All of us in the current business world have heard the adage, "I'm never disconnected; my phone is always on." It's to the point where this is a cliche topic, particularly with many of our careers becoming fully remote. The diminishing line between being "at work" and "not at work" has become increasingly and perpetually blurred to the point where it is up to us as #leaders and individual contributors to enforce the #worklifebalance. To be honest, work-life balance is a concept I've struggled with understanding. Like many of you, there's a TON going on in my personal life, a TON going on in my 9-to-5, and a good bit going on in my other business activities. Trying to properly "balance" all of this would be a 4th commitment I'd need to throw into the list. But here is where I'm going with this. It pains me to see my colleagues, peers, direct reports, managers, or just strangers in the airport, unquestionably stressed and 100% engaged in "work" while on "vacation." Now granted, there are times where YOU are the only person who can handle a situation, and addressing it right then is the best move to get your vacation time back on track. Like Tupac said, "It's just the way it is." But here is where you put yourself in the driver's seat to establish the #boundaries for that work-life balance.
Will this significantly impact your career or company results if you handle it whenever you are back in the office?
Why can't you delegate this to someone else? (this is a different topic I may address later).
Are the kids or loved ones going to remember this interruption as you working on vacation? If so, is it worth it?
Did you remind the person on the other end of the Slack message phone call that you are on vacation or it's after hours? If not, do so. This tidbit of information deserves to be part of the conversation.
Are you taking this call merely to help someone else out? If so, why? Refer back to the first two bullets in this paragraph.
I could sit here and write many more bullet points and sub-bullet points into this list, but the fact is, before fully engaging in work while you're not supposed to be working, break the habit of instant response. Instead, stop and consider what that quick reply will lead to and weigh how valuable your response will be to the conversation. More often than not, a simple acknowledgment suffices until you're back in the office.