Digital vital for business - but take a digital holiday too!
As the holiday season approaches, I have a word of advice for those in business who want to truly relax: take a digital holiday too.
As the holiday season approaches, I have a word of advice for those in business who want to truly relax: take a digital holiday too.
I've just returned from a week in Italy and my advice might sound counter-intuitive, particularly as my usual advice to clients is to use every opportunity presented by the new media. However, a holiday without your smart phone or iPad might just refresh you even more, thus making your return to the digital media even more effective.
The digital publisher Arianna Huffington, owner of the Huffington Post was interviewed on Newsnight the day I left on my holiday and in a timely comment from my point of view she said she never tweets on holiday. I stayed away from Facebook too, and as well as not posting I didn't check twitter either. It was difficult at first, my right hand thumb was twitching for my phone! I'm sure I missed news stories but my team are excellent and they can cope, they had my number for anything urgent.
Like many 21st century businesses Recognition PR doesn't ever close. We have a duty rota so clients can reach us 24/7 and our team are always consuming the media - perhaps in a different way to our clients. I joke with my brother that when he reads a newspaper it's a relaxing activity, when I do it's partly CPD (continuing professional development).
The management guru Stephen Covey has a helpful story: two lumberjacks go to work, one cuts down trees for eight hours in a row, the other stops for a short break every hour. In the end the one that stopped for a break cut down more trees. The reason; he spent his breaks sharpening his axe!
That is the reason I am now back to work refreshed after a holiday and ready for business. I was back on twitter and LinkedIn etc. in no time at all but my tweeting thumb has had a real rest!
