Effective planning before you go on vacation can make your time off more relaxing and enjoyable. Unsurprisingly, research reveals that vacations are beneficial for your mental and physical well-being and most employees return more creative and productive. However, to maximize your chances of having a restful vacation, it’s helpful to have a game plan in place to make sure your responsibilities are covered when you’re gone and you’re setting yourself up for an easy return. “To truly relax, professionals need thoughtful preparation, which helps them offload details from working memory and relax,” says Anita Williams Woolley, professor of organizational behavior and theory at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh.
Here’s what experts suggest.
Determine your goals
Take the time to delve into both short-term goals and long-term objectives you’re responsible for managing. Woolley suggests these action points regarding work goals to address before signing off for your PTO.
- Clarify and prioritize immediate tasks to complete before you leave—be realistic about what you can get done.
- Confirm what your team should handle (or ignore) during your absence.
- Outline your return plan, including contingencies in case of delays.
Create an alignment plan
Before your absence, create a plan to help your team handle your responsibilities while you’re gone. Woolley advises including strategies for obstacles or issues that may arise while you’re away. Here’s what she recommends:
- Clearly assign responsibilities. One suggestion is a vacation task list, where your specific duties are divided up among other team members. Make sure everyone understands what they are responsible for.
- Agree on which issues are urgent and warrant contacting you, empowering your team to handle everything else.
- Identify critical risks and provide explicit guidance on how to handle emergencies without you.
Notify your team
Be sure to let your colleagues and clients know when you will be out of your office. Woolley says:
- Be proactive. Alert your team you’re going to be on vacation instead of a colleague or client receiving a bounce-back email announcing you’re out of the office.
- Inform everyone who needs to know about your absence.
- Select a trusted “gatekeeper’ who’s someone who decides when to contact you and serves as a central reference for others.
The day before your vacation
Although you’re excited for your break, be sure to wrap up any loose ends. Annie Rosencrans, people and culture director at HiBob in New York, provides these tips:
- Send final follow-up emails, close out minor tasks, and tie up easy wins.
- Avoid pushing nonurgent new work to others right before you leave, and instead table them for when you get back.
- Cancel, decline, or reschedule meetings on the calendar for your time away.
- Set up your out of office (OOO) messages on email, Slack, and other communication platforms.
Set yourself up for an easy return
Establishing a plan before you leave for vacation can reduce pre-trip anxiety and ensure that you and your team are set up for success during your time away, says Rosencrans.
“A structured plan gives employees time to transition both practically and emotionally out of work mode,” she continues. “When executed well, this approach creates clarity, accountability, and space to truly disconnect. It also offers teammates confidence that nothing will fall through the cracks in your absence.”
Woolley at Carnegie Mellon advises organizing your workspace and priorities ahead of time, ensuring your goals guide your first days back, rather than an overflowing inbox. She recommends setting yourself up for an easier return: “Park on a downhill slope.”
Be assured, with some mindful planning, you can enjoy your vacation with less anxiety. Rosencrans asserts how time off isn’t just a perk, it’s a performance strategy. “The more intentionally we approach it, the better we protect well-being and long-term productivity,” she explains. “And no one should feel guilty for unplugging. If we normalize structured, respectful pre-vacation planning, we make space for real rest and that’s something every employee deserves.”
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