Ready for a Real Vacation?

It's been a productive year of early mornings,
lengthy commutes, and long, focused sessions at the office.
Are
you looking forward to a wonderful two weeks of doing as you please,
with no more pressing decision to make than what to order for
dinner?

So fast forward to vacation time: Imagine you're sitting on your
towel-sized rectangle of real estate on the beach, surrounded
by a swarm of other holiday-makers. Not much different, it dawns
on you, than the cubicle you occupy at work. Suddenly, the ringing
of your cell phone cuts through the crowd's din. It's someone
from work, calling with "urgent" business that you can't do anything
about.

If this scenario fills you with horror, how do you go about taking
a real vacation this year? Well the truth is, it takes a good
deal of planning and preparation; And some planning and preparation now will be a great investment!
Plan for the Trip
Do you relish the idea of leaving the office
for your vacation and simply taking off into the sunset? Completely
spontaneous; minimal baggage; no fixed plans. Sounds great, if
time is no object, or you are traveling alone.
The chances are, your vacation will have constraints.
You probably need to fix the dates, and coordinate with other
people. If you have school age kids, you need to fit in with school
vacations. Where will you go and what will you do? You'll have
numerous factors and needs to consider: Will it be active or relaxing?
Beach or mountains? Will it be fun for everyone involved? And
then, of course, there's the budget to think about too.
Leaving your vacation plans to the last minute sometimes can save
you money – but it can also lead to an unwise choices that fall
short of your ideal vacation. Whether you're booking ahead or at
the last minutes, it's always a good idea to thoroughly consider
your vacation needs, and it's fun to do so with the other people
involved.
DIY or Professional Help?
The chances are, like millions of other people, you'll use the
internet for vacation research. And you may book flights, hotels
and countless other vacation arrangement at the click of a button.
But don't underestimate the time it will take you to find
information, make bookings, print the paperwork and so on.
If your vacation plans are anything but simple, it's worth
considering using a travel agent. Yes, they still exist, and
finding an agent who's expert on your destination or type of
vacation could be just the ticket to get your plans off to a
smooth start.
Relaxing or Refreshing?
For many of us, vacation is the time to unwind,
rest and do very little. For others, it's the time to explore
or to experience something new. If you aim to de-stress on vacation,
it's important to make sure your vacation plans can deliver.
For some people, a week on the beach is a great
de-stressor – for others it just creates time to dwell on the
worries of work. For some, a long journey on vacation helps physically
'get away from it all', whilst for others traveling creates major
stresses of its own.

There's a lot of truth in the saying a change is as good as a
rest. But do make sure your vacation is going to be a change for
the better for you, so that you come back relaxed or refreshed and
ready to go.
Plan for Time Away. And for Your Return.
Just as soon as you know when you're taking
your vacation, get the date your diary, write it on the year planner,
and make sure everyone you work with knows it too.
Now look at your regular schedule and appointments before and
after the vacation, and work out what needs to be done. Your aim is
to be ready to leave the office – and return to it – without
creating stress or chaos for yourself, or those around you.
When you're planning time away for the office,
you need to consider exactly how the work you normally do will
get done. There are three options: do it before you go, do it
when you get back, or get someone else to do it. Even though the
most attractive-sounding option is perhaps to get someone else
to do it – don't forget that that, too, will take preparation
and effort to arrange. Whichever option is right for each of the
various tasks that make up your role, you need to plan and give
clear instructions to everyone else involved. Here are some tips
for this all-important planning:

Identify what can be delegated ,
and plan sufficient time to prepare and handover to the people
you're delegating to – consider the resources and information
they'll need, and what they'll do if things don't go quite to
plan.
Schedule tasks you can do before you go –
block out the time, so that you can cope with the extra work
before you go.
Leave some extra contingency time in your schedule just before
you go, so that you can cope with over-runs or last minute crises,
and still get away when you need to.
Schedule catch-up tasks for your return –
and make sure you block in some more contingency time for unplanned
tasks that will inevitably arise, as well as extra time to deal
with the backlog of email and paperwork.
Make sure your boss and colleagues – and
customers, if appropriate – know how to solve problems in your
absence, for example, where to find important documents and
so on. That way they'll know what to expect when you're away,
and will be less likely to pick up the phone to disturb you
in your country retreat.
Set up your out of office message on email and phone to provide details of exactly how to get help in your absence.

As well as work related matters, plan ahead for things at home.
Who's looking after the pets, or watering your garden? Do you need someone to look in on
your home? When will you do the shopping on your return? The
better the preparation, the smoother your vacation will go, and
the longer lasting will be the effects of your relaxing and
refreshing break.