thing - actually having a break from work is another. Taking a break really requires a changing of thinking, a slowing down. I'm not sure that is possible if you are picking up every email that is sent to you, and every call.

There were a couple of lawyers I spoke with who tried to compromise - they answered their mobile and then immediately complained about my call since they were on holiday. I should point out that I don't block my number and so they could see that it was me that was calling. If they were on holiday I would have expected my call to go to their voice mail. It is not up to me to know that they are on holiday and so not call...

Holidays and breaks from work are vital. The work environment is pressurised and stressful. We can only give it our all if we are at our best - and I don't believe anyone who tells me that they can function at their best sixty hours a day, six days a week, fifty weeks a year.

So - next time you have a break, switch off the mobile (it's a liberating experience), don't check your emails and try to think about something else for a while. When you return to work, you will feel rested, invigorated and ready for work.

Seems obvious - but so few seem to do it.

I returned from a week's holiday in France. While I was away, a client called. I let the call go to message and late one evening, checked my messages. "Nothing important" was part of the message. So I returned his call when I got back to the UK. My client was rather miffed that I hadn't called straight back. I explained that I had been on holiday. "People called me on my holiday" was his rather petulant response. Perhaps if he had had a proper break, he wouldn't be feeling so petulant...