So...you're going on...

Well that depends.

If you're telling everybody (clients, employees, etc.) that you're turning off your cell phone AND you're really not; and then you check it every ten minutes 'cause no one called...you're not ready for a vacation.

IMHO either leave the phone at home, or call in ONCE a day for wildfire reports.

ps - I bet you $20 you can't leave your cell phone at home and go a whole week without calling the office. If you can, you're a better man than I. 😉

I almost always have my cell phone and at least my tablet with me. More often than not, I have one of my laptops with me.

Being solo, if I don't do it, it doesn't get done. I can never truly turn it off and it does get exhausting at times.

An important element is whether you have a 2nd who you trust to handle things. But if you don't let go, is it really a vacation?

> An important element is whether you have a 2nd who you trust to handle things. But if you don't let go, is it really a vacation?

One could also argue that touching base every so often may make said vacation more enjoyable?

However, I am with the camp of leave phone/e-mails behind and pick up at return.

What is this thing you call "vacation"?

When I was a young lad our farm had several milk cows that expected to see us first thing every morning and again in the late afternoon. I swore I would never be a dairy farmer because of this consistent demand for my attention. Things ran somewhat smoothly for a few decades. THEN SOME DAMM FOOL INVENTED THE CELL PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!

As a one professional shop there isn't much that can go on without my involvement. That next call may be from the best future client I have never met or it may be the crazy lady who didn't like the results of the survey we completed OVER A YEAR AGO.

I will check all three numbers for messages at least twice per day. Once shortly before noon and again shortly before normal end of work. I will respond to those of merit. Everyone else is left hanging until my return to the office. Well, except those who happen to know my personal cell number, which is a short list.

“Are you in the camp that says 'I am on vacation, I'm turning off my cell phone'”

Nah, I have to have my smartphone and tablet with me on vacation because I like to try out local beers. After numerous “samples” I have a tendency to become disoriented in a strange place and have to Google my way back to the current POB (ie: Hotel).

No worries about the office, our VP (female PLS) can handle anything just short of derange. 😉

When I go on vacation, someone is in charge while I'm gone. I check in every morning at 7 a.m. their time (if I'm in a different time zone), have a lap top that mirrors my desktop, answer all emails and phone calls (when convenient but never more than a few hours and some immediately) and it all seems to work.

It also allows for you to have a working vacation and expense certain things. 🙂

I've been known to draw maps and write descriptions while on vacation. My wife doesn't like it, but she understands it's what helps our world turn and I try to be brief. Also, when I'm on vacation, I do my dead level best to not have some schedule to adhear to so I have a lot of free time, unless I'm playing golf.

>
> Are you in the camp of 'I gotta stay connected!'
>

Gotta stay connected.

My Grandfsther used to say that if you have not had a drink by 9AM you are NOT on vacation!

Typically I am in the twice a day connected vacation via work smartphone (once in morning and end of day). I try to plan to keep my techs busy while I am gone, but we are also busy enough that they will help out the other PMs. I purposely do not have a laptop, otherwise it would not be a vacation. I have confidence in my guys and my boss to handle any fires that pop up. Now I tell my clients that I have active ongoing projects with that I will be in limited contact and if needed they can leave a message or email (which I respond to by returning calls/emails or forwarding on to my techs). It is a gamble, some vacations go smooth others have minor interruptions.

But I truly enjoy those vacations where I have no cell contact. It is always so difficult to disconnect for few days, but so worth it. Having a good team is key.

Are you in the camp that says 'I am on vacation, I'm turning off my cell phone'

I won't turn it off, but I won't look at the email (okay I peek occasionally, but rarely respond) and I don't answer calls.

Are you in the camp of 'I gotta stay connected!'

I used to be this guy; back in 2008 I was answering emails from my hospital bed when I had a date in the cath lab the next morning. I refuse to be that guy anymore. Some folks can balance it, but I can't.

Being a very small company (me and one full time employee), I am involved in all work, office, field, administrative, etc. There is no one else to answer calls, I am not nearly big enough to have a secretary.

