Here is a nice post from Reid Trautz on creating a communication policy while on vacation. Reid offers some great advice about how to stay connected to the office, while making sure not to cut into family and vacation time.

His policy on checking voicemails is one that I typically follow when on vacation:

As the sun rose on the third day of my vacation, I realized I finally had to make some decisions. The easiest decision was to rely on the out-of-office greeting on my phone, and not try to deal with voice mail messages in any way, shape, or form. However, I decided to keep my cell phone powered on and with me in case there was a business emergency. People who need to reach me can reach me through my office even if they don’t have my cell number. This gave me peace of mind without my having to check my phone messages daily.

I know that in the event of an emergency or something that needs my immediate attention, my office can get in touch with me. Everything else can wait until I get back in the office.

I also liked Reid’s idea of allocating only 60 minutes a day to checking email, as well as the fact that he tried to do this in the morning while everyone else was still sleeping.

If you are considering taking a vacation soon, this is a post you want to check out.