Vacation season is quickly approaching, which made us wonder how many leaders experience a great vacation. That may sound like an outrageous question, but a 2022 survey of 2,000 adults conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Club Wyndham suggests it’s a good one. In that survey, nearly 2/3 of respondents admitted they feel too much pressure on their vacation to enjoy it, and almost a quarter of respondents shared they hadn’t truly relaxed on their getaway in two years or longer. We know time off is supposed to renew us (not create more stress), so how do we break those cycles and enjoy our vacation? We’re offering three strategies that we think may help.
Begin with the End in Mind
What’s your desired outcome for your vacation? Are you chasing complete relaxation with a loved one, like David was during his recent vacation with his wife? Are you looking for some adventure, like Becky will be in early June as she embarks on a trip with her family and best friend? When we begin with the end in mind, we can set up strategies that help us chase that goal. For instance, David’s vacation included lying by the pool, getting up to eat some food, and rinse and repeat for a week. For our adventure seeker Becky, that would not hit the mark, which is why she’ll be exploring an entire country (albeit a small one) during her upcoming vacation. There’s no right answer to the desired outcome question, but to have a great vacation, we need an answer, or we may find ourselves feeling frustrated, which is the opposite of the renewal we’re seeking from our time off.
Know Your Limits
Have you ever committed to not checking email during vacation only to find yourself obsessed with what could be in your inbox? While creating a “no-fly zone” for work during our vacations is admirable, that approach can create stress for some of us – again, not the impact we’re looking for. What may be more helpful is knowing that you’ll want to stay in touch but creating boundaries about when and how long you’ll connect. For instance, Becky usually checks email once a day while on vacation, and that’s typically in the morning for the approximate 20 minutes it takes for her husband to get ready for the day. On the other hand, while on vacation, David checked in every other day in the early evening as his wife got ready for dinner. The key is to know whether fully disconnecting will work for you and, if it won’t, create realistic boundaries that ease your mind while letting you be fully present with the people and experiences your vacation offers.
Let Your Team Help
Leaders need a break, too, and our teams know it, which is why we should let them help us vacation well. A simple act such as putting an auto-reply on your email that explains you are out of the office and invites the sender to reach out to a team member is a great start. You may even try to anticipate touch points that could arise during your vacation and share those with the designated contact, so they feel empowered to address those needs. If a project needs to be continued during your absence, consider asking a team member to take on the related tasks. As a leader, it’s tempting to say, “they’re too busy themselves,” and not ask for help from our team, but as we’ve learned from Aaron, development specialist at Ethos, sometimes asking a team member to support our load is a great way to show we value them and that they bring value to us.
What’s Next? As you anticipate vacation season, which one of these strategies will be most helpful in your quest for a great vacation?
