The Vacation Checklist for Mac Entrepreneurs

For a number of us, the holiday has already started or is in sight. This period can be quite stressful for entrepreneurs. It is mainly a matter of concluding and removing lists. Since you have to make enough lists yourself, we want to share you a hand with the Mac. What do you have to think about in order to leave the digital part of your entrepreneurship properly and safely or to take it with you? Below you will find the vacation checklist for all entrepreneurs with a Mac.

Keep your backup in a safe place

Do you regularly make backups? Then you are already doing very well. It is very nice if you do this via Time Machine, because it is automatic. Keep in mind the golden 3-2-1 rule and backup if necessary. In addition to an automated backup, it is wise to place the external drive at the neighbors or another known house before you go on holiday. If there is a break-in and both your Mac and backup have disappeared, you have nothing left. Do you have a Time Capsule and would you rather not shut down your entire network? Then buy a mobile external drive for a few bucks and connect it to your Mac. You can now choose to make a second copy, but on this disk. Choose “use both”, wait for the backup to complete and store the drive in another location.

Set an Out-of-Office reply

Perhaps it is obvious, but set an “out-of-office reply” for mail and also adjust the voicemail. Enter (or say) the dates of departure and return with one day margin. That way you have one more day to go through the pile of unread mails before you are overloaded with phone calls. You can set up an out-of-office reply at your hoster. You can often log in there and change the text yourself. If not, ask the person who manages the website and email addresses for you in good time. You can find inspiration here. You can also use Apple Mail Rules. You can even include in your signature a few days in advance that you will be absent on certain dates. This way your customers can also take it into account. You can do this at Mail> Preferences> Signatures.

Buy a lock for your Mac

Is your Mac left unattended in the office or at home? Then secure it with a lock. It may not hold back bolt cutters, but at the very least discourages. With an iMac you can use various cable locks. Since you can get the lock through the recess in the base, you have a lot of choice. The best thing is if you use the appropriate slot just below the power cable. There are also different solutions for the other models.

Check WiFi facilities

As an entrepreneur, it is nice if you can check your email / social media every now and then (not too often!) During your holiday. Check in advance if you have WiFi at your holiday destination. Are you going on holiday within the EU? Then nowadays you can make calls and use the internet within your bundle. To do this, turn on 'Data roaming' at Settings > Mobile network > Mobile data options. Are you going outside the EU? Then consider whether you might want to purchase a 3G / 4G card or foreign bundle from your provider. It is easier to find this out before your holiday. The options differ per provider. Ask for the conditions there too.

Prepare for the worst

If you are traveling outside the country and don’t want to put your business data or laptop on risk of theft/stolen, then buy an old or refurbished MacBook from tech.trade and prepare it for the trip. This way you can easily travel without worrying about the loss of data.

Install and TEST

Is it inevitable that you also have to work from time to time during your holiday abroad? Then make sure you have installed and tested the necessary software. You will not be the first to forget his / her password, for example, and therefore cannot access something. Not something you want to be involved with on your vacation.

Don't forget your travel plug

Are you going to another continent and do you need to be able to charge your iPhone, iPad and / or Mac there? Then check whether you have the correct plugs for this. You can buy a complete travel adapter package from Apple.

Plan an extra day for your emails

Are you coming back from vacation on a Sunday? Then indicate that you will not go back to work until Tuesday or Wednesday. This way you have an extra day to answer the laundry list with emails and get back on track. If you get back to work the next day, you are immediately 1-0 behind and that is a waste of your well-deserved vacation!