Holidaying without your laptop

To enjoy a worry-free holiday, try these tips:

• Make a list of work-related issues that could crop up in your absence and talk to your colleagues and boss about who can do what. Create a simple handover document listing useful names and numbers (not yours!). Leave work which is non-urgent.


• The prospect of hundreds of emails and voicemails on your return can be stressful so let people know that you will be away. Set up an automated out-of-office reply for your emails and amend your voicemail message, stating when you will be back and who to contact in your absence.


• If possible, don't leave your mobile number for colleagues and don't take work with you. Both defeat the purpose of a holiday - to relax. And you'll annoy poolside sunbathers - they don't want to hear about Document 4.1.


• Don't schedule important meetings the week before or after your holiday. Give yourself breathing space either side so that you feel the full benefits - no point in getting stressed the day you leave or on your first morning back.


• If you can't go away, try a 'balcony holiday' - what the Germans call taking time off work and staying at home. You can still be 'officially' on holiday, visit friends and family, sleep in, but still able to deal with urgent business. But make sure you go away at least once a year.


• Tell yourself that you deserve a holiday and you're entitled to forget about work. Going away is essential to your well-being - you have the chance to think about your life from another perspective, meet new people and, see different places. Creativity and efficiency can only be maintained if you recharge your batteries now and again.


• Peter Gerstmann recommends taking your watch off once you arrive at your destination. "It's surprising how quickly you get used to it and it helps with unwinding." He also suggests avoiding Internet cafes - you can catch up when you get back home.


• And lastly, don't overdo it by trying every activity on offer and binge-drinking on your first night. Unwinding is good, but unwind slowly. And if you do lead a stressed life back home, there's nothing wrong in enjoying a holiday when all you do is swim, sip cold beers and watch the sun go down - just make sure that laptop is nowhere in sight...