How to Plan Vacations Without Disrupting Work

🤬 “My boss never takes a vacation, so I obviously cannot!” 🤬 “If I take PTO, I’ll just have to do double-time, so why bother?” 🤬 “It looks good to the boss if I’m available 24/7.” Heard these before? ⬇️ As some of you are preparing to take time off for the holidays, and in an era in which we’re seeing companies attempting to offer four-day workweeks and unlimited paid time off, without a structure in place, burnout will continue to soar. I challenge you to take a different approach to your time off. Don’t expect your manager or human resources department to micromanage how much PTO you have remaining. Set your boundaries and take your earned time off! Here are some actionable tips on how to use your earned time off. ✅ Create your proactive system. In my career, I used a 6-3-1 approach. I would take a week off every six months, every three months, I’d take a long weekend, and every month I’d take a half day or full day. Setting this in my calendar gave me the confidence to use my time off and set boundaries with my colleagues, managers, and clients. Design a system that works for you. ✅ Set yourself up for a stress-free time off. At least one to two weeks before your vacation, create a pre-vacation priorities plan. The process is as simple as getting out a piece of paper and sorting your priorities into four categories: 1️⃣ Pre-vacation priorities: what must be done before you leave, and how are you making time for these priorities?  2️⃣ Delegate: what project(s) will continue while you’re away, who is your proxy, and do they know what they need to execute? 3️⃣ Post-vacation priorities: what are your work priorities when you return, and when will you work on those priorities? 4️⃣ Delete: what is NOT a valuable use of your time or anyone else’s time? Additional tips before you leave on vacation: ✅ Block out at least 1-2 hours in your calendar for your first day back. This time is for you to review your email inbox and get caught up before diving into meetings and other activities. ✅ Build in a recovery day. If you’re traveling, the stress of doing so on a Sunday before returning to work on Monday won’t make you feel refreshed. Consider leaving for home 48-72 hours before you return to work. ✅ Ask your team to send you a “while you were away” email. I always appreciated a “what you missed” email when my teams shared immediate highlights, issues and questions I should start reviewing upon my return. And I worked with my teams to return this in kind when my colleagues were away. This approach will empower you to take the time off you deserve guilt- and stress-free. Now, get planning and enjoy your well-deserved vacation! #ChasingTheSun #Holiday #WellBeing

🏢 Architects: Hello workaholics, do we need to learn to vacation better? I get it, we feel like we're constantly overworked, underpaid, and not valued enough by our clients. It's no wonder we struggle to leave everything behind and truly switch off during a vacation. In a field where creativity meets relentless deadlines, we often find ourselves glued to our devices, answering emails, reviewing designs, and attending virtual meetings, even when we're supposed to be relaxing. This constant hustle leaves us exhausted and makes it harder to fully recoup during our time off. When "nose to the grindstone" is consistently your modus operatum, it makes it that much harder to step away from the work. But what if we could change that? What if we learned to vacation better? Here are 5 recommendations to set up operations so you can take a worry-free vacation: 1️⃣ Delegate Responsibilities: Ensure your team knows their roles and can handle tasks in your absence. Empower them to make decisions. 2️⃣ Set Clear Priorities: Outline key projects and deadlines, and communicate them to your team well in advance. 3️⃣ Automate Processes: Use project management tools to automate routine tasks and keep everything on track. 4️⃣ Designate a Point Person: Appoint a trusted team member to be the main contact for any urgent matters. 5️⃣ Establish a Communication Plan: Set expectations for communication while you're away. Limit check-ins to critical issues only. For solo practitioners (but also everyone) 1️⃣ Notify Clients in Advance: Inform your clients about your planned absence and ensure all urgent matters are addressed before you leave. 2️⃣ Set Proper Client Boundaries: Clearly communicate your availability and response times. Let clients know that you will be unavailable during your vacation and provide an alternative contact if necessary. It's time to prioritize our well-being. Taking a real break doesn't just recharge our batteries; it also boosts our creativity and productivity in the long run. So, let's learn to truly disconnect, enjoy the present, and return to work feeling refreshed and more valued. Next time you plan a vacation, commit to a full digital detox. Your mind, body, and creativity will thank you! #ArchitectureLife #WorkLifeBalance #DigitalDetox #MentalHealthMatters #ArchitectsOnVacation _____________________ Hi, 👋🏻 I'm Evelyn Lee, FAIA | NOMA I've been on the client side for over a decade and have spent the last five years in tech, helping create exceptional employee experiences while growing the business. Now, I help architects: ⇒ Think Differently ⇒ Increase Productivity ⇒ Create Opportunities

#ManagerMonday Tip: "Too busy for vacation." Let's talk about vacations! No seriously, let's talk about them more at work - and proactively, rather than begrudgingly approving requests. Taking time off is valuable for employee well-being and productivity (I'll add a link in the comments). As a manager, "leadership" means supporting your team members in taking those well-deserved breaks. How can you do that? - Lead by Example: Show your team that it's not just okay, but important, to take time off by prioritizing your own vacations and communicating about them openly. - Plan Ahead: Encourage your team to plan their vacations in advance so that their work can be delegated or scheduled accordingly to get it done without requiring a "working vacation." - Set Clear Expectations: Clearly communicate expectations regarding work coverage and availability during vacations - ideally, that's "not at all." You can use out-of-office messages and processes to help team members come back from vacation without having a pile of emails waiting for them, or trying to figure out what's been handled. - Cross-Training: Ensure that there are plans in place by cross-training those team members to handle each other's responsibilities while someone is away (so time off isn't "off-ish"). - Celebrate Time Off: Acknowledge and celebrate team members' vacations to show that you appreciate their hard work and value their well-being. If these steps sound simple and common, far from it. Ask your team members if they've had managers who have supported their taking time off. My guess? "Um, pretty much the opposite." That's why when you do support them, you make a difference for your team members - and their family and friends. #managertips #vacation #timeoff #monday

If you run a business or manage a team and plan to take a vacation this year, you’re going to want to read this 🏖️ January is usually the time I start thinking (daydreaming) about my vacations for the year. Then, I start planning it. I don’t mean itineraries and flights. I mean at work. One of the hardest parts of starting and growing a business is that you’ve had your hands in just about every aspect of the business at one point or another. Even if you’ve passed it on, you still have a finger on the pulse. ...which makes it feel like if you leave, even for just one week, the entire company might come crashing down. That’s not going to work for me. So, I plan. Here’s my 5-step plan to get ready for vacation: 👉 Step 1: Delegate Write out everything you do and separate it into 3 categories: “I don’t need to do this,” “I can do this, but so can someone else” and “I am uniquely qualified for this task.” Anything that doesn’t appear in the last column, delegate to your team. 👉 Step 2: Actually trust your team to do it Delegation is easier said than done. When I started this, I transitioned tasks to my team, and when they had a firm grasp I told them we were going to do a weeklong trial. Do not contact me unless the business is physically burning down. Guess what? It didn’t. 👉 Step 3: Delegate again For the time you’re away, delegate some of the tasks you have left to team members you trust, or decide they can wait until you get back. There’s nothing relaxing about doing 2 weeks of work ahead of time to prepare, and then another 2 weeks when you get back to catch up. 👉 Step 4: Set expectations Tell your team and any clients that need to know that you’re going away. If they don’t hear from you during that time, but for some reason they still expect to, that’s on them. 👉 Step 5: Pack sunscreen Did I miss anything? 👇