5 Steps to Take a Much Needed Vacation Away from a Busy Job

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For many of us our work life is as busy as or even busier than our home life. We long for time away from our project load and work responsibilities, but we don’t know how to make it happen. And we certainly don’t want to return from our days off only to be buried under a mountain of missed work. So what are we to do?

 

Realize There May Never be a “Good” Time to Take a Vacation

 

A recent study conducted by the US Travel Association revealed that 40% of American workers turn in unused vacation days each year. This is a common problem that many workers face in today’s fast-paced work environments. And with many companies having a “use it or lose it” policy on vacation days, those unused days are often lost forever.

 

Unfortunately, many employees allow the weeks and months to slip by waiting for a “good” time to ask for some time off, but the good time never seems to come.

 

Below are five simple steps to help you improve your work life balance and be able to take some much needed time away from a busy job.

 

Step 1: Decide Now to Take a Vacation

 

Many conscientious employees enter every work year thinking, “I sure hope I get to take a vacation this year.” If you are in a super-busy work environment, “hoping” to take a vacation never works out, does it?

 

Step 1 of this process is to make a firm decision that you are definitely going to take a vacation this year and do what it takes to make it happen. Write “Take a fun, relaxing vacation” down on a piece of paper along with any other goals you’d like to achieve this year and post it somewhere you’ll see it every day. Use whatever words describe your ideal vacation so you get excited every time you read your goal.

 

Making this commitment to yourself will help you follow through on the other things you need to do to make sure you can step away from the office for a week or two. If a week or two away feels impossible to you, consider planning a series of long weekends spread throughout the year. Often it is easier to take one to three days off at a time instead of a whole week. Frequent smaller breaks are better than skipping vacation altogether.

Step 2: Make a List of Potential Objections from Your Boss

 

Too many hardworking employees give up vacation every year because they assume their boss isn’t open to the idea based on past interactions. To get past this problem, you first need to make a list of all of the potential reasons that your boss might not approve your vacation.

 

Possibilities include:

  • “We’re too busy.”
  • “No one else knows how to do your job.”
  • “What if we have an emergency?”
  • “We have too many important deadlines on your projects.”
  • “Who will cover your meetings for you?”

Step 3: Make a Plan to Address Each Potential Objection

 

Now that you’ve listed all of your boss’ potential objections, make a plan to address each objection. Here are some suggestions to address the issues listed above:

 

OBJECTION

PLAN

“We’re too busy”

Plan on taking your vacation at a slower time of year if necessary. For instance, if you work in a payroll department and paychecks are issued once a month, you may not want to plan to take off the week that the payroll needs to be prepared.

“No one else knows how to do your job”

Train co-workers on key elements of your job. If necessary, document procedures that only you know how to do and make them accessible to others. Offer to return the favor and learn elements of your co-workers’ jobs to make it easier for them to go on vacation as well.

“What if we have an emergency?”

Designate someone else on the project who can answer questions in your absence. If necessary, agree to be reachable by cell phone during a certain very limited number of hours each day. You can also agree to check emails once each day or once every other day. Only respond to those marked urgent.

“We have too many important deadlines on your projects”

Put together a written update in advance of leaving which shows that your projects are on schedule as well as assurance that no deadlines will be missed while you are away. Indicate key tasks that will be covered by your co-workers if needed.

“Who will cover your meetings for you?”

Ask co-workers for help here too. As was the case above, make sure you offer to return the favor and cover meetings for them during their vacations.

 

Step 4: Implement Your Plan Early & Often

 

Having a great plan is important; but if you wait until the week before you’re supposed to leave on vacation to start implementing it, your plan is unlikely to be successful.

 

When you decide on the dates for your vacation days, mark them on your calendar and share the dates with anyone who will be impacted by your absence. Then count back from the start of your vacation and schedule the following tasks.

 

Two to three months in advance of leaving, document any processes that you plan on delegating to co-workers. If necessary, also schedule time to train your co-workers on the processes.

 

Four to six weeks before leaving, work out project coverage, task coverage and meeting coverage with willing co-workers. Coordinate schedules with them if necessary so that you eliminate any concerns about too many people being on vacation at once.

 

Plan on talking to your boss at least a month in advance of your vacation. Doing so will allow you to present your plan for leaving and address any additional concerns she has that you may not have considered.

 

Enter the discussion with the intent to shift the conversation away from, “No, you can’t go,” to “What plans do we need to put in place for you to be comfortable with me taking vacation?”

 

If necessary, remind your boss that your vacation time is part of your overall compensation and you are entitled to use it. Having this kind of conversation with your boss may be intimidating at first; however, learning to stand up for yourself and set healthy personal boundaries for yourself will help you achieve the work life balance you desire.

 

Step 5: Make a Plan for Your Return

 

The week before leaving for your vacation, make a plan for your return. Instead of spending your first day back sharing vacation stories with your colleagues, schedule meetings with the co-workers who covered for you and plan on quickly getting caught up on all of your projects.

 

Also consider scheduling an hour of closed door focus time to answer important emails that were received during your days off.

 

When your boss sees that you are able to re-enter the work flow smoothly after a vacation she will be more likely to say yes to future time off.

 

Your Assignment

 

If you consistently have unused vacation days, make a conscious decision to use every single one of your days this year. Next, get out a pad of paper and a pencil, write down all of the potential objections your boss will have and then develop your action plan to address each and every one. Begin now to communicate about, document and plan for your absence.

 

Leave a comment below and let us know where you plan to go or what you plan to do while on vacation in 2015!

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