Don’t let work intrude on your vacation

Technology makes vacations great. You can spend a lot of money to go someplace nice and restful and yet spend half your day keeping up with your job, thanks to your smartphone, email, the web and your trusty computer. What a vacation, huh? I’ve done it myself, but my wife is the alltime champion. She’s a real estate agent, and I’ve watched her work with a seller on a contract while in a fishing boat in the middle of a lake.

But is that a vacation or is it more like a working trip that includes a few perks? Now that I’m mostly retired none of this is a huge problem for me. It’s easy to give advice when I don’t have to take it myself. I know you may still have to deal with the realities of a working life. I’m confident my advice is good, but you will need to adapt it to fit your life.

Meantime, I will do my best then to juggle the two things — my inclination to keep a vacation free of work-related stress and your inclination to remain employed. We’ll start with my suggestion for a high-tech packing list — I’ve tried to keep the tech to a bare minimum but enough to be useful.

I may have outdone myself this time — my high-tech packing list has just one item. And it is your smartphone. That’s it, all most people need to take along.

You have, in the palm of your hand, a camera, a way to check email, a web browser to find everything TECHNOBUDDY’S BIG Q&A from restaurants to driving directors all with this added bonus. Hey, you also can make calls on the danged thing.

You, faced with the realities of your own life, probably will add to that list. But please, do your best to keep the list tiny. Instead of carrying around pounds of technology, just carry a smile — it’s a heck of a lot lighter.

There are some other ways that can help you keep your work life from intruding while on vacation.

Arrange with someone at your workplace to handle routine calls and emails that would ordinarily go to you. And explain to your usual work contacts how to contact that person. I realize that this will be eas- ier for some to do than others. Just do your best to shield yourself from fielding routine inquiries while you are away.

Since it may be unrealistic to expect you can completely leave everything behind, have a set time when you check email — I’d suggest early in the day. That way if there are things that simply must be handled you have time to do that before the day starts.

Many people spend a good part of each day updating Facebook and other social media. Why not wait until you get home to do that? Besides the fact that it’s more fun to enjoy your vacation than type — or it should be — there’s another reason to avoid vacation talk on social media. Hang on, I’m about to tell you why.

Telling the world that you are on vacation is like issuing a blanket invitation — telling crooks, “hey come on over.” They’ll know your home is vacant and ripe for the picking. So avoid using social media for pictures and commentary on your vacation while you are away. You’ll have plenty of time after you are home to create a complete presentation of your trip.

Snapshots best

Speaking of that presentation, let me tell you a mistake I’ve made on countless vacations. I like photography and often have spent a huge amount of time taking pictures. Then I realized that I had spent so much time shooting photos that I had skipped looking at things and enjoying the view without worrying about where the sun is or the perfect angle for my photo.

Nowadays, I limit myself to snapshots — I take pictures of family if they are along and get them to take pictures of me. In almost every case, there are better pictures on the web of the cathedrals and ocean views. I don’t mean I’ve stopped taking those pictures, but I no longer obsess on them as much.

Look, enjoy your vaca- tion and use technology sensibly to add to that enjoyment. I’m no Luddite and like the idea that I can use the browser on my phone to find a good restaurant in a new place, or get myself orientated when I’m lost. But I’ve stopped carrying what amounts to a home office.

Use technology while on vacation, but don’t let it use you.