FIRST – YES you can go on vacation. You have worked hard for many years, and not only do you deserve to take time off, you need to take off time, for you. Here is something a very experienced therapist, and business owner, Liane Wood, told me about self care: When I take time off for myself, it helps me be healthier; mentally and physically. “Instead of giving what’s left of me, I can give the best of me,” meaning, she is in the best space to help others and do the work that needs to get done. So, make sure you build vacation into your yearly business planning.
SECOND – What is vacation? Is vacation taking your computer and heading to the cottage, where you can easily take in some relaxing moments in-between calls? Or is vacation spending 2 weeks on a cruise, going on excursions every day, seeing the world outside your office, talking to people that don’t work for you, not checking mail or socials, and leaving your computer at home? Both of these could be considered vacation. They are two extremes of the vacation scale: From: Just location <- to -> All In
OK, so how do we get to go on vacation and what do we need to do before we make plans to go? Yes, you need to PLAN to go on vacation before you plan To Go on vacation!
Here are three things to think about that will allow you to create that PLAN.
1. Set Boundaries
This is a foundation of how you work, not a result of choosing to go on vacation.
There was a woman I met at a convention recently and she told a story about a female senior manager that would block her calendar for personal events. She would label the event ‘meeting’, so that others did not know she was taking personal time. What was happening was, she was modelling a ‘work-first’ behaviour that said to others, don’t go home, don’t do personal stuff, get the work done first. The woman from the convention shared that she had experienced this in her work place. She had worked in an old-world work environment that shunned people that left before the boss, or made any complaint about working overtime to be with family. Not a healthy work environment. What she learned from the female senior manager’s story was that if she had known that women were booking personal time in their calendar, she, and others, would have done the same, because it would have been seen as acceptable. Life along with work is healthier than not having any personal time at all and working hard to hide your personal life from others.
So, what does this have to do with boundaries? Your boundaries are your set agreement with yourself and those around you, letting them know what you are willing to do and what you are not willing to do and when. I remember a fairly famous influencer from the early 2010’s. He talked about not having any boundaries on social media and email when he started his business, and he would respond to people all times of day. When he realized how busy his business had become, he also realized he simply could not answer email at 2am, so he stopped. The problem was, people took his silence as a slight against them. They got frustrated and angry because he was not doing for them, what he had been doing for others for months or years. What he learned was, he needed to set boundaries for himself, so that others always knew what to expect from him.
This is why you need to set your boundaries now. For Example: Let people know you will be taking a week’s vacation a year, where you will be totally off-line, and several other personal travel days that you will have limited access. This way, they will know how to work around you, and will not be surprised in the future when you are gone. It also gives your people permission to set their own boundaries of vacation, personal time, and expected access, building a healthy culture that people want to be a part of.
Now that you have your vacation boundaries defined, it’s time to set aside the time.
2. Set Aside the Time
The first step is to commit to being on vacation. I usually do this at the beginning of the year, as this is the best time to find available cottages to rent in the summer, in Ontario. I like to be able to get something big enough that my grown kids, and their partners, can join us at the cottage, so I need to spend time figuring out where we will go, and research what is available. Of course, this only works if I actually know exactly which week(s) we will go for. It is impossible to look for a booking when you do not know the booking dates you hoped to find.
For those of you not booking a cottage, hotel, cruise, flight, or other transport/accommodations, you still need to block your calendar to ensure it is clear for that date and at least the day before and after. Calendaring it early in the year (or several months ahead of the vacation time) ensures you, and your team, work with the knowledge that you will be away from the office for a specific time. Events, programs, deadlines, etc., can be booked around this date. If you leave it too late, your time may be squished into a week of other events, that makes it harder for you to disconnect from work when you do go on vacation.
3. Prep Your People
When you get close to the time you will be gone, you need to prep your people, systems and automation, to respond in a way that does not require you. Of course, the more you have created a business that can Run Without You, the more likely it is that this step is easily implemented. People know they are the alternate to you answering questions, receiving invoices, etc. Your email auto-responder is set, and ideally you have listed a person to contact in the auto-response, when people need a person. Make plans to complete the work that must get done. Define what, and when, other work will be complete when you get back. Let clients know they are covered, and when their projects will be delivered. The key here is to assure people that they have not been abandoned by your absence.
What it Could Look Like
This past month I went on vacation for 12 days, plus a day to prep before and a day to recover; for a total of 14 days.
My autoresponder read:
No one texted me. Everyone said, “Hey, I saw you were in Italy. How did you enjoy that?” or “Did you have a great time?” There were no upset people because anyone who needed me knew who to turn to in my absence. My work still got done by my team and through automation and scheduling. I got to actually focus on the location and culture I was in, and the people I was vacationing with. I did this because I did not want to take my computer. I was not comfortable leaving it in the hotel rooms, while I was out. My sister, a GM for a small business, whom was on this trip with me, did bring a computer. This allowed her to help the new business owner with questions, of which there were 2 urgent issues during the trip. She was so happy she was able to fix it then, instead of having 2 weeks of issues to deal with when she got back. Our prep and boundaries had worked out well for both of us.
Of course there are many tasks, steps, and components to these three points above. Many requirements for your preparation and planning will be specific to your situation. The ultimate point I am making here is, don’t wait until you are ready to leave, prepare your vacation plans now, so your time off is actually a vacation for you, and not just an inconvenient place to do your work.
“This article is 100% original content – The articles you read in this newsletter are conceived and created by Barb Stuhlemmer, not by AI.”
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