Summer is here, and that means it’s time for my annual “Vacation Do’s and Don’ts.”
Over the years, this piece about how to best spend your vacation has been one of my most popular—and controversial—Points. A couple of my clients have told me I’m absolutely wrong to encourage this sort of drastic distancing yourself from the office, while lots of others have thanked me for suggesting it. I leave that opinion up to you—remember, it is your vacation.
A study by INC. Data Bank found that 17% of small-business owners and managers say they work frequently while on vacation. Those who say they work a lot during vacation: 31%
That’s not my idea of a vacation! But I find those numbers interesting. (We’ll be sending out our own short survey about vacation habits tomorrow. I hope you’ll look for it.)
Keeping in mind our three previous Points, I want to remind you that vacation should be free of the swarm of time-wasting, day-to-day activities that distract you from your goals. When you continue to do things like take client calls, check email and voicemail and send texts to the office, you might as well help “the swarm” pack its own bag and join you.
Remember: When you “check in with the office” you are checking out of your vacation. And you’re leaving the door wide open for the swarm to swarm in. At the same time, you’re closing the door on family fun and remarkable times with friends. You’re shutting out lazy-day opportunities to come up with good ideas, create lasting memories and recharge your batteries.
To help you get the most out of your next vacation (and keep the swarm from bugging you), I offer these cautionary Don’ts followed by some worthwhile Do’s.
Seven Vacation Dont’s
- Don’t check voicemail or email while you’re away. Let people know you will be gone and therefore unavailable.
- Don’t “check in” with the office to see how things are going. If you do, expect to encounter the swarm.
- Don’t take client files with you on vacation. (Not paper files or electronic ones with info about existing clients or new relationships.) Leave it all behind.
- Don’t take your work iPad or laptop with client or employee information on it. (I take my iPad, but I only use it for the Internet and personal emails. I coach people to have two email accounts so they can keep work separate from the rest of their lives.)
- Don’t encourage clients to call you unless their problem is truly an emergency. This is a good opportunity to let the client know that the organization is bigger than just you and that you do have value-add other than yourself.
- Don’t become the project manager if there is a problem that requires your input. Understand the problem, give instructions and ask for a status report to be left as a message—voice or text or email—later. If a problem was big enough to bubble up to you, unfortunately, you probably will need to stay on it. But you don’t have to do the work.
- Don’t mentally move the office to your vacation destination. Don’t let the swarm follow you just when you need to get away! If you use your smart phone, iPad or laptop like you do at work, you have just relocated your office.
Seven Vacation Do’s
- Do contact your “core” clients and valued relationships the week before leaving for vacation to let them know you will be out of the office. Make sure they have an alternate contact if they need help, and see if there is anything you can do for them before you go out of town.
- Do activate your “Out of the Office” email message. Offer alternative contacts, if appropriate, and include the dates you will be out of the office and when you will be returning to work.
- Do update your voicemail message, and include the same information that you gave on your “Out of the Office” email message.
- Do give instructions to your backup, administrative person or “temp” on how to handle your calls. Show them any and all electronic and printed files they might need. Make sure they know to call you only on critical issues and opportunities. (This should be a very short list.)
- Do take a notepad or journal with you on vacation. Write down the ideas, dreams and solutions that will allow you to reach your goals—long-term and short-term. Be creative. For many people, this is the one time of the year when their head is clear of the minutiae of work. If you don’t write down good ideas when they occur to you, you just might lose them. (I like to keep a journal while on vacation. This way I can really consider and appreciate the time I’m spending with my family.)
- Do reflect on where you stand in regard to your business and out-of-the-office goals. Your swarm-less vacation time is the perfect time to assess your progress and, if necessary, tweak your strategy so you can return home renewed and recommitted.
- And finally, do relax and have fun with family and friends! This is your downtime; you’ve earned it! Making the most of it is an important way to be authentic (and kind) to yourself.
Corsini’s Point:
A joyful, peaceful, fun and memorable vacation requires a plan. Like anything worthwhile in life, it calls for laying a foundation for success. As you plan and prepare for your summer trip, be sure to create boundaries back at the office so you can have a relaxed time away. Don’t do a lot of the things you have trained yourself to do during the other 50 weeks of the year. Distance yourself from work before you even leave town. I know you can do it because you want to Do What You Do Better. Besides, your family is counting on you. Go have fun!
QUOTE
“A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you’ve been taking.”
— Earl Wilson