Wood Words

You Deserve a Vacation.

Jill just requested two weeks off mid-July.

Conor is planning a weekend getaway over Memorial Day.

Lauren is trying to pick the best time to take her trip to Cancun (and that’ll be her second trip this year!).

Seems like your entire staff is planning their vacations.

What about you?

You deserve a vacation, too. A chance to reward yourself for your hard work. Rest. Renew. Re-focus.

But you know what will be waiting for you when you get back, right? Hundreds of emails. Dozens of voicemails. Fires burning everywhere you look. It’s enough to make you never take another vacation again. After all, how can you enjoy time away from work, when you’re dreading your return before you’ve even departed?

It doesn’t have to be that way. With a little intelligent planning, you can take that much-deserved vacation WITHOUT the remorse and regret. Here’s how:

Give plenty of advance notice (internally and externally).

Let your clients know that you’ll be unavailable a few weeks in advance, and give them an alternate contact in your absence. They’ll appreciate the consideration and will be less likely to bombard you with unnecessary requests. Give your colleagues a heads-up, too, so they can plan to carry on without you for awhile.

Add a day’s buffer on both sides of your vacation.

Tell people you’re leaving a day sooner and returning a day later than you really are. Give yourself a little extra time to handle inevitable last-minute headaches before you leave, and to get back into the swing of things once you’re back.

Change your email auto-reply and voicemail greeting.

Your messages could say when you’ll respond – or that you won’t respond at all (gasp!). Remember: you’re on vacation! Specify whom to contact if it’s an emergency, and when to try you again if it’s not.

Assign someone to screen, re-route or respond to your messages.

If you can’t disconnect entirely, arrange things so that you’ll only be contacted when it is absolutely necessary. Formulate a plan with your assistant or other covering staff, so that you can get the messages you need – without having to carry your phone with you every moment.

Be realistic.

If you’re leaving for more than a day or two, be honest with yourself: you won’t be able to delay all your work one week, and then double up the next to catch up. It’s a vacation; some things just won’t get done. So get your priorities straight. Decide in advance what’s critical, and what you’ll need to skip, to prevent a nightmare upon your return.

Delegate!

Instead of guilting yourself for pushing work onto your team’s shoulders, consider the upside of delegation for them. There are people who’ve been waiting in the wings for ages, ready to show you how well they can manage without you. Give them a chance to shine!

Need a vacation?

Our Nashville staffing service is ready to help. We’re here to support your team, so they’re available to support you when you’re taking that guilt-free vacation. Give Wood Personnel a call to learn more.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email