The secret to a successful vacation is your out of office

It was somewhere on an Italian hill by the local restaurant cum bakery cum village shop. I was buried in my phone and grumbling about the terrible reception, because I had to get my email. Meanwhile, the sun was setting over Lake Como, I had divine charcuterie in front of me and a good white in my glass. Was I crazy, my friend asked, and he was right. I set my out of office (also known as ‘ooo‘ in business language) ever since and I often leave my laptop at home too.

I don't believe anyone benefits if I start interfering with the daily grind at work from my sunbed. That's a reason in itself, but I'm not very good at letting go either. So on day one of the vacation, I swim at least ten laps, go for coffee five times, and read zero pages in my book. They also call that withdrawal. Just imagine if I also check my email, my fellow beachgoers would go crazy. In the Summer Book of Psychology Magazine, I saw advice from vacation psychologist (sometimes you don't know that professions exist) Jessica de Bloom: set your out of office assistant properly.

By the way, we Dutch check our email at the vacation address quite often, almost half click refresh for a moment. Which isn't so strange, because fifty percent of employers expect this too. A quarter of the Dutch don't even know how to set an ‘ooo’ and two out of ten just never turn it on, according to research by Tele2. But you really need that vacation to reset and come back to work with brilliant plans and a bit of a tan. Working through increases the chance of burnout, just saying. What we would like to see? An ‘ooo‘ that is a bit creatively thought out, because god, there's some dull entertainment that automatically slides into your mailbox.

A good ‘ooo’ must meet three things:

1. A little joke about the big loss that you're not there.

2. We want to know if you're lying on a beach chair or swinging through the jungle on vines.

3. And, please, tell us what's in your glass.

(4. Or copy one from May.)

To hold onto your vacation a little longer, you can also leave your ‘ooo’ on for a few extra days or very extreme (consult with whoever you need to consult) send that you're going to delete all emails from during your vacation unopened (badass), says the vacation psychologist. I already get a bit of hyperventilation at the thought.

A few more tips from the vacation psychologist that you'll find useful:

1. At the end of your last workday, go exercise, it brings your body into balance and reduces your chances of leisure sickness (yes, getting sick in those first days).

2. Use a different shampoo than at home; scent and feeling have a link and if you change that, you're extra away.

3. Spend your money on doing something on vacation, those souvenirs you just throw in the corner at home.

4. Go shopping (I can relate) to stock up on the last things for your vacation, that already creates an early vacation feeling.

5. On the last day of your vacation, do something you'll never forget, that sticks the longest.

And whatever you do, don't dive into your mailbox two days before you're back. Your vacation feeling has never disappeared so quickly.

And whatever you do II, don't do your ‘ooo’ like May.

Source: Psychology Magazine, The Art of Vacationing, Tele2