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Interview Patty

How To Take A Working Vacation

Houston Advice for Women-Owned Businesses

 

1. Rearrange Your To-do List - Big projects tend to be a huge vacation barrier for small business owners. After all, any big marketing campaign, research and development exercise or production cycle requires constant attention — and so it can be nearly impossible to manage those projects from abroad. That’s why you should be planning your vacation well in advance in order to work around thorny projects.

Pick some dates you’d like to escape from the office, and ensure those days don’t interfere with crucial projects you may have scheduled. Likewise, don’t be afraid to push an important exercise back until after you’ve had your vacation.

2. Get Stuff Done Before You Leave - Unfortunately, current deadlines aren’t going to magically disappear just because you need a bit of fun in the sun. In order to make the most of your time off and minimize the time you’re going to have to spend working on your vacation, it’s important to get as many tasks done as possible prior to your departure.

If you’re not going to have constant access to WiFi, get all of your online research done before you leave the office. Likewise, if you’re going to need access to files on a shared drive, be sure to transfer them onto your personal devices beforehand. These sorts of little tasks will make a world of difference when you’re away.

 

3. Limit Yourself to Basic Tasks - The whole point of taking a working vacation is to relax. If you’ve brought a gaggle of stressful and time-consuming tasks to do, you won’t enjoy a single minute of your time off. Bearing that in mind, you’ve got to limit yourself to basic tasks like checking emails, following up with key employees or checking analytics. Whatever you do, don’t get sucked into a long conference call or trying to chase down a lost delivery.

4. Pick a Schedule and Stick To It - If you can’t get around doing a few more complex tasks while on vacation, be sure to stick to a firm schedule. If you need to check in with the office, do it at a set time every day. More important still, let employees know this is the only time of day they will be able to catch you in real time. Likewise, you should set out a strict deadline each day to drop what you’re doing and get back to enjoying yourself. This is particularly crucial if you’re away with family members. Kids grow up fast, and so you’ve got to let family time be family time.

 

5. Choose a Dedicated Work Space - In order to maximize your productivity while working on vacation, it always helps to choose a dedicated work space. Visiting the same coffee shop each morning, or consistently using the kitchen table in your hotel room will help to simulate a more typical working environment. In turn, that simulation should go on to increase your productivity and get you back to enjoying yourself that much quicker.

6. If You Can’t Provide Good Feedback, Don’t Provide Any - When you are checking in with employees every so often, one of the worst things you could possibly do is to respond to their work with a two-word text message or a short and cryptic email. Complicated employee tasks may require complicated conversations; therefore, if you haven’t got the time or the will to walk your team members through detailed instructions or subtle mistakes, don’t bother trying at all. If feedback can wait until you’re back from vacation, don’t try to get to it before.

At the end of the day, no two businesses are alike. Bearing that in mind, no two working vacations will be the same, either. It’s crucial that you set some time aside beforehand in order to think about what it is you’d like to achieve by going on vacation, and what you’ll need to accomplish while you’re away.

But either way, you’re only shooting yourself in the foot by locking yourself in the office all day. Do yourself a favor. Get out there and get a bit of sun. Your sanity and your business depend upon it.

Source: Small Business Trends

Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.

 

Houston Advice for Women-Owned Businesses.

 

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