I love escaping in early fall. You know, a vacation to someplace warm and tropical just when the summer months have departed. With all of the responsibilities at work and home, even if you have the resources, it’s difficult to break away from everyday life. In years past, I’ve found myself to be under so much pressure in the preparation to leave that I either didn’t enjoy my time away or I had a meltdown upon return – therefore needing a vacation to recover from my vacation. But this year was different. Don’t get me wrong, I felt a little anxiety about leaving the children and walking away from a company that might find out they can survive without my existence. The truth is, this time I planned better for the return. Not just for the company but for my life outside of work as well.
Life generally runs more smoothly if you don’t stick your head in the sand about tasks that need to be done shortly after your return, even if you are only away for a day. But even if you aren’t going anywhere – pre-planning is the key to almost any situation or challenge. For me it meant writing checks for all my personal bills that were due while I was away or shortly after my return; creating a prioritized to-do list of all the activities that needed to be delegated; communicating tasks that were pending and setting up methods of communication in my absence; creating intentional and limited times each day to check status at home; using the inevitable travel wait times to stay informed; and most importantly, using vacation time as time to think about work life and home life from a big picture perspective. Long walks on the beach, or peaceful evenings gazing at the surf helped to re-evaluate the big items in my life. So often, the frantic flow of daily life keeps us from having time to look at the big picture and make important changes. So I recommend that even if you don’t have the luxury of being swept away to a tropical island like I did – always be well prepared for what’s around the bend.
When thinking about your business, or that next project you have coming up at work – don’t forget to give yourself a chance to count to 10 – to re-evaluate, to reassess – to take a step back, or a step away, and make sure the 30,000-foot view is as good as it is from thisclose. This can help you deal with bigger issues as they arise, ensuring that your future will be a day at the beach!