“Switch off on holiday? You’re having a laugh!”
It’s sad but true: many accountants struggle to fully switch off on holiday. The temptation to ‘just check emails’ or ‘get that one thing done’ is real, but it’s not healthy. You deserve a genuine break, not a laptop on the beach and clients still pinging your phone.
Emma Slack, AVN Practice Growth Expert, shares a practical, no-fluff guide to making your next holiday a proper, work-free break. And yes, you can do it without letting clients down or coming back to chaos.
Tell your clients you’re going on holiday
If you don’t tell your clients in advance, they’ll assume you’re working. So you can’t blame them for sending that last-minute VAT query on your final working day. Why wouldn’t they if they had no idea you were disappearing?
How to avoid a frantic build up to your holiday:
- Send an email a few weeks in advance.
- Mention the dates you’ll be away and a clear deadline for any work requests.
- Repeat that message in meetings, phone calls, email footers, WhatsApp; everywhere in fact.
Here’s an example of the type of email you could send:
Subject: Everyone needs a break!
I’m taking a 10-day holiday with my lovely family from 24th August and won’t be working during that time.
If you need anything done before I return on 2nd September, please ensure I have all the required info by 9am on 11th August.
After that, I can’t guarantee it’ll be done in time. Thanks for respecting my time and helping me enjoy a proper break.
Get your team involved
As well as switching on automatic replies for your emails, you’ll feel happier if you know someone is reviewing them for anything urgent/important.
So give access to your inbox to someone in your team so they can monitor and sort received messages. You aren’t asking them to do any work, just to delete spam and sort out urgent, non-urgent and just FYI. Give them some guidelines before you go so they understand what you need. This makes it much easier to prioritise your messages when you get back.
If you don’t have a team, you could use a virtual PA or even an app. There are lots of AI apps that can do this for you now.
Make sure your team (or virtual PA) know how to handle any calls too. A simple script is all you need, such as, “Jackie’s on holiday until 2nd September. Can I help, or shall I book a call for her return?”
If you don’t have anyone to answer calls while you’re away, make sure your voicemail message is clear on when you’ll be back. It can be really helpful to point callers to a call booking system like Calendly or Acuity so they know when they’ll be able to speak to you.
Remember to block out plenty of time in your diary for catching up when you get back so you aren’t immediately thrown into dozens of clients calls. In fact, one tip is to tell your clients you’ll be back a couple of days after your actual return date. That way, you know you won’t be bombarded as soon as you walk in the door.
Control what gets done before you go
Don’t try to clear your entire to-do list before you leave. That way madness (and burnout) lies.
Ask yourself is this something I have to do, or just want to tick off? Could it wait until I return? Is there someone else who can do this? What can be delegated? What could be outsourced?
A prioritised work plan really helps here. Focus on your own business needs first – invoicing, payroll, cash flow etc – so you aren’t worrying about them while you’re away.
Then, rather than diving into what seems most urgent, look at your clients. Who are your best clients, your A grade clients? They need looking after most so make sure you have time to do their work. After that, look at your B clients, then your Cs and then Ds.
Your D grade clients are likely to be the ones that shout the loudest but that doesn’t mean you have to jump. If you don’t have time for them, or can’t delegate/outsource the work, do you really want to keep them? Could they become a C or D client? This is obviously a much bigger question than just what you do when go away but it’s worth thinking about.
Limit interruptions from your team
In the run up to going away, your team are likely to have lots of questions for you. If they’re used to coming to you for all the answers, it’s only natural they’ll want to get as much out of you as they can before you go!
So you have some control of these interruptions, give them set times they can come to you with a question, perhaps at a certain point in the morning and afternoon.
But as well as setting a time, tell them to come with a suggestion for how to answer their question. It’s all too easy for team members to fall into the habit of asking you for a solution instead of working it out for themselves. So encourage them to start coming up with their own solutions. You can guide them if they aren’t right, but this way they start really learning.
Set boundaries that stick
OK, you’ve made it. You’re on the beach, the sun is shining, the waves are gently lapping at the shore. But is your phone pinging with work notifications?
This is the hard bit but it’s crucial – if you want to really switch off on holiday you also need to switch off:
- Work emails on your phone
- App notifications (like WhatsApp or Slack)
- Any calendar notifications that’ll drag you back in
“What if I just can’t do it?”
If you know you won’t truly relax unless you’re keeping an eye on things, agree with your family how much time you’re allowed to work. It could be for an hour or two early in the morning before everyone else gets up. And make sure you have an alarm that tell you when time’s up!
Remember, accountants play a vital role but you aren’t heart surgeons. No one’s going to die if you don’t reply to an email during your holiday!
Your mind and body need time to recharge. If you lead by example, your clients will respect your boundaries. They might even be inspired to set their own.
Take the time. Rest properly. Come back stronger.