This summer I took a short week long vacation. Half the vacation was taken up by a bike trip around southern Vancouver Island. The other half was composed of errands around town and (near constant) phone checking. During the latter half of my vacation, I somehow spent more time stressing about work than I would normally do while on the job. I returned to work feeling similarly haggard as I left and was immediately right back in the thick of things. All told, I’d give myself a C- on my “vacationing skills”. I know I need to do better and after a period of reflection, I’ve come up with five things I will do next time I take an extended period of time off to ensure I’m getting the most “vacation” bang for my buck. Here are six tips for making your next vacation count.
Savour the anticipation (of your vacation)
For me, the anticipation of a vacation – especially a trip somewhere outside of Metro Vancouver is almost as important as the time off. Sometimes when you get busy at work, you totally forget about the upcoming time off. That’s a missed opportunity. If you are taking a trip out of town, chat with friends and colleagues (our team has a “travel channel” on SLACK) and indulge in the planning to ensure the optimization of your limited free time. If you are staying at home, set out some goals/plans that you can look forward just the same. For me that might be a long bike ride to an exotic part of my city that I rarely visit or cooking a special meal that I’ll spend most of an afternoon preparing for my family and friends. Maximize your vacation time by taking advantage of all the excitement of anticipation.
Set your team up for success
Handovers are a new innovation for me and they work great. Taking some time to detail files you are working on and reaching out directly to team members to ensure continuity in your work is just best practice before you head out on a vacation. It will cut down on stress for everyone, allowing you to well and truly disconnect. There are different ways to do this. For some people, it might mean a quick meeting to go over to-dos and expected issues coming down the pike. For other teams, a SLACK message outlining who is responsible for what is key. Or maybe it’s an email to your direct reports copying your boss. Whatever way you do it, make sure it gets done (and that everyone you are assigning responsibilities is aware of their new duties). Set yourself (and your team) up for success.
Get those auto-responders turned on
Getting yourself set up with email auto-responders and voicemail may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how sometimes people will miss these basics. By tending to the little things like this, you can ensure a guilty free break knowing that any external or internal needs are being effectively referred to the appropriate people for support.
Throw the phone away
If there was only one tip you were to follow, follow this one. I’m not going to lie, next time I go on vacation I am a little nervous about leaving my phone at home. That said, the habit of constantly checking my email and texts was the primary reason I was unable to unplug during the latter half of my vacation. The difference between that and my bike trip (where I wouldn’t check my phone for long stretches of time) was noticeable for my mental health. Unfortunately, with phone in hand, it’s almost impossible for many people to not find themselves sucked back into work. If you can’t completely get rid of your phone, delete your email app, toggle off the notifications and place it on silent. Whatever you do, find a way to cut yourself off from the daily bombardment of work tasks and to-dos.
Break up your routine
If you are off to a road trip down the coast or heading out camping, this will be a given. However, if you are planning on a staycation you may need to be more intentional about your “vacation routine”. Friend and Potentiality colleague Godfrey von Nostitz-Tait recommends starting each day with a mindfulness activity – be it sport, a short meditation or a walk that you might not otherwise take – use the time thoughtfully and in a way that allows you to detach from the normal pace of your vacation.
Leave yourself a buffer
It can be tempting to book your trip to bring you home the night of the last day of your vacation. Unsurprisingly, that’s not really setting yourself up for success. Building in some buffer time – both at the start and end – of vacation, can help you make a smoother transition back into day-to-day work mode is a key move. It’ll give you time to get your head back into the game, stock up on groceries, do laundry and get all that little stuff out of the way that – if you neglect – will turn Monday morning into a nightmare on Elm Street.