July 22nd 2024.
Have you ever found yourself desperately craving a vacation, but hesitating to leave behind the mountain of work that awaits you upon your return? You're definitely not alone in this struggle. Many people try to juggle work and relaxation, attempting to keep both in check while on vacation. However, more often than not, one of the two ends up taking over. Either you spend your whole vacation glued to your work emails and phone, defeating the purpose of a vacation, or you completely shut off from work and return to a pile of overwhelming tasks.
Dana Brownlee, a renowned keynote speaker, executive trainer, and founder of a national corporate consulting company called Professional Matters, has come up with a solution to this common dilemma. She suggests going into "95% unplugged" vacation mode, where you only dedicate a small portion of your time to work-related tasks. Here's her advice on how to make this work:
First and foremost, it's important to get your significant other on board with your plan. This may be challenging, but Brownlee suggests having an upfront conversation with them about what you need to do, how much time it will take, and when you will be doing it.
It's also crucial to know when to say no. Remember, the goal is to only dedicate 5% of your time to work while on vacation. If you find yourself itching to handle a task that can wait until you're back, resist the urge and focus on enjoying your time off.
To help you stick to your 5% plan, set a specific amount of time for "check-ins." This could be once a day or every other day, depending on your workload. And try to keep it to a minimum, or even less if possible.
Make use of family downtime to handle any necessary work tasks. This may mean adjusting your sleep schedule a bit, but it's worth the sacrifice to have quality time with your loved ones. And if you happen to have a moment of alone time, take advantage of it to get some work done.
To ensure you don't get too caught up in work, avoid bringing any devices that might tempt you to do so. The key is to not plan to do any work at all. Only allow yourself to handle urgent matters that are essential for your well-being and the smooth running of your work in your absence.
Lastly, know when to pull back. If your family starts to complain or you find yourself working more than the intended 5%, it's time to step back and refocus. After all, what's the point of a vacation if you're going to be working the whole time?
For more tips on achieving a healthy work-life balance, building a strong team, and maintaining professionalism, be sure to visit ProfessionalismMatters.com. And to learn how to protect your credit during vacation, check out our related content: "4 Ways To Protect Your Credit During Vacation."
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