Agreeing phone and work boundaries on a retreat

A request to put phones away can mean focused sessions, no work email or a complete digital break. Say which you mean and why. Participants may have caring responsibilities, accessibility needs or work commitments that cannot simply disappear. Invite them to discuss those needs privately rather than making an exception in front of the whole group.

Set breaks where people can check messages and explain how urgent contact works during sessions. Keep practical information available without requiring everyone to open a chat repeatedly. If a retreat includes working time, separate it from the shared programme. An agreement people can follow is more useful than a dramatic rule that they quietly ignore. At the end, ask whether the arrangement supported attention without making people anxious about being unreachable.

For the wider context, read our planning guide. If you are working through the next practical detail, planning a walking conversation during an offsite follows naturally from this.

You can also explore directions to Selgars. Bring the details of your group or stay to the conversation so we can discuss what fits, rather than assuming every arrangement is included.