When daydreaming about an upcoming vacation, most people picture themselves with a martini in hand and their toes buried in the sand; they don’t picture themselves with their noses buried in their phone. But, unfortunately, in this day of cell phone addictions and workaholic mentalities, the latter is probably the more likely scenario. Our generation tends to fear missing out on things so much that we miss out on some of our most anticipated experiences. We check work emails and tweet about our experiences instead of living in the moment and scroll through Facebook instead of strolling through a new and exciting city.

It goes without saying that vacations are the best time to unplug and unwind, so why do we have such a hard time doing just that? Studies have shown that employees perform significantly better after taking a week-long vacation. And other studies have shown increases in cognitive performance just from cutting the cord to social media for as little as a day. Our brains need breaks from the constant work and media onslaught; we all need a healthy work-life balance. To help you achieve vacation bliss, we’ve compiled these great tips on how to truly unplug and stop checking your phone once and for all!

1.) Plan to disconnect

As the famous quote says: “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Before your trip, talk to superiors and co-workers to properly divide your responsibilities while you’re away so you’ll feel less pressure to check your workload. Decide how much time you want to allocate to being tethered to your phone/laptop during your vacation, if any at all. Then notify your boss that you’re either completely unavailable or that you’ll be checking e-mails during a set time daily while away. This way there are no expectations beyond what you set. Inform any important clients or workplace associates that you’ll be gone at least a week beforehand so you can address concerns ahead of time. Finally, construct a clear and appropriate “out-of-office” reply, alert any paranoid friends or family that you’ll be disconnecting from social media for a week and enjoy your trip!

2.) Work like a beast beforehand

If you’re worried that you may fall behind at work from taking an entire week off, try being proactive. Instead of spending your time leading up to the vacation daydreaming about said vacation, hustle and get as much work done in that time to help resist the urge to log-in while lounging. It’ll also help ease your mind that you’ll be coming back to less of a workload when you return. Try to think ahead and put out any fires that may arise while you’re gone, and get a jump on work that will be due right after you’re back to minimize stress.

3.) Get off the grid

If need be, schedule a vacation that won’t even allow you to slip into unconscious habits like mindlessly checking your phone. Plan a trip where wi-fi is inaccessible, or too expensive to be worth it. Turn off your notifications so you aren’t hearing every e-mail hit your inbox. Better yet, leave your work phone at home and only pack personal devices. Bring one of those old fashioned stand-alone cameras that aren’t integrated with your cell phone so you aren’t tempted to sneak a peak at your phone while taking pictures. Book excursions that keep you immersed in the moment creating memories instead of checking your phone. And when possible, keep your trip details to yourself aside from 1 emergency contact. No one needs to be paging your hotel to reach you when you’re trying to unwind.

4.) Set a goal

If you are truly addicted to your cell phone, try making it a goal to disconnect while you’re away. Set aside a specific time every day to check your e-mails and peruse your social media sites, but then turn off your wi-fi or stash your phone back in your luggage. Then, treat yourself for reaching your goal with an onslaught of media upon your return!