Forget the “out of office” autoresponder
May 12th, 2008 by jared
If you own a business, there is no such thing as an “out of office” autoresponder. You know, that little message you can set up that bounces back to people when they try to email you and you are on vacation?
If you own a business, I hate to break it to you, but there is no such thing as a vacation. Ok, maybe that’s a bit harsh. I take vacations. Actually, I get to travel quite a bit and love doing so. However, as a business owner there is no such thing as leaving the laptop at home or putting down the “crackberry.” You need to watch your business like a hawk. I must get at least 30 emails per day from people inquiring about this and that. A lot of these emails need to be fielded and forwarded to employees. You can’t stop being the quarterback. I just figured out that I get about 200 emails per day (including spam). If I go three days without checking email, that is 600 emails! There is no way I can just create my “out of the office” autoresponder and worry about emails when I get home.
If you want to be successful, you need to stay connected. It’s the life you have to live (at least for now). You need to pay your dues at a frantic pace for years before you can sail away on your yacht and not worry about things. But here is the flip side: you are your own boss. You can go anywhere you want! You can do anything you want! You can take that vacation without having to request time off. The only caveat is that you can’t put everything down. You have to stay connected. But I think it is a good trade-off, especially if you love your company and are as passionate about what you are doing as I am. You really don’t see having to stay connected as a burden. Winning customers, partnering, and expanding my network fuel me and keep me going. Sometimes my vacation is even better because great things are happening back home.
As long as you are on top of things, I think the blackberry and the laptop un-tether you from your desk and allow you to go places and still get stuff done. I remember life before my blackberry and Sprint wireless card, and I was always freaking out that I had to get back to the office. Now I can do business on a beach in Maui or from the Great Wall of China. No joke! I was replying to clients from the top of the wall outside of Beijing. It was an awesome feeling that I could be thousands of miles away seeing one of the seven wonders of the world, and I was able to conduct business and make sure things got done. One could argue that I didn’t appreciate the scenery as much and that I was “looking down and not up.” But like anything else in life, you need balance. I could still conduct business and enjoy the views. I tell you right now, I couldn’t be at my office enjoying the Great Wall; there is a give and take.
I haven’t used the “out of office” autoresponder feature in two years, because I am never fully out of the office. I think it’s a small price to pay to get to where you want to be in life.
I agree, there is no such thing as a vacation. I head all over the country during each week, but my businesses are always front of mind. I take my laptop with me and tune into wireless networking wherever I go. It is essential to keep in touch and to fine tune my pages as and when I feel inspired. Keep to it and one day you can write yourself a forever vacation cheque - as long as there is no inflation!
Amen! Great observation. Gone are the days when people are unavailable. In today’s ADD infused information age, you HAVE to be available. (Or have an assistant who is capable of handling things for you)
Keep up the great work!
Shef
Zowoco, that is definitely the goal. It’s a small sacrifice for a long term gain. A good motto is “Short term pain, long term gain.”gain.”
Dave, having a good assistant is paramount. I love cc’ing her and asking her to set up my meetings and run my calendar. Just that alone saves me so much time. Nowadays I just get alerts that I have a call in 15 minutes.
Really a great thought!! How about wandering into the wilderness and leaving the task to efficient virtual assistants. This lets you enjoy your vacation blissfully without being bothered and still remain confident that your work gets done on time.
Dave, I’m with Jared - a good assistant is a must. Virtual assistants are a blessing and many good ones a-bound.
Rhianna, what do you do? Do you have a great assistant? Isn’t there a secretary day? Does anyone know when this is?