My quiet vacation stressed me out until I made a change

In April, I booked a 10 day trip to Bari, Italy without taking any PTO or notifying anyone at work. Before going, I made sure the hotel I booked had a good Wi-Fi connection so I could work from there, and I chose a 5:45am flight to arrive before the start of the work day in the UK where I live.

On the first day of my quiet vacation, I had great luck with timing. No one surprised me with a random phone call at an inopportune time. But with each passing hour I felt worse about the whole idea and couldn’t relax. Eventually, I had to change my approach.

When I landed in Italy I pretended to be working, logging in occasionally and checking emails

At first, I didn’t have anything in particular planned – no museum entrances or day trips booked – so I mostly wandered the lovely streets of Bari, sat down for a coffee or gelato whenever I felt like it, or popped into -a museum when the mood struck me.

It was before peak season so I didn’t have to worry about queues or having to make a reservation in advance.

I usually only get phone calls from work when they are urgent and we use email for lower priority things. Whenever I sat down for a coffee or an ice cream, I checked my email on my phone, and if someone from work called or texted me, it was my priority to answer them instantly. But the guilt and stress of getting a sudden call made it hard to enjoy the ride.

I couldn’t relax and was always worried about work interruptions

On the second day, I woke up early before the sun made it unbearably hot, visited a few places nearby for a morning coffee and some pastries, and planned to go on a tour, have an early lunch and to work in a restaurant or bistro.

The third day was the tipping point for me. I received an urgent service call while on a tour of Bari Castle. The timing couldn’t have been worse as the call came while I was in the castle dungeons and the cell signal was extremely weak.

When I realized what was happening, I turned pale and quickly ran into the yard to get a stronger signal. Just then, a school tour entered the same yard, and the noise got so bad that I had to apologize and yell into the phone to be heard.

After that incident, I was so anxious to get caught up on a quiet vacation during business hours that I changed my approach.

I started work early in the morning during my quiet vacation

I started working around 7am local time and aimed to finish by 2pm when I felt like Italians were just waking up to start their day. This was a game changer. I could finally relax and get to know the local culture without work hanging over my head.

I took enough time to make sure my work was done right and there were no problems. We often took quick breaks to go for a coffee or a pastry.

One day of the trip, at 1:30 p.m., my marketing manager called and told me that I would need to change my part of a presentation as soon as possible. I picked up the phone and said it wouldn’t fit into my schedule and I would deal with him first thing in the morning. It wasn’t even a lie because my schedule for that afternoon was to sunbathe and drink Aperol.

My trip turned from a quiet vacation to a “working vacation”

If I counted the breaks I took, the five and a half to six hours a day I spent working in Italy was far more productive than working for eight hours in depressingly rainy England. I didn’t take unnecessary breaks or think about reaching for my phone to scroll through social media – something I wish I had the power to do on a regular basis.

My trip turned from a quiet holiday to a working holiday with reduced working hours – but it was still worth it. I felt much better mentally because I was no longer worried about letting anyone down.

This slight change in my approach still gave me what I needed – a change of scenery and weather. Even though I spent a good portion of that time working, leaving the constant rain and going to Italy – where the sky was blue, the sun was shining and the sea was warm enough to enjoy a swim – was a game changer.

I was full of joy and happiness.

I told my service that I was in Italy

When I first went on my quiet vacation, I tried to keep it a secret. Then I remembered that the work environment at my company is very employee friendly and it was better to admit that I was abroad than to pretend it wasn’t happening. I disclosed that I was in Italy after a few days, but there were still a few working days until I returned.

Everyone has been very understanding with my new schedule. After that, I wasn’t stressed at all and still had plenty of time during the day to enjoy my trip.

If you’re taking a quiet vacation, plan your work schedule carefully

Make sure you have reliable internet and let your team know about your availability; finish your work assignments early; and most importantly, take the time to relax and enjoy the experience. It’s not a real vacation if you’re stressed all the time.

Next time, I’d go for a working holiday rather than the approach I started with. The difference between sitting on the beach constantly checking your phone and worrying about going in the water for more than five minutes – compared to doing what you want after shorter work hours completely relaxed – is astronomical.

It is much better to do the work first and then enjoy the vacation to the fullest.

If you’ve taken a vacation while on the job and want to share your story, please email Tess Martinelli at [email protected].