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Sometimes you need to take an Internet Marketing Holiday – and in my case a holiday from offline clients too.
Everything just got too much and you need to cut loose.
That’s how it got for me about two months ago, so I went.
I took a two week holiday: 5 days in New York, followed by a 9 day crossing back to the UK on the Queen Mary II.
Then I had a week back working on my businesses, online and offline, followed by a week with my Dad for his 94th birthday. See the blaze of candles on his birthday cake.
Here we are (my Dad, my son, and me). Held in my Dad’s hands you can probably just see the little dog, Luna, a new addition to the extended family.
Funny how dogs know just what’s required of them for everyone they come across. Luna knew that Matt was for “rough and tumble” and wouldn’t give him five minutes peace. But she knows that my Dad needs to stroke her, so she nestles up close to him and goes to sleep with her head on his knees.
We had a great time with my Dad and I know he enjoyed our visit.
94! He doesn’t look bad for his age does he? And his brain is so sharp! (Updated 2019 – he’s 97 now and still bright as a button.)
But back to to how to take an Internet Marketing holiday….
Scary Holiday Plans
Being a bit of a workaholic, from a family of workaholics, I have never, in my whole life, been away for two weeks. Nor have I felt the need to before, but a stressful year was starting to take its toll.
Even my twelve day absence last September freaked me out, and my son and his wife laughed at the number of texts I sent them, saying I had “keyboard withdrawal symptoms”.
But that was in the USA with free wi-fi access to the Internet, and texts that wouldn’t break the bank. This holiday was to be different…
Once I got on the Queen Mary II there would be NO Internet. Getting ready to take a holiday from both my businesses for a 10-day spell with no Internet and phone was really scary.
Remember – I’m fully self-employed, upset my clients too much and I’m history!
OK, I could have used the Internet on the ship, but at “scary number of dollars per hour”, I decided I’d better live without it. Last time I collected my emails on a cruise it cost me £30 to download 4 days worth and it was 90% junk anyway. That was a few years ago. Perhaps technology has perked up a bit, but on a cruise ship you’re a bit of a captive audience.
So I decided to leave all the technology switched off – except my Kindle. Where would I be without that?
How I Prepared To Take An Internet Marketing Holiday
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Dining room in the QM II I scheduled a batch of blog posts ahead of time – appropriately enough about time management.
- I used Buffer to post to my Facebook business pages.
- Thanks to Sabrina in my main business team who agreed to handle that business for me while I was away – easy because I just changed my “Pretty Links” to use her ID instead of mine
- There were already auto-responder series in GetResponse
- Thanks for blog updating cover from James McAllister of JamesMcAllisterOnline
- I told my off-line clients I’d be away for two weeks, with no phone(!), gave them a helper’s number….
- And fled.
You’ll probably think I’m nuts but I actually found it pretty scary to do this – and to think of the world going on without me, like a parallel universe.
How to take an Internet Marketing Holiday Share on XAs an aside it got me thinking that this must be what it’s like to be dead. After the initial shock, people adjust to you not being there and life goes on just the same without you.
Is This What It’s Like To Be Dead (And In Heaven)?
Before anyone starts wondering about me, let me just say that I mean “dead and in heaven” – ever hopeful that I make it there.
Because while the world carried on without me, in my little version of on-board heaven:
- Food and drink appeared with no effort, even breakfast in bed a couple of days!
- Cleaning and bed-making happened equally effortlessly
- Many Kindle books were read
- I watched a new release movie daily – all included in the price
- There were yoga classes (my exercise of choice) but plenty of others on offer
- Seminars (not webinars) were attended, or ignored, without me feeling guilty – and particularly enjoyable that they were on topics that was completely new to me, not “50 Shades of Marketing”
- The seemingly limitless view of the ocean was there for 9 blissful days. The weather was pretty rough (Force 8/9/10) but QMII handled it effortlessly
So now I’ve reincarnated, back from my little taste of heaven.
Back To Normal Life
- The family survived without me (most importantly my Dad who missed me more than anyone else in the world)
- Some affiliate commissions came in from the training programs I promote
- GetResponse obligingly sent follow-ups as people joined my list from adverts placed in advance
- WordPress posts were published and no-one hacked my site – the guys at Pressidium are keeping it locked up tightly
- Thanks also to a few blogging friends who I warned that I’d be going away, for still commenting on my posts. I don’t like too much advance publicity about being on holiday – it’s a bit like inviting burglars round!
