Getting ready to leave for a vacation, and coming back to work after vacation are usually very stressful. Sometimes you feel like you need a vacation after your vacation just to catch up. In this episode, we cover some tips for how to productively manage the time leading up to your vacation and the day you return from vacation.
 
The process starts 2 weeks before your schedule vacation:
1. Add an out of office notification to your signature. This is going to alert people to the fact that you are going to be out. It will nudge them to take action on something that they might need before you leave.

2. Review your calendar for the time you are away. Make a list of any deliverables that you need to prepare during your absence.

3. Block time on your calendar over the next 2 weeks to prepare everything on your list. For example, if you have a meeting where you are responsible for preparing and presenting a slide, you would block time on your calendar to both prepare the slide and make arrangements for someone else to present the slide at the meeting. Learn more about Time Blocking from Episode 10.
 
4. Block an Inservice Day, or half day for the day before you leave and the day your return. An inservice day is when you block your calendar as if you are out of the office, but you are actually working. It gives you the time and space you need to catch up because people think you are still out.

5. If you have the type of job where someone will be covering for you while you are out of office, block time on the calendar for a meeting with them to manage the transition. You should block time for before you leave and when you return.
 
One week before you leave, you will start to:
1. Say no to any new request that comes your way – don’t take on more work when you know you have a hard stop in advance of your vacation.

2. Be extra diligent about your priorities. You are going to go into hyper-vigilant mode. If it isn’t absolutely necessary, it can wait.
 
Some other tips:

• Consider whether you should remove yourself from email distribution lists. This varies depending on your scenario, but if you are part of a high volume distro, removing yourself will keep your inbox from filling up with notifications during your vacation.
• Get yourself into the vacation mindset. It is important that you take time away from work in order to rejuvenate, renew, and refresh. Take your vacation. Don’t work. Your company will be able to operate without you for the time that you are gone.

Sometimes, when you aren’t being as productive as you want to be, it is hard to put your finger on the reason. Here are some tips that might help you identify what may be holding you back:
 
What should you not be doing?
Over time, we become progressively less productive because we let a bunch of things that have become unproductive take over our time. It was probably serving a purpose when you started doing it, but over time, it lost its value and you’ve just kept doing it because you’ve always done it.
 
Consider what you are doing that is no longer necessary and stop doing it.
 
Are you following your priorities?
What are the highest priorities in your life? We call this your North Star List. If you want to be productive, you need to ensure that you are only doing things that support your priorities. As a matter of fact, we’ve even done an episode just about this topic: The Foundation of Productivity is Priorities.
 
Mindset
Recognize that mindset can impact your productivity. Have you ever said this:
I can’t get everything done, there just isn’t enough time.
 
This is a mindset issue. When I catch myself saying this, I change my words to:
I don’t need to get everything done, just the next thing.
 
Take away the power that the thought has over you.
Become aware of the mindset that is impacting your productivity.

Something I fundamentally believe is:

Positive Mindset + Effort = Achievement
Positive Mindset Only = Rosey Glasses
 
Mindset takes effort in order to make a difference in your life.
 
Another thing I believe: Mindset and Assumptions are cousins. Let me explain:
 
Assumptions are a set of beliefs or rules that have gone unsaid. These unacknowledged beliefs may be different than someone else’s or different than reality, which can lead you to take a wrong action.
Mindset is similar – you can make decisions and take actions everyday based on your mindset. An un-examined or unacknowledged mindset can drive you to take wrong actions.
Understanding your mindset is critical in order to recognize the actions you are taking. There are 2 types of mindset:
 
Fixed Mindset
When you believe you either ‘have it’ or you don’t. What you have is what you have, so no additional effort is required. This mindset is about the outcome.
 
Growth Mindset
When you believe there is always room to learn. That what you were born with is just a starting point. This mindset is about the experience.

Words matter. The language you use matters. It impacts your mindset. It gives you a definition of yourself that can become limiting.
 
Have you ever noticed the different ways that waiters introduce themselves to you?
“I’m Rachel, and I’ll be your server tonight.”
“I’m Rachel, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”

​A subtle difference, but one communicates that my responsibility is to serve you your food and the other communicates that my responsibility is to take care of you – completely.
 
Have you ever said, or heard someone say ‘I’m bad at math”? What does that tell you? Do they know that it takes 4 quarters to make a dollar? Do they know calculus? For most of us, knowing calculus isn’t important or necessary for our daily lives. So -if you don’t need to know calculus and you don’t know calculus, then why would you say you are bad at math?
 
Become aware of the words you use. How do they impact your mindset? What do they communicate to others about you? Are they serving you well?