Do you find it hard to relax when on holiday? You’re not alone. A recent study by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) found that a staggering 3 in 5 Brits continue to work when on leave.

The research, conducted among 1,000 UK workers, found that 61% feel “obligated” to work while they’re on holiday – at home or abroad. That figure is up from 54% in 2013 and, according to the ILM, represents a possible side effect of the availability of remote working technologies.

Nearly 65% of employees read and send emails during time off, while 28% take business calls and 8% even go into the office. Even worse, workers are actually stressed out by the prospect of an upcoming holiday – this figure has risen from 71% to 73% in the last two years.

So, what can you do to leave anxiety at home when you pack your bags for a well-earned break? Here are our top 5 tips.

  1. Go offline

If you’ve made the decision to take a holiday in order to relax and recharge, be firm about it and don’t let work creep into your time away. One way to do this is choosing a remote holiday destination, such as the jungles of Borneo or the wild Scottish Highlands, where mobile phone signal and internet coverage is simply not available.

This may seem like a daunting prospect, but it wasn’t so long ago that workers going on holiday were uncontactable (unless they’d left the number of their hotel behind) and companies managed just fine. There is an enormous freedom in being offline and although you may initially fret at not being able to check your emails, after a day or two you will stop thinking about it, relax and fully engage in the experience you are having.

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  1. Set boundaries

If you can’t holiday somewhere off-network and you can’t bring yourself to leave your devices at home, try setting some boundaries for your internet access.

Limit it to a quick check in the morning to see if there is anything urgent that must be dealt with. If there is, do it and then get on with enjoying the rest of your day. If not, switch off Wi-Fi and don’t turn it back on again until the next day – otherwise you will have to resist strong temptation to keep checking!

As well as setting boundaries for yourself, you can tactfully set some ground rules with your co-workers and clients. Let them know in advance you will be away and who will be covering for you during your leave (if you can hand over projects, do so!). You could also suggest a catch-up call or meeting for your return, which should encourage them to save communications until then.

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  1. Reduce inbox admin

The ILM research found that almost 1 in 5 (18%) come back from their holiday more stressed than when they left. The fact that 81% of staff say they are faced with overflowing email inboxes on their return surely has a lot to do with it.

You can reduce the number of emails you’ll have to wade through by utilising a few clever tools:

Sanebox

Sanebox algorithms analyse your inbox to determine the importance of each email and then files them according to your preferences. It also offers a ‘Black Hole’ feature, where you can drag marketing emails for one-click unsubscription.

Mailstrom

Like Sanebox, Mailstrom is another tool to help you clear your inbox, but features some nifty data reporting. See who you ignore email from the most, when the majority of your emails come in, who sends you messages with large attachments, which social networks clutter up your inbox, and more. Learn from this information so you can prevent your inbox from becoming cluttered again in the future.

Google Docs

Set up a working document that all your team members can contribute to. Send them the link and ask that, where possible, they post communications in the working doc rather than email you. This will both minimise emails and enable you to quickly see everything important, all in one place once you get back.

Related: 8 Must-have travel apps for event planners

  1. Outsource

If you work for yourself, outsourcing is a particularly good option, allowing you to relax without letting things slide back at the office.

The Digital Detox service offered by alldayPA provides personalised and professional call answering. Users simply put a message on their out of office asking contacts to call their PA with any urgent business.

You can stipulate that urgent calls or messages are relayed to a designated contact, while all non-urgent messages can be provided in a single report on your return to work. A 7-day Digital Detox costs £3 a day, including 30 calls (+75p per call thereafter).

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  1. Take a buffer day

Returning to work the day after returning from holiday can put a dampener on your last night away and send your stress levels soaring again.

Booking another day’s leave is an excellent way to catch up and get organised before returning to work. As well as getting your suitcase unpacked, your washing done and sorting out your personal admin, you can dedicate a couple of hours to work tasks.

Go through your inbox, delete the junk and prioritise those emails that need to be tackled first thing the next morning. That way you will feel far more relaxed and positive about your first day back in the office.

Related: 6 Ways to increase your focus and get more done

Conclusion

You work hard, you deserve a proper break! Don’t feel guilty about taking time off – you’ll perform all the better for it.

By putting processes that help you manage your workload in place, you can retreat with a clear mind and, just as importantly, won’t dread coming back to work.