Do You Have Your Pre Vacation Checklist?

Hopefully, as you’re reading these words, you’ve already planned your next vacation and are mentally packing your suitcases. Taking a vacation is pleasant and important, but it also requires preparation, especially as you put assignments on hold and leave your team to carry on in your absence. To avoid interrupting the office’s workflow during your holiday, and to make your readjustment to the office life after vacation a little bit easier, make sure that you can cross off every item in our suggested Pre-Vacation Checklist:

1) Wrap up big projects.
Try to accomplish as much as possible before leaving for the vacation, even if it takes more time. Finishing all of your outstanding tasks will not only reduce the stress and optimize the working structure for the rest of the company while you’re away, but it will also decrease the pressure on you after or during your holiday.

2) Make a list of duties that you will have to pursue during your vacation.
Sometimes vacations make it easy to forget that there are some projects that require your participation even during the holiday. Make sure to remember them and schedule regular check-ins to ensure things are running smoothly. If you can streamline this process, you may not have to spend more than 5 minutes per day on your work issues, and you can dedicate the rest of your time to soaking up sun and enjoying yourself.

3) Notify your colleagues, partners and clients about your vacation.
Mention the date you are leaving and getting back to work, colleagues who can be contacted about various matters, and any emergency contacts. Writing an automated email with the pertinent information is an absolute must.

4) Arrange a team meeting.  
Go over the main projects and discuss the decisions that have to be made while you’re away. Negotiate the level of your engagement in the projects during the vacation and tell your boss and colleagues who is responsible for different tasks during your absence.

5) Create a project report.
Write a detailed report on your projects, explaining its details and providing tips and suggestions on its accomplishment. Offer this report to your boss and people, who you delegate the project to.

6) Delegate your responsibilities. 
Organize the support structure from your colleagues and distribute your responsibilities. Start introducing your colleagues to your projects in advance, bringing them up to speed and giving advice.  Inform your boss about whom you delegate your duties to, leave their contact information and describe what has to be done in your absence.

7) Organize your desk.
Devote some time to cleaning the desk and your work computer. It will not only make it easier for the person taking over your duties to navigate, but will also bring some logic and intuitiveness into the experience. (It’s always pleasant to come back to a clean and fresh environment!)

8) Leave the first day of work for getting back into the work pace.
Reserve the first day back on the job to get back into the work and analyze the current work flow to determine the future pace.

9) Devote 15 minutes a day for work e-mail.
While you’re away, spend no more than 15 minutes each day for e-mail communication. A quarter of an hour while you’re on holiday is a fair price to pay for staying aware of work flow and easing the process of getting back to work.

And finally, make sure you have fun and relax during your vacation.  To get back to work refreshed, happy and inspired, don’t forget to spend your vacation the way you want. Remember to follow the suggestions on the checklist to maximize the nourishing effect of vacations and make it easier to return to the office.