Really, it isn't that hard to quickly scan emails while on a trip. No need to reply. If you are running a business you have no choice. And, again, it really isn't that hard. Part of it, in my opinion, is to systemize. For all of my business email I use Outlook exclusively. I have twenty years of cleand-up email (no spam, notices, etc) archived. This database has come in handy at times. The key is organization. I have extensive filters and even custom VBA code in place to organize and systemize email. I also run multiple instances of Outlook simultaneously, one per business, each with it's own separate pst file.
Incoming email gets sorted into relevant folders. For example, email from employees, vendors, customers and hosting providers go into their own folders, sometimes with additional granularity.
Stuff that is OK to delete --like notices-- goes into folders that get flushed out every ninety days.
I also sort email into an "Unknown Sources" folder: If the sender isn't in my address book they are an unknown source.
This and a few other tweaks makes it easy to manage email for more than one business without having to spend tons of time manually sorting and parsing. I have never in my life used automatic vacation response emails and can't remember any instance of wishing I had.
Again, this is from the perspective of an entrepreneur. I know some of my employees completely turn all company comms off during vacation. And that's OK.
Really, it isn't that hard to quickly scan emails while on a trip. No need to reply. If you are running a business you have no choice. And, again, it really isn't that hard. Part of it, in my opinion, is to systemize. For all of my business email I use Outlook exclusively. I have twenty years of cleand-up email (no spam, notices, etc) archived. This database has come in handy at times. The key is organization. I have extensive filters and even custom VBA code in place to organize and systemize email. I also run multiple instances of Outlook simultaneously, one per business, each with it's own separate pst file.
Incoming email gets sorted into relevant folders. For example, email from employees, vendors, customers and hosting providers go into their own folders, sometimes with additional granularity.
Stuff that is OK to delete --like notices-- goes into folders that get flushed out every ninety days.
I also sort email into an "Unknown Sources" folder: If the sender isn't in my address book they are an unknown source.
This and a few other tweaks makes it easy to manage email for more than one business without having to spend tons of time manually sorting and parsing. I have never in my life used automatic vacation response emails and can't remember any instance of wishing I had.
Again, this is from the perspective of an entrepreneur. I know some of my employees completely turn all company comms off during vacation. And that's OK.