Creating Boundaries Around Vacation Time

I just got back from a glorious family vacation and, as I have said to almost everyone I spoke with this week, I am REALLY good at shutting off and shutting down. 

When I am offline, I do not open my computer; I do not check my email; I do not go on LinkedIn. When I am offline, I am truly ‘out of the office’ and enjoying every moment of it.

While telling this to my candidates and clients all week I found myself saying, “I’m REALLY good at shutting off during my time off, but I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.”  

Of course, I said it jokingly. Still, since we live in a world where we are all constantly “on” with the world at our fingertips, there is some truth in feeling guilty when giving myself that much-needed time to recharge. 

9 out of 10 times in those conversations, the person I spoke with said, “That’s a great thing, I wish I could do that.” These comments made me realize that it is not as common to be able to truly shut off and shut down on vacation, which made me want to write this post. 

There are so many mental and physical benefits around taking time off, but to allow yourself to do that, you have to create boundaries around it. Here are some tips to do so:

1.) The preparation beforehand. As much as we want to just waltz out of the office or sign off the minute the clock strikes 5 on the day before we leave, it makes it mentally and emotionally so much easier if you did the prep work beforehand.  

• Let all your clients and the people you are working with know ahead of time, so they know well in advance you will be out of pocket during that time frame.  
• Prep the work needed for whoever you will do a hand-off to during your time off, or just for yourself to have an easy transition 1st day back. 
• And, of course, the motivation of time off that provides the extra push to get a little more done before you leave never hurts for the overachievers in the group. 😉 

2.) Set up an emergency contact.  If you are a solo-prenurer this gets a little difficult, but for those of you on a team of some sort take advantage of that. That’s what teamwork is for, to help each other. Sometimes if we are in the middle of a big close, or waiting for something important, I will even make an introduction to my teammate to respond until I can get to it. Knowing someone will be there if needed in a short period of time helps take some pressure off. 

3.) Create 1 hour of availability ONLY if needed.  If you work for yourself or any type of pressing matter or deal that needs to close, give 1 hour of your time a day or 1-2x a week that you can be available to help out with a call, deal, or project. 

4.) Create boundaries all year long.  The easiest way to create boundaries around vacation time is to become the person that has boundaries in their life. If you set the precedent early on that you will not be at the beck and call of your client, team, customers, etc., they will know to expect that from you, and more importantly to respect that. Having boundaries puts you in the driver’s seat of your own life, so you can be fully present in every part of your world. 

Taking a vacation and giving yourself time to rest isn’t selfish or lazy, and it doesn’t make you less driven or motivated. In fact, it has the opposite effect. It makes you feel more empowered, more in charge, more motivated, and more energized to keep moving forward. Time off might give you new ideas and perspectives, or provide much-needed rest, or the time to dive into your favorite book, or the opportunity to tour a new city. Whatever vacation means to you, you must take the time FOR yourself! You are your own biggest advocate. If you don’t take the time, set the precedent, or create the boundary, no one will do it for you. 

Take charge of your life, you’re the one living it.