- Special thanks to James for handling my comments and upgrades, and to Tony and Sabrina for looking after my other business
- Also, to the whole Facebook support group, because everyone looks after any-one’s prospects and members, even crossline
- An offline client only made one phone call realised I really meant it, and kept their problem for later.
Everyone Survived Without Me
The “empire” survived – with just a few crises to pick up on my return. Phew.
Because I had invested some preparation time in advance of going away, and bought some tools to automate the processes, I was able to go on holiday and things ticked over quietly without me.
This is how your online business can be, and should be when you have the right systems and tools in place. Otherwise it’s no more than a J.O.B.
I’ll admit I still have a way to go to be totally relaxed with this, but in 30+ years I have NEVER been away from my business, with no phone, for two whole weeks.
Too Many Connections?
It’s funny really, because it’s only for a few years that we’ve had this “permanent worldwide connectedness”, and it’s silly really to get as worked up as I was, about leaving behind the phone and keyboard for a couple of weeks.
What got me really thinking about it was when, a couple of weeks before I went away, I got into a total flap that I’d gone shopping in town and left my phone at home. Now really – what was going to happen in that 3 hours that wouldn’t wait until I got home?
No wonder people are on edge all the time.
Back To Normality (Insanity?)
So here I am, back from my floating cyber-free heaven.
- There are alarms going off on my phone, texts, and WhatsApp messages from groups – business and social
- Facebook notifications and messages popping up
- Will I like “this” page that I have no interest in? Yes, if you’ll like mine (Bad practice …. I know)
- Invitations to watch “that” training event – because it’s FREE so I really can’t miss it
- Then a panic because I realize someone I know/like/trust better is already promoting the same thing
- People adding me to groups I don’t want to be in, worrying if they’ll be offended when I leave
- Folks saying “Hi” in Facebook (which is usually a laboured way to start a conversation in the hope that I will I join their businesses / buy their stuff).
- Calendar reminders popping up too
- And of course – more welcome – on Facebook, cute dogs, jokes and pictures of the littl’uns in the family.
Is this how everyone lives today, or is it just “Internet Marketers”? No wonder my poor Dad feels bemused by it all.
Anyone else feel it’s all gone a little too far?
Of course, it would be churlish of me NOT to acknowledge that the same technology I am moaning about, allowed me to call on a small army of friends and tools to “keep things going” while I was idling my time away.
Mass Unsubscribe
One of the things I did before I went away was a mass unsubscribe of mailing lists and I left many groups. Just a handful survived.
I apologize if I’m no longer on your list or in your group, but going forward I just want life to be a little less involved and more like the quiet “heaven” of the ship.
I already have my online strategy so the less temptation I’m exposed to the better, because I don’t want to buy anything else or join anything else. I have:
- My offline businesses
- My affiliate marketing
- The Internet Marketing College (affiliate link) training programs to improve my marketing – that’s plenty
By the way, these training programs work for any online business, and have a low start-up cost, so if you’re interested in learning Internet Marketing contact me and we’ll discuss which is best for you.
Life In The Slow Lane?
Yes please!
Having fixed the initial crises I found on my return, I want to slow down to something more approximating the pace of life on-board.
Of course I will still be working, but in a calmer and more structured way.
So that’s a good lesson learned from taking an Internet Marketing holiday. With the right planning and systems, it can be done, at least short-term.
I’m not sure how long it will be before I’ll be able to attain this peace and calm long-term but that for me is the Internet Lifestyle I am working towards.
What are you looking for from your online business? Please share in the comments below.
Hello Joy,
Interesting topic!
Glad you took an internet marketing holiday break. It’s good to take breaks and enjoy time without technology.
You have presented all of your holiday stuff beautifully in this article.
And, yes your Dad at 94 is still looking lower than his age. God bless him.
Thanks Atish,
I enjoyed the break, and especially seeing my Dad.
Can you think of any other tools I would have found helpful when preparing for my holiday?
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hi Joy,
I can totally relate to this post. I took the whole month of May off. It was the first time in a long time that I took some time off. I was a workaholic myself – when I was in Corporate America there was no time for a vacation and I carried that with me when I started working from home.
