This article is a guest post by Phyllis Stoller.
Professional women are overworked in so many ways: inour careers, families, volunteer work, and personal relationships. Let’s face it, even when it comes to our personal grooming and fitness needs, we’re not dialing back either. By the time we are ready to go on vacation, we are so overdue it’s not even funny. So much so that many times we end up sabotaging our own time to relax and unwind.
Here are a few reasons why your highly professional self may just be putting a damper on your vacation (and how you can stop and enjoy the time off too):
We like control!
It’s no secret that as peofessional women, we like to both our control professional and personal lives. So intuitively, even on vacation, we tell a cab driver what route to take, explain to a salesperson how they should improve their system, or silently judge the event planner at a function. We never really let go which is also the reason for our success.
All throughout vacation, we continue to question, suggest, even require proof. For instance, the route from Buenos Aires, Argentina to some Andean cities we were taking some tourist clients to, requires two back to back flights and makes for a very long day.
One of our clients, a female executive, demanded to know why we were not driving instead. According to her, there was a clearly marked road to our destination. The road, as it turned out, waded through 18,000 ft mountains and had a terrible safety record. It would have taken us 12 hours to make it through.
This is why knowledgeable, efficient tour guide is hired. He/she will be briefed on every detail of the trip, and be aware ofconstruction, strikes, demonstrations, road safety, scenery, access to good bathrooms and safe restaurants. But it’s hard for professional women to trust in someone else’s expertise…
Letting go of the office is hard!
If you get more excited because of the good hotel wifi, rather than the view, you are not on vacation. A New Yorker cartoon of a woman describing her trip goes like this:
Friend: “How was your trip?”
Woman: “The wifi in the Florence hotel was to die for. ”
Truth is, too many women cannot separate personal from professional time. Obviously, there are professional situations that may require your attention even when on vacation.
If you must work though, here is what experts suggest: have a specific time each day when you look at and answer office emails. Otherwise turn off your phone. Make sure the office knows your schedule and ask staff to put the issue in the subject line of an email. Then you can prioritize. Oh, and start from the assumption that wifi will not be great, then you will not get frustrated.
A vacation is not a business plan.
There is an itinerary on a group tour; it is legally the contract with your tour operator. However, flexibility will guarantee a more meaningful and efficient experience. Tours that deviate for a spontaneous Mexican wedding parade or visit to an Indian village might delay your schedule, but will make for a better trip.
Conversely a drive that takes eight hours rather than three because a rock fell in Morocco and closed the road must be tolerated as well. You can only plan so much…
Your executive status is gone.
No one knows you are the EVP of Whatever in the middle of the Andes, so you may want to re-consider some of your communication techniques. English, as used in other countries, can be misleading. Example: in many South American cultures, people do not like to say no. Your request for something might appear to be a yes, but is actually a no or even an avoidance.
Many vacationers may not aware of how difficult life is in many countries. Your request to buy spices, might go unfulfilled. The guide might have had to change 11 details for the next day, deal with a dysfunctional hotel computer, etc…
Just some things to keep in mind…
Finally don’t leave home exhausted.
Plan ahead for the trip and get your staff to cooperate. Prepare a list before you go. Take an extra day at the beginning or end of your trip to regroup at the destination.
Don’t hesitate to use the hotel spa to relax and get over the jet lag, take your time to change your money, study your maps, reorganize luggage and enjoy your vacation for real.
Bonus Notes:
While I’m not a user of most travel apps as some of the require too much time to learn, here are some simple apps to put on your smart phone:
- WhatsApp is an encrypted wifi based text/phone system allowing you to communicate with others on wi-fi.
- TripIt can hold all your documents.
- Uber is growing internationally.
- A folder app: there are many free ones like Evernote (also has a receipts app). I use iBooks to copy documents, boarding passes and the photo and visa pages of my passport.
- A VPN line if you are going, like our group did before, to places like Iran, China or other areas known for insecure wi-fi.
- Screen shots of anything you might find useful without wifi: a map of the hotel area, a list ofrestaurants etc.
Bio:
Phyllis Stoller is a former international banker and has led The Women’s Travel Group company since 1992. She often speaks at professional women’s events and travel shows.
For more travel tips from The Women’s Travel Group, a tour operator for smart small group tours for women, go to www.thewomenstravelgroup.com. You can also find it on Facebook: www.facebook.com.Toursforwomen/ and on their Blog at www.thewomenstravelgroup.wordpress.com. Phyllis can be reached at phyllis@thewomenstravelgroup.com.
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
