Preparing for Annual Leave. Orla’s favourite Dilemma
Last week, I was super excited as I had a trip to Paris planned for my birthday. As much as I had been looking forward to this trip for a really long time, I found that even preparing to take one day off felt stressful. I wanted to chat about this in this weeks Newsletter to see if it resonates with any of you. These are the following challenges I faced..
How much preparation should I do?
You have to be realistic when it comes to preparing for annual leave. Will I write an extensive handover? Will I just leave that piece of work until next week and hope it’s all ok? What I have learned is that sometimes you can over prepare. I didn’t want to waste a single moment in preparation for my day off, therefore wasting time writing a handover or trying to explain my work to someone else seemed unproductive. I believe that the most effective approach is to communicate clearly with your team and clients. Ask yourself the following question. Do I feel in control of my work? If the answer is yes, then great. If no, and you are genuinely concerned about major pieces of work falling through the cracks then speak to your colleagues about this. Explain that this is the amount of time you have left and be clear about what is urgent and outstanding. That way, you have flagged the priorities and your concerns to others so that they are on everyones radar.
2. When do I start saying no?
You are one day out from your day off and someone comes to you and says ‘ can you do ‘X’ ‘ . Before jumping up to say yes, have a sensible think about how much time you have to carry out this piece of work. Yes, you may be able to cram it all in, but are you going to do it properly? In these moments, I try and ask myself the following, when is the deadline? Is there a possibility of a deadline extension? And would this be done better if I left it until after my break. Usually, the person asking you to do the work would prefer for you to do it properly rather than rush it into the limited time that you have. Use the word no effectively and make sure that you don’t burnout just trying to reach your day off.
3. Should I open my emails on my annual leave?
This is a question I ask myself every single time I go away on a holiday. Shamefully, I started looking at my emails in a nightclub in Ibiza last summer and my friends all thought I was losing my mind. However, I wasn’t, this is in fact just an incredibly bad habit. Work habits are going to creep into your personal life, there is literally no denying that. I know that some people feel a peace of mind when they check their emails when they are on a break to make sure nothing is on fire. However, I would encourage everyone, including myself to try and disconnect 100% , so that you can return to work feeling refreshed and clear minded.
To conclude, preparing for annual leave is incredibly difficult and the challenges will vary every time you go on a break. We must try and consciously develop ways of ensuring that we use our annual leave for its purpose and that is to rest and get away from the office. I’m certainly not a professional when it comes to leaving my desk, but i’m improving every time!
I thought I would include some imagery from Paris to show you all - I did make it in the end and I had an amazing time. The TASK Tote also made it’s Paris Debut!
Orla x
The TASK Times
