Career Coaching: Vacations Are Good For Your Career

This may think this is a difficult time to take a vacation, but remember this: Time away from the job will improve your efficiency and help accelerate your career...and, of course, improve your personal life. In the end, personal down time will benefit your employer as well. Hopefully, you have the courage and wisdom to act on this axiom.

Career Coaching: Eight Steps To A Successful Vacation Let's all hold up our right hands and swear we will abide by eight common sense ideas that will help assure that our vacation times will serve their best purposes.

1. Come to grips with the fact that you are not indispensable. Fact is, absent a serious emergency, your employer can get along for a few days without you. However, it is to be hoped that your absence will cause everyone to understand and appreciate how much you contribute when you are on the job.

2. Reject the macho idea that long hours with your nose to the grindstone demonstrate strength and commitment. The advancement of your career depends on what you produce for your employer. Even an ox needs time out of the yoke.

3. Plan your vacation well in advance. Set a date and hold to it, come hell or high water. Cancel your time away from the job only on a direct order from your boss or a personal emergency. If your employer forces you to cancel your vacation, make sure he has a good reason. Think about whether your work environment will nurture your efforts to reach your career goals if this happens more than once without a sound cause.

4. As you near the date of your vacation, begin to execute your plan with the same attention to details as you do projects on the job. Do work in advance. Advise those with whom you work of your plans and what you expect to happen while you are away. Delegate tasks to be accomplished during your absence.

5. Name a "gatekeeper" through whom you can be reached. Be sure this is a person who will protect your turf and time.

6. Avoid checking in with your boss while you are on vacation. Someone will call you if you are needed. If no one contacts you don't panic. Instead, take satisfaction in two things: (1) you are working with capable people who can and will follow your directions and (2) your vacation plan is working.

7. Flush work out of your mind. Put other components of your life in perspective. Recharge your batteries. Enjoy a good book or two unrelated to your work. Get plenty of rest. Re-bond with your friends and family. Be thankful for the opportunity to get away from the pressures of your job.

8. When you return from your time off be ready to double your efforts to move ahead on your career path.

Career Advice: It’s well to remember that there is no known record of anyone wishing on their deathbed that they had spent less time on vacation.


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Ramon Greenwood's widely read blog provides more free career advice. He coaches from a successful career as Senior VP at American Express, author of career-related books, successful entrepreneur, and a senior executive/consultant in Fortune 500 companies. Please click here for additional free career coaching.