I’m glad I did because it keeps me disciplined but I also suffered from burn out.
It took me about two weeks to get used to the idea of not checking email or going online to check my social media – but I survived.
I did get used to having the house clean and my bed made and having time to actually work out and watch my favorite TV shows. It was hard getting back to my regular schedule – it still is. 🙂
And like you, I took that time to make some changes as well to lighten my workload.
By the way, I love the name of your blog – I might be blogging after dark. I started babysitting my grandsons while my daughter goes to school and it’s affected my blogging schedule – a night shift makes sense if I want to get any work done.
Thanks for showing us how you prepared for the time off. It’s great planning like this that will make being offline worry-free.
Have a great week!
Cori
Hi Cori,
I’m glad you managed to have a good long break in May too and hope you’re feeling better for it.
Although I wasn’t sure before I did it, I survived fine, and everything went OK too. After the first few days I didn’t really miss it, but I suppose that’s because there were so many other things to do. When I’m working at home it’s so easy to just keep checking “one more time” and I find it very difficult to stop.
I first became exposed to the “no time for a holiday” life-style through my family, and I was so conditioned to it that it just never occurred to me to think about going away. Until my husband (at the time) said “When are we going on holiday?” and I hadn’t a clue!
I really admire you if you’re finding time to do any blogging with your grandsons around! When my granddaughters came to stay for Christmas the only thing I managed to do was keep up with my blog commenting.
I’m very much in favor of tools to help automate our businesses – if only because it lets us do batch processing of certain jobs (particularly social media).
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Thank you for such an amazing post. I was researching about few channels where I can drive traffic to my customers in eCommerce. Do you think content marketing, blogging and content distribution in eCommerce websites makes sense?
The biggest challenge we all are facing right now is, we don’t have a lot of content on the product pages, category pages changing dynamically.
Also, I believe Google might be interested to see we have rich snippets and scheme implemented on the website.
Hi Rosie,
I think any business in the 21st century needs a blog, and a regularly updated one – to give Google some content to index.
Also, on an eCommerce website, you might like to consider adding a facility for customer reviews. Personally I always consider reviews before purchasing anything – but I have to be sure they’re not fake reviews, so I suggest using one of the independent review sites.
If you don’t have time to generate your own content you can hire copy-writers, or if you have the content but not the skills to add it to a blog, there are people who will gladly do this for you on a monthly retainer.
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hi Joy,
Lovely. Really enjoyed the update on your Dad’s 94th and hearing about the new girl in town, Luna!
Dad does look great and he’s lucky you’re around. Was interested in your trip, too. The biz stuff I’d already heard, but I still liked it!
Have a great week, and here’s to a slower, healthier pace,
Edward
Hi Edward,
I knew you’d be pleased to hear more about my Dad and to “meet” little Luna. She’s really stolen everyone’s heart.
Yes, I’m hoping to turn over a new leaf and have a quieter life-style!
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hi
Interesting article. Good to see such stuff. I liked it.
Thank you for sharing.
Regards
Basharath
Brilliant post, Joy
I want to see more of these. But of course the trip was perhaps a once in a lifetime thing.
Even though you were away you set everything on autopilot, just ticking along in the background. Sweet.
Even though I’m a digital nomad now, I dont really like the travelling part. I prefer to ‘stay put’ in one location. So the fact you flew to NYC then boarded the boat to reurn to the UK is a credit to you. Shame about the rough seas, though.
Interesting also to see you extracted yourself from various memberships and connections. It’s good. Every now and again we need to invoke the Prosperity Law of Vacuum – create a space for the good you desire.
Good one, Joy
Kim
Hi Kim,
Well, the USA trip last September was supposed to be “one in a lifetime” too, so I was a bit naughty to go on this one so soon afterwards – but the opportunity just came up and it seemed too good to miss. I’m really intending to buckle down to work again now, because “just keeping things ticking over” was OK for a while, but hasn’t moved me any further forward.
Last time I was in the USA I was fine flying out there, but really disliked the flying back part. So the cruise was the ideal solution to get over that!
Funny you should mention the “Prosperity Law of Vacuum” – I hadn’t come across it before, but you’re right. I really do need to clear some clutter from my life. In fact this last few days I’ve put to bed one half-finished “project” and I have another couple in my sights.