Some of my jobs seem like vacations...Peru, Egypt, Hawaii, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc. I will sometimes take an extra day or two after a job in an interesting place to see something or sometimes just to drive around.

Most of my actual vacations are overseas, but I am always in touch via phone and email. There is no one else to deal with clients and potential clients. Like someone above said, it may be my next big client calling. I am hoping to hike the Inca Trail in Peru this coming year, that will probably be the most out of touch I have been in a while, although I do have a Delorme Satellite communicator that can send/receive text messages (as well as summon help in an emergency, which is the main reason I bought it).

Many years ago, in the early days of cell phone, when coverage was very sparse in the US and non-existent outside of the US, I took a vacation to Chile (one of my favorites, I go there every few years). That was when I worked for a medium sized company. Even though I told my boss where I was going, he freaked out when he could not get a hold of me, and thought that I had "gone over the edge", that somehow I wasn't coming back. He sent someone to the airport to retrieve my company car, and contacted another firm for help in processing a GPS survey that they needed done right away. When I got back, of course I was surprised to see I had no vehicle, and when I checked the adjustment this guy did he had the Trimnet default rotations turned on (it was a linear highway job), and the rotations were in the several minute range because the BM's were in a straight line. The photo control was whacked out vertically, and they had started compiling the mapping. This guy was supposedly "competent", but that project certainly didn't show that he was. I have no idea to this day why he thought I had "disappeared" and wasn't coming back.

Nowadays I am almost always reachable instantly, as long as there is cell coverage. The cell phone I carry is usable worldwide, and I have a second GSM phone as well. The only problem is when people call me at 2 PM in the US and it is 2 AM where I am at. So I might silence it and then listen to a message in the morning.

Which brings up another issue...why you have to know people's cell number, office number, etc. The system I use will forward my office phone to wherever I am, even multiple numbers ringing simultaneously. About the only time I am not reachable is when I am on a plane or in an area with no cell. And that is what voice mail if for. If I could just get rid of the telemarketers....If I get more than one call from a telemarketer number I can set the system to automatically direct that caller to a "number disconnected" recording.

We went to Mexico for a week this last summer. Our cell phones didn't work there and I made no effort to get "connected" while I was gone. Best vacation ever. I drank a life time of margaritas! If I'm on vacation where my phone works I leave it on and will take calls but I don't check in every day.

I don't check in every day, my employee is usually working on something and he is capable of doing the job. But, I do take calls.

We went to San Miguel, 9 of us, and rented a really nice house for a week. The house actually had a vonage phone (and wifi), so the girls (my daughter's two friends that she took along) could contact home whenever they needed.

Since Verizon wanted $25/100 MB, I just bought a mexican SIM card for my second phone, which gave me plenty of data to use for whatever. I think I spend $8 to get the card and then added 1 GB for under $10. And I just forwarded my office number to that cell number in Mexico (incoming calls were free). I have found that using maps will eat up data, so it is easy to go over 100MB if you are out wandering around. The 100MB is fine if all you are doing is checking email, but not much else.

Vacation means working in another State, right?

ww co pls

"IMHO either leave the phone at home, or call in ONCE a day for wildfire reports."

:good:

Most places I go on holidays have little, or no, connectivity. That's the way I like it.

I will have my office phone transfer all calls to my cell phone and deal with them according to my activity and their importance.

Email is in sync with the computers.

Phone usually has the ringer turned off except for set alarms.

Check phone if and when I want to.

😉

> Well that depends.
>
> If you're telling everybody (clients, employees, etc.) that you're turning off your cell phone AND you're really not; and then you check it every ten minutes 'cause no one called...you're not ready for a vacation.
>
> IMHO either leave the phone at home, or call in ONCE a day for wildfire reports.
>
> ps - I bet you $20 you can't leave your cell phone at home and go a whole week without calling the office. If you can, you're a better man than I. 😉

I don't leave it at home, but I can and have not called the office for OVER a week. I am "Fixin'" to leave the office on the 21st and not return until the morning of Dec. 2nd.

There are some whitetail in NW OK just a calling to me.

B-)