Commit to what you will or won’t be doing

“It’s easy to get pulled into bad habits of constantly checking your phone or taking calls without even realising it,” says mindset and high-performance coach Byron Morrison. “This is why you don’t just need to set boundaries with other people, you also need to set them with yourself.” In fact, these boundaries are often the hardest ones to keep (one surreptitious inbox check tends to lead to another, and another…)

“With that in mind, decide in advance what you will allow yourself to do,” Morrison suggests, then think about how you can help yourself to stick to that rule. If you want to totally avoid work emails during your time off, you might find it helpful to embark on a “strict digital detox”, Bateup suggests. “Silence work notifications or even remove work-related apps from your phone.” Does your work require you to constantly be on top of what’s going on in the headlines? It could be worth muting those news alerts. And if you still find yourself reaching for your phone? “Start by asking yourself, ‘What do I want to get from this interaction?’ every time you pick [it] up,” says Nicola Hemmings, head of workplace psychology at Koa Health. “Most of the time, when we’re checking emails, we just want to feel connected or mentally stimulated. Consider other ways this can be achieved, [such as] reading a book or doing a puzzle.”

If you’re spending your annual leave at home, respecting your own boundaries can be especially tricky as you don’t have the advantage of a change of scene to push work from your mind. If you’re struggling, Bateup recommends: “Remove any visible reminders of work – hiding your laptop away in a drawer, for example – to stop your thoughts from straying.”

Heading off on holiday? Here’s how to set work boundaries before you go