Most amazing of all (for me) I have actually paid someone to do part of another job that I’ve been putting off doing because I didn’t know how to do it. Progress indeed! It’s a bit of a saga – but probably there’ll be a blog post coming up when I’ve done it!
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hi Joy,
Taking a holiday is important as relaxes us and free our minds. And i Must say that you molded this post very beautifully.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Robin,
Although it was quite hard work getting everything organised so that I could take my holiday, I did enjoy being free of Internet Marketing for a while.
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hey Joy,
It was really very helpful article for all internet marketers. While automated tools made our life easier to schedule many things. But still we have to think twice before going for holiday.
Thanks
Hi Sean,
Glad you found the scheduling tips helpful. At least with automated social media tools we have the option of keeping our businesses going while we take a holiday.
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Joy, Life is definitely great to find happiness instead of trying to get into the fast lane… happiness is what makes every good in the good life.
I’ve to bring happiness to the offline world too… I gives me a different feeling when connecting with customers as well, it is great.
Welcome Back Joy!
You sure had everything prepared for your holiday. Whenever I take a break, It is the prep of having things in place that always eases my mind. I had taken a few weeks off last year and it has put my mindset in a different place. I do believe that we need time off if only for that purpose.
Having our own business, especially on the internet is like light speed in a way. Then we take off to the three dimensional world and start to ease in. When we get back, a new light is shed …. we are working at a nice easy pace.
When I got back last Summer, I realized that vacations are important, so I take one every day. Even if it is an hour of Do Nothing time, it eases my mind, and when that happens productivity in business increases. It’s like shaking out a dusty carpet of my brain lol.
I am so happy you took your cruise. No internet…no responsibilities….just being you. When are you planning to go on your next one? lol
-Donna
Hi Donna,
Thanks for the welcome back – and for supporting me with your comments and shares while I was away. Much appreciated.
Yes, it was good to get away, and good to get back. I’m quite a home-bird really 🙂 No plans for another at the moment. Need to top up the piggy-bank!
I love your “Do Nothing time” as a way to increase productivity. I’ve been allowing myself more time away from business lately, even if it’s just doing a bit of tidying up while listening to the radio. Reading (and the book club) is probably my favorite time off. And of course my sister has sent me my next 1,000 piece jig-saw puzzle. Although I do get a bit obsessive about those and can’t stop even at silly-o-clock in the morning.
You reminded me of a quote that popped into my “in-box” today: “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” Bertrand Russell
So, if you and Bertrand Russell approve…. who am I to argue?
Have a great weekend. I’m hosting a “Best of Europe” meal on Sunday in honour of our recent Brexit, and the wonderful products we can still source from Europe!
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Good for you Joy! You did it! I went a whole day with no internet last weekend, Yeppers I actually did it!!
I have been cutting down on my time online this summer myself, in dire need of me time..
I am happy to see you did the same.
Thanks for the great share.
Chery :))
Hi Chery,
It was tough to get myself completely ready for this – in a practical sense, because mentally I was in need of a break.
However once the doors shut behind me I found it reasonably easy to switch off and enjoy the “space”.
I will miss your blog over the next few weeks, but you work hard and deserve a break – so you enjoy your holiday away from blogging etc. We’ll all be here waiting for you – and I predict you’ll come back relaxed and with plenty of new ideas for blog posts. (I did!)
Joy – Blogging After Dark
Hi Joy,
Taking a break is important. People work hard but don’t take any break. They feel suffocating after few year of work. The main reason is that they don’t try to improvise the time with the holidays.
I am sure you would have a great time with your family and friends.
Though few subscribers may get away but still the track is still yours. You can come in the pace anytime you want.
Have a great week ahead.
~Ravi
Hi Ravi,
“Things” had all got a bit too much for me, and my holidays were long overdue. I enjoyed the holidays, and my time with family, so I’m sure I benefited from it over all.
It was a longer beak than I’m used to, but in the context of my whole business life, just a short time.
Thanks to all the automated tools I was able to use, and the help and support of friends, my blog carried on with little interruption. There was a bit of a catch-up required when I got back, but I’m back on course now and it’s as if it never happened. (Which may be good or bad – I’m not sure!)
If you’re not free to take a blogging holiday when you want, it’s a JOB, rather than a business.
Joy – Blogging After Dark