How I Take Vacation and Don't Feel Guilty About Work

 

Nicholas Postigilion | Pexels

Today I'm going on vacation. We're not going on an elaborate tour of a foreign land, we're not taking an airliner to a beautiful resort and we're not taking a cruise. We're going on a road trip across several states to see a family member and to relax in a nice hotel where the kids can swim and we can eat room service and just chill out away from home and work.

I used to struggle with these types of trips or really any vacation. I'd feel guilty about taking time off from work. Was I letting my peers and team down? Was there a critical business that I wasn't attending to? How will I look to those that I support if I don't respond to emails or phone calls? 

That was an awful way to take time off, because you weren't really taking time off, just slowing down your work schedule a bit. We'd be at a nice resort or a family dinner and I'd be trying to respond to emails, texts, or slack messages. My family would be mad at me and I'd be mad at myself. I knew that something had to be done.

I thought through how to go on vacation and what it would look like for me not to be involved in the operations of the business. How could I step away for a short time without creating a burden on the teams I work with. Thinking through different things that needed to be done I was able to come up with several strategies that I use to make sure I can go on vacation and not feel guilty about leaving work behind.

How I Take Vacation and Don't Feel Guilty About Work

I've earned it

The first thing I had to realize was that I've earned my vacation. Vacation is part of the benefits of the work I do with my organization. I put in the time and hours and in exchange, I get several benefits such as pay and compensation, retirement benefits, and of course time off. This isn't something I should feel guilty about having, it's something that the company and I agreed upon as part of my job. I do the work they give me the pay and benefits. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. I earned the vacation and I should take it. 

The world will go on

I had to realize that the very worst thing that can happen if I completely failed to prepare for vacation is that the business would still go on. Everyone else will still show up to work, their projects will continue to progress and customers will continue to get taken care of. My temporary absence will not sink the ship. If there is something I'm responsible for that I don't plan ahead for, a peer or my supervisor will pick up the slack at the moment.

I can feel better if I prepare

I can, however, prepare for my vacation. I do that every time I take time off of work now. I begin my prep a long time in advance. At the beginning of each year, I think about the vacations I might take and get them on the calendar. The sooner the better. In January or February, I'm scheduling time off in May, June, July, and even December. There is no surprise to me or anyone I work with when my PTO rolls around and my peers can more effectively plan their time off without having to worry about looking at the same time as I did.

Two weeks out

I start to really prepare about two weeks out from taking a trip. I look at my calendar and projects and start to think about what I can wind down and complete before taking the time off. I also look at future projects and think about what I can push to start until I get back from work. If there's anything I can't push or complete, I'll let all of the stakeholders know that I'll be out and what the timelines will look like. That way there are no surprises about a delay in responses.

Set expectations

I like to identify who is available in my absence. If I've done everything correctly, there should hopefully be nothing for a point of contact to do. Still, I will work with a colleague who can handle any emergency requests and get their permission to add them as my out of office. This way there is someone who can handle a 1 off urgent request. One other thing that we do, especially as we've worked in a more remote environment is to set up slack channels where our internal customers can go and ask questions or request support. All of my peers are in this channel and will respond to any request, so If I'm out the normal process should continue with no interruptions.

Last-minute reminder

Either the day before or the morning of my time off, I like to send a quick note to the folks I work with and support letting them know I'll be out of the office. I remind them of when I'll be back and also of what the alternate support paths will look like for the time I'm out. If there are any important projects I'll point them to someone who can answer questions on them. I also hop into my email and set an out of office response letting folks know that I'll be out and where they can go for support. That message looks like this.

Hi!

Thank you for your message. I am currently unavailable.

I will read and reply to your message when I return to the office next week. If you have an urgent request, please reach out to my point of contact in our Slack channel and one of my peers will be able to assist you.

Thanks,

Nick

Simple, straightforward, to the point, and no apologies about taking time off.

Check out

No, not from a hotel, but from work. I've set everything up. I don't have any pressing work to do. My peers are aware I'll be out. All of my projects are handed off. Folks know where to go while I'm out. I do not have anything to sweat or worry about. I can now take time off and disconnect from work. I go into my phone and set my calls to do not disturb except for my favorites. I turn notifications for Slack and Email off. I instead focus on my family and myself. We leave, we enjoy our time together and we come back more relaxed and happy than when we left.

That's how I take a vacation now. I didn't always, but I'm glad I have an effective strategy. What is it like for you to take time off? Do you stress or are you able to disconnect? I want to hear about it! Tell me below or contact me!