How to Plan a Working Vacation

In the United States, there is no federal or state minimum annual leave law that requires employers to provide paid or unpaid vacation days. In a culture that often prioritizes work over family and relaxation time, it’s no wonder that significant numbers of Americans do not take all of their allotted vacation days, even if they only get a week! If you’re someone who feels as if you can’t take time away from a demanding job, maybe it’s time to think about a working vacation.

Working Vacation (noun): Time away from your typical work space in which you plan to both take some time to relax and to work remotely on a more limited basis. A balancing act that requires the expertise of tightrope walker, but is possible!

How to Plan a Working Vacation:

1. Figure out the best time vacation. Your work may have seasonal changes that make it easier to take time off at one point or another. If not, start planning meetings and important deadlines on dates that will not interfere with your vacation. Once you have some dates in mind, stick with them! There will always be spontaneous fires you feel that only you can put out, but you deserve some time away.
   
2. Make a schedule for yourself. Know when you plan to work during the day, what time zone(s) you’ll be in, and when you’ll be available for work contact. Schedule some complete days off.
   
3. Be clear with everyone about your work expectations and boundaries. Let your coworkers know when you will be on the clock and if you will be responding to emails or phone calls outside of that time. Be explicitly clear about your work expectations with your family as well, to help reduce stress that comes from juggling work and family time on vacation. 
   
4. Know what you’ll need while working. Laptop, phone, earphones, and reliable WiFi are the basics. There’s nothing worse than scrambling to find a connection before an important video call, so know where you will be working and update your phone plan if necessary.
   
5. Be honest with yourself and others. Working vacations don’t work if you aren’t committed to making them work. If you have scheduled time away from your email, stick as close as possible to that plan. If you know that you won’t be able to put the phone or laptop down, communicate that to the people you’re traveling with or ask them to help you disconnect.
   

I won’t lie to you: working vacations are hard. If it’s difficult to balance work and personal life at home, it can be even more challenging on vacation. It is possible though, and with thorough planning, things can get even smoother. When you’re ready to get some distance from work without disconnecting entirely, contact me.