Vacation Time:
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Vacations: The very word stirs a whirlwind of emotions across the workplace.
You happily daydream about getting away, doing something fun, hanging
out with the family. Then stressful reality hits. Someone has to cover for you
while you’re away. The dreaded “What if …?” situations pry into your vacation
fantasies. What if that demanding client calls? What if my coworker forgets
about that deadline? What if my supervisor calls?
Vacations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. A little planning can help you avoid
the emotional chuck wagon. Vacations, after all, are supposed to be refreshing.
THE GOOD
VACATION PLANNING You’ve got your itinerary. Get ready to roll.
WEEK BEFORE:
PRIORITIZE:
Contact clients; let them
know your plans, see
if they need anything
before you go.
Do what you can before
you go, but know you
won’t get it all done.
NOTES TO COWORKERS:
MAKE A CHECKLIST:
List outstanding workloads,
who is filling in for you
and where the files are.
SET UP AUTOREPLY
(email and voice mail):
Note what you need to
do when you get back.
Disclose when you’ll be
back and who to contact
while you’re gone.
CLEAN UP YOUR DESK.
THE BAD
TECH RULES:
TECH RULES 2:
TRUST AND EMPOWER:
Do you check email? Voice
mail? How often? Set
rules and stick to them
(as much as possible).
Messages will pile up while
you’re gone. They’ll be
there when you get back.
Try not to think about it.
This can be especially
difficult for some. You can’t
do it all, you can’t always
be there, regardless of what
you’d like to think.
COWORKERS:
COWORKERS 2:
Who is doing what
parts of your job? Work
with them before you
go. They’ll be fine.
Remember, it’ll be your
turn to fill in soon.
Do unto others …
THE UGLY
BACK AT WORK, TAKE A DEEP BREATH. PACE YOURSELF.
TRIAGE:
PURGE:
Set aside the morning to catch up. Check
voice mail and email. Check in with
coworkers to see what you missed.
Notice those subject lines with “Re:
(subject)”? Skim messages from the newest
to oldest, deleting the older ones. That way,
you don’t spend time re-reading chains of
communication or respond prematurely.
MEETINGS:
BACK TO THE GRIND:
Put off until your second
day back, if possible.
It takes a few days, but you’ll soon be
back on schedule. Before long, you’ll
be ready for your next vacation.