What’s the purpose of a vacation if you can’t really get away? Not in the physical sense, of course. Each of us can drive off, board a plane and within hours be in another city, state or even halfway around the world.
I’m talking about mentally letting go of our “work lives”, from which we so desperately need a break, and tuning in to this thing called a vacation.
In the “olden days” of BB – Before Blackberry, for those of us who remember such a time – we knew how to vacation. We had to! There were no smart phones to keep us posted of every office development or tempt us with daily happenings on social media.
Heck, at the companies I worked for even email or the internet was not widely used until the mid-to-late ‘90’s. Many of us did not even have laptops unless you worked in IT. Being unplugged was the norm.
Now I’m amused by people I see on vacation who are almost proud of trying to stay connected to work. It’s as if they believe they are so important they must check-in with work or read their email at least once a day.
Ouch; did I touch a nerve?
I’ve heard the arguments for staying connected and have even bought into them myself on occasion.
- “At least I know what’s going on before I get home.”
- “This way my inbox is not so full when I return.”
- Or how about, “I’m the manager/director/boss; I’m needed.”
My BS meter registers “high” when I hear such comments.
Truth is, there will always be a problem at the office and there will always be “one more email.” Staying connected does nothing except provide a false sense of security, steals time from your loved ones, and may cause you to tense up. It robs you of the reason you took a vacation in the first place.
I had a very wise boss once tell me, “There is nothing that can go wrong while you’re gone that we can’t fix when you get back.” (Remember this, Jodi?)
At the time I was leaving for a two-week vacation out of the country, in the “olden days” without cell phones, email or internet. I was so nervous about leaving I was almost physically ill. I simply knew a catastrophe would occur in my absence; the business would go to hell in a hand-basket; I would be fired for poor results; or they would move my office to the basement.
You know what? The world kept spinning; the business survived; the building and my office were still in-tact. My assistant handled everything well. I had the trip of a lifetime. And I returned more refreshed than ever.
That’s when I learned the value of a vacation; of unplugging and letting go.
So how do you unplug, let go of work, and relax? Here are 4 ways to prepare yourself and the office for your vacation:
Delegate Wisely
Choose a point person for your boss to contact in your absence. Outline your expectations clearly – in writing – for your point person and each member of the team. Review with them a couple days prior to leaving. Allow each person time to ask questions and make sure everyone understands what you expect to see upon your return. Provide a list of people for your team to contact in case they have questions.
Remember, this is part of being a business person. They – and you – need to learn how to handle shifts in responsibility. After all what would happen, God forbid, if you were suddenly hospitalized without warning? A vacation should be a piece of cake in comparison.
Tie up loose ends
You know the saying, “It takes a week of overtime to prepare for vacation and a week of overtime to recover.” Do what it takes to tie-up loose ends so you feel good about leaving the office for a week. Trust me; it’s worth it.
Communicate – Boss, Designated Colleague and Clients
This should go without saying: Communicate with key people at least one or two weeks ahead of time telling them you will be out of the office. People tend to be more understanding if they have fair warning, especially clients.
Share your delegation plans with your boss, as well as a designated colleague. Ask your colleague to touch base with your team once or twice during your absence to see if they need assistance.
The Email Issue
Hopefully a key player on your team is “cc’d” on most of your emails already. If not, tell your clients and others to do so while you are on vacation and include this information in your Out of Office message. Tell your team you expect to be briefed on the top priorities – including any urgent emails – during a morning meeting your first day back.
And if you really want to, download your emails to scan on the plane ride home.
I’m not saying it’s always easy to unplug and let go. My boss at the time practiced what she preached which made it easier for us to do the same.
Here’s how I look at this situation: If I’m the ONLY PERSON at the company who can solve problems, we have a much bigger issue to worry about. Not to mention if that’s the case, then my name had better be on the front door.
Prepare, delegate, communicate and unplug. You deserve a vacation from the office and your team deserves the chance to manage the business on their own.
Like Tami, I was terminated once (By my best friend, BTW – he is now on the board of the agency I lead, so I got him back – ha!), but you don’t have to be unemployed to learn something from this book. 
