Many people are taking time off at this time of year so they can be with family and friends and recharge during the holidays. How many are actually not working though? Does it feel like you still have to check in even though you are on vacation? The point of the recharge time is to give yourself space to be away from it and not focus on work. One of my friends felt like the one way she could get away from work was to get on a cruise ship, so her work couldn’t reach her. This isn’t possible for everyone though.
Everyone should be able to take a vacation without checking in. I used to tell myself that I am going to disconnect from work and although the company would never tell me that I had to check in, I put that expectation on myself. I wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly. That was my own internal challenge that I was dealing with at that point in time. I knew that it wasn’t a good thing to do and I had to find a better way. What I learned is that the only way that you get to fully disconnect is to have good systems in place while you’re gone.
Create a plan of who will approve things in your absence, answer questions or attend meetings on your behalf. Share the plan with everyone, so they know that you are disconnecting and will not be reachable while you are out. They will need to work with whomever you have put in charge in your absence. This demonstrates that you have trust in your team and that you have things under control. It also gives your team visibility and an opportunity to step up to the plate to show what they can do. Put these systems in place, be clear that this is the process that people need to follow and they will do it. You can decide what constitutes an extreme emergency where they can call you if it is absolutely necessary, but that’s your decision to make.
You need to be able to step away from work and not have to worry about what’s happening. That’s the only way you get away from it and all the stress that goes with it. This is a time to slow down from all the busyness that you have going on and just be. Catch up on your sleep, read a book, do something as a family or watch a movie. Slow down and give yourself time to think and create. Think what you want to do and assess your priorities. Are you showing up as the person that you want to be or do you need to make a shift?
You can’t be creative when you fill your life up with so many other things. Don’t focus on the doing so much, just spend time slowing down and being instead. Do the things that you love and bring you joy. Be present with those that you spend time with and have real conversations.Take care of yourself and focus on being in the moment. You might find that you like it and want to do it more often, even when you aren’t on vacation!