If you found a way to increase productivity or improve your chances of a promotion, would you do it? One easy option: take your vacation. Think about it. When you take a real vacation – that means leaving work at work – it allows you to rekindle your creative side and recharges your batteries. If you vacation with your family, you get the added benefit of creating memories and building those relationships.
We hear a lot of excuses from business owners and managers. No one else can do the work while I’m gone. I can’t trust my employees to handle the financial end of things. My clients expect me to be available all the time. It takes too long to catch up when I get back to the office. Let me address these concerns. First, if your team is not capable of doing the work, provide training so they will learn how to handle it, then delegate. On the financial side, consider why you think you cannot trust your team. In any event, most financial matters can be pre-scheduled or automated. As for your clients, most clients understand that you have a personal life, too. With advance warning and notice of who they may contact in your absence, most people are fine with you taking a vacation. Finally, we agree it can take some time to play catch-up but replenishing your energy and motivation will allow you to catch up more quickly.
More than half of Americans (52%) do not use all their vacation days (U.S. Travel Association’s Project Time Off, 2017). As leaders, we need to encourage all team members to take use their vacation days and set an example by taking our own vacations. Be forewarned: I’ll be on vacation January 29 to February 4th cruising with Mickey, Minnie, and a 5 year old granddaughter. I’ll talk to you all when I return!
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