March 15, 2023

It’s common to find yourself on your annual leave and your mind is filled with work. You can’t escape work; despite the fact you find yourself at the beach or the mountains. And it’s spoiling your vacation which just creates a whole extra layer of stress. i’m not present to my family and friends. And if they make a comment about work . . . it just compounds the issue.
The aim of this blog is to help you get that break you deserve. How can you unravel from work? More specifically, this blog will look at the habits that can surround your annual leave, this isn’t just about a long weekend (Part 1). The big lesson of this blog is to embed good margins in your life so you can enjoy your vacation and return to work sharper and more focused. And this blog will provide you with some rhythms and habits that provide those margins.
First, keep those good habits and rhythms you learnt from Part 1 – included in ‘Prevacation’ and ‘A Week Out’. But when it comes to annual leave, be more ruthless with these strategies. The difference between a long weekend and annual vacation is it is more likely that people are still at work, your business is still active, e mails are buzzing around, there are your threads that need to be picked up . . . but you are away. While a lot of the work to maintaining holiday margins is done in the lead up to vacation, there is still a significant battle of the mind you need to undergo on holiday.
Second, let’s get our perspective right. You’re probably going on holiday with family or friends or both. They need you and your presence. One of the best vacations is where everyone is working to give everyone else a good time. On vacation, you’ll have more time to invest in those who mean the most to you, so let’s put work in a box. And your work needs you to have a refreshing break and come back sharper. You can only keep sawing without sharpening the blades for so long. So for the sake of you, and your loved ones, let’s get this holiday thing right.
So, what can i do to have a healthier holiday when work is consuming so consuming? Here’s a few ideas:
- Talk to your colleagues at work about your impending vacation and your struggles with leaving work. They may be able to protect you (and you them when they go on vacation). They understand your work environment and may be able to suggest strategies that work for them. Get them on your team, and you be on theirs.
- Make sure your e mail autoresponder is set up before you leave for vacation.
- Take time to tell your boss what strategies you have put in place to ensure you have a restful vacation work-free so you can come back fresh. You need her/him on your protection team.
- Checking e mails are deadly. How about you only check once or twice a day at a prescribed time? Just give yourself perhaps half an hour to review and close.
- Have your work devices a little bit further away than normal. In a cupboard would be a good idea. And turn off those notifications on your phone. Technologically separate vacation from work as much as possible.
- If you must respond, make sure you drop in the thread that you are on vacation (anyone worth half their salt will tell you not to worry about the issue and pick it up on your return).
- Avoid knee jerk reactions. Open your e mails, see what you need and close them. Just because there is something you feel you should respond to now, doesn’t mean you need to. Think of the task like your racing in Formula 1. There’s a rattle in the car and you know it needs the attention of the mechanics, but you don’t stop the car in the middle of the race. You find the best time to head to pit lane. It might be this lap, but it might be the next, or five laps time. Take control of your holiday (race).
- Treat any work jobs like a commando – get in and out as quick as possible and don’t cause yourself any pain. Just do what absolutely has to be done (we get it – you are the baker who lives above the bakery – some things just have to be done) and get back to vacation as quickly as possible.
- Have clear expectations for yourself. You won’t eliminate all the distractions and interruptions to your holiday, the aim of the game is to get better at having a holiday and managing work. So when they do come, and they will, try to put them in a manageable box so you can deal with them efficiently. Think of this as the flip side of your work week. You don’t try and go out to watch a sporting game in the middle of work but know that there is a space in your week for that enjoyment. So, when a work task raises its head on vacation, find an appropriate time for that, deal with it and get back to the business of having a good holiday.
- When the work ideas come – that’s a good thing, make the most of it. Have a notepad and scribble it down. Or maybe put it in your phone, but avoid putting it in a work computer or your laptop. Just a quick note of what you’ve thought or the idea so you don’t lose it and it’s not consuming your head. You’ll dig it out in the couple of days before you return to work (now that you have allocated a space to prepare for returning to work – Part 1).
- And again, what will take your mind off work? Where do you lose your brain – a good movie, a good book (not necessarily professional development), a long walk, an exciting activity (surfing, go kart racing?). Have a thought about those rich life questions from Part 1.

Lastly, be kind to yourself. If this stuff matters to you, then obviously your work matters to you. Stop thinking you will get work completely out of your head. That’s like saying don’t look out the door of the room you are sitting in. It’s impossible. Instead let’s minimize the damage and reduce work as much as possible. Let’s work on controlling the mind. You mind is strong, but you are in control.
Have a good holiday
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