My friends. As I write this, it’s 4:36pm on Friday afternoon. In 36 hours, I’ll be at the airport with my family.

We’re going to Disney World.

I’ve gotten in the habit of not bringing my laptop on family vacations anymore. I don’t want to work. And I’ve built the kind of business I have so I don’t have to.

But this one feels different — maybe because I love (like, LOVE) Disney World. And my kids are incredibly excited.

I don’t want to sully that by being on my phone or my computer.

That would go against my Yearly Theme of being present…not to mention everything I do to help solopreneur parents.

But that also means I needed to prep. I don’t feel I should just disappear for a week without saying anything.

So here’s what I did leading up to the trip, and what’s happening during the trip!

Leading Up to the Trip

We’ve known about this trip for a while — which means I was able to plan projects around it. I made sure to move deadlines up to before we leave or push them out at least a week after I get back.

I made a list last week of everything I absolutely had to get done, and I made it happen. I worked some extra hours, but I was able to clear the deck.

I also gave everyone I work with notice: clients, contract work, team members, etc. all know that I’m going to be nearly unreachable while I’m away.

During the Trip

To make all of this work, I’ve set up a system (natch):

1. I’m not bringing my laptop, so I won’t be able to work without it being very painful.
2. I’m bringing the Brick — a device that locks you out of selected apps until you scan physically scan it — so I can lock my phone before we go to the parks. I won’t be able to check email.
3. I’ve set away messages for Slack (which I don’t even have on my phone), Google Chat, and WhatsApp.
4. For email, I have an auto-responder. For emergencies, I’ve let select clients know that they can email a special address that will go to my VA and a friend whom I have covering for me in the unlikely event that something happens.

The hardest part will be practicing what I call, “willful forgetfulness.”

I’ll be reminding myself that the work I’ve chosen at this stage of my life is not mission-critical. If I disappear for a week, my clients will be fine. In the rare case of a true emergency (which is really a temporary annoyance or inconvenience), I’ve got systems in place.

How about you? How much work do you do on vacations? Or if you don’t do any work, how do you shut off?

Leave a comment and let me know!