Vacation – huffingtonpost.com

Happy Tuesday! So your vacation is finally approaching, and before you know it, it’ll be here…You can smell it already, the salty water smell, the sand in between your toes…heaven! Well, until you look back down at your crowded desk and realize there is still work to do…

In this day and age where 59% of Americans fail to take time off, taking vacation is sometimes more of a challenge than an actual opportunity to…relax and recharge your batteries. Professional guilt now plagues us more than ever before, what with the unstable economy and corporate lack of diversity. So what is one to do to get work-ready for vacation:

1. Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize! Have a conversation with your team or management to set expectations and deadlines prior to your taking vacation. Prioritize those tasks whose deadlines are critical or fast approaching. Most importantly, resist the temptation to try and finish all your work before leaving on vacation, thus creating stress and inefficiencies. Besides, you’ll be surprised to know it’ll still be there when you get back…

2. Delegate! Remember you can’t do it all now, and you probably won’t be able to do it all later. Delegate important tasks in your absence, or at least portions of it. Allow your team to show initiative by helping you, and free up your plate a bit…

3. Yes, you may check your email: We live in a constantly connected world, where disconnecting completely is close to impossible. For those of us who are realistic about our own expectations, it may make sense to allow for some flexibility when it comes to being connected. I’d rather be able to check my email once every now and then while on vacation, rather than obsessing over what may (or may not) have happened.

Are you work-ready for vacation?

The Corporate Sister