From a macro level when you’re planning your workload be realistic about what you can manage. Know that you will have sick days and vacation days and holidays. When you’re planning your time off plan your schedule to reduce as much as possible beforehand.Last weekend was a long weekend for many. I mean the 4th on a Tuesday just asks for a Monday off. But then for those who went back to work on Wednesday the week was probably a little rough. It was for me.
It makes me think of this tweet I see cropping up repeatedly.
And while this is partly funny it’s also actually pretty true. And it’s not just true for weekends. It’s true for vacations as well. How many of us make ourselves more exhausted planning for a vacation, go go go on our time off, and then experience overwhelm on reentry?
So not to overuse the term but we do need to be realistic about what sort of balance we need.
From a macro level when you’re planning your workload be realistic about what you can manage. Know that you will have sick days and vacation days and holidays. When you’re planning your time off plan your schedule to reduce as much as possible beforehand.
If it’s vacation time get some templatized docs for the team for any coverage or emergency info. For weekends, week planning on Fridays can help to unplug knowing you’ve covered off on the week and are prepared for Monday am.
I truly believe that people need time to really be disconnected so for me that means work is a rare exception on vacations. No work for at least one day on the weekend. And at least some weekends totally off. For many providing clear instructions on how people can contact you in case of an emergency helps give peace of mind that if there were a need to contact you that people could.
If you’re going out of town plan to come back a little early to reacclimate. The farther and longer you go the more you’ll need. Jetlag anyone? And before you leave schedule time to meet with your coverage for the morning you’re back so you’re not diving in without the latest. And as possible block off some downtime to triage email and other catch up.
Vacations and being away from work can also be a great moment of perspective. When we’re rested we can respond to things instead of just reacting. Well, remember that feeling. And figure out how you can incorporate the things you need to keep a little bit of your vacation self alive.
Overall it would be great if every weekend or vacation brought you back totally refreshed. But let’s be realistic sometimes you’re doing things that are exhausting. Be intentional where you can so that you’re weaving moments of energy-gaining activities but also plan for what you’ll need. If it’s a busy time off can you plan for the next weekend to do nothing? Maybe even stay in bed like we’ve got some Victorian wasting disease.
Do you feel like you’ve got some balance over the summer?
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