If you’re taking a vacation in the coming weeks (and you should), how exactly do you plan on spending your time off? Relaxing, unwinding, and leaving all your work worries behind? Or logging in when no one’s looking to check emails, and finish that last to-do you didn’t get to complete before going away?
I should know…One too many times, I paid the price or poorly planning my work with the currency of my vacation time. I remember traveling back home to Senegal, and being this crazed woman chasing a Wi-fi connection everywhere I went so I could sneak in an email or two here and there. Remember Miranda from Sex and the City (the movie), when she got to Mexico after Carrie got jilted at the altar? Her first question once she reached the resort was: “Got wi-fi?” Yup, that was me, in the middle of the torrid West African heat, searching for wi-fi in the palm trees….But I digress…
That’s when adequately preparing for vacation comes into play. The better your pre-vacation prep, the better your vacation, basically. And contrary to popular opinion, it doesn’t require all that much work, time or energy. Just a bit of advance planning, some serious caffeine, and the promise of a work-free vacation (and a few margaritas here and there), at last…
Here are a few tips to keep work at bay on your next vacation…and actually refrain from chasing a working wi-fi connection like the next Nordstrom sale:
Delegate, delegate, and delegate!
Repeat after me: “I can’t do it all!“
Really, it’s so easy, especially for many of us affected by the “Superwoman” (or “Superman”syndrome at work) to think no one else can do it like we can. So we end up taking all this work on, and having way too much on our plates. As a result, when it’s time to take some time off, the sheer amount of work to be done makes it impossible not to be plugged in to your laptop or smartphone 24/7.
Learning to delegate is one of the most underrated, but most important, career skills. Being able to give away tasks and allow your team to function without you not only shows leadership, but also frees you to deal with more important priorities (and keep your sanity in the process). So as you prep before your vacation, delegate your tasks and projects as much as you can, so you can focus on the priority items you must complete before saying sayonara!
Make friends with status updates!
Now that you’re taking some time off, status updates must become your new friends. Let your boss, team, co-workers, stakeholders know where you stand, and how far along you are, when it comes to ongoing projects and assignments.
The worst thing you can do is leave others in the dark, and have them send you loads of emails or harass you over the phone as you’re desperately trying to tan on the beach!
Keep the lines of communication open!
Make sure everyone who should know you’ll be away in the coming weeks does. This means making a list of all the individuals affected by any work you have going on, and actually reaching out to them to ensure they know you’ll be out of the office.
Go a step further by sending them an official calendar reminder, and updating your own calendar so that everyone who tries to get in touch with you or schedule some time with you is aware of your upcoming (lack of) availability.
Set Vacation Drills!
Just like fire drills, vacation drills are meant to teach you and your team what to do when…you’re not in the office. You don’t want your boss, team and co-workers to text you at 9pm as you’re boarding your flight to ask you for a status update on that urgent project due the next day, right?
That’s why you have to have vacation drills, when you actually train your team to operate without you. That entails leaving specific instructions on any ongoing projects and logistical details, and letting them figure out the rest for themselves.
Do this a few weeks before leaving, so by the time you’re sipping on that margarita in the islands, your phone won’t be buzzing from one of your team members asking the code to some work database you forgot all about…
And a bonus tip if you really want to take the guilt out of that mango margarita and all that time off:
Get A Headstart on Upcoming Projects!
It’s one thing to complete any projects due by the time you leave for vacation; but it’s another to actually give yourself an edge by starting any upcoming projects. Not only will it give you this sense of accomplishment as you pack up your bags, but it also will help in enjoying your vacation even more! Go you, overachiever you!
Do you follow these steps to avoid working on vacation?
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To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
