Inbox , cleared. Out of office, on. Computer, shut down. Door, closed. You are finally free!
But are you really free?
If you’ve taken a week off to refresh and recharge, you want seven days of pure relaxation. Seven days of not waking up thinking about your inbox, yet you're stressing about returning back to a mountain of "URGENT" emails... It’s enough to put you off even thinking about booking those flights, isn’t it?
A recent study found that up to 40% of UK employees do not take their full paid holiday allowance. Worse still, many of those who do take time off continue to check and respond to work emails.
Your holiday is your time to recharge. No distractions. You have earned it. Here are five steps you can take before logging off to ensure your holiday stays completely stress-free.
Five Steps to a Stress-Free Holiday
1. Prioritise your holiday
It sounds simple, but the first thing you need to do is recognise that you need and are entitled to a holiday.
There will always be another task to tick off the to-do list. If you wait for the "perfect" time to book a holiday, work commitments will always take priority.
Shift Your Mindset
Your annual leave is time set aside for you to rest and relax , this benefits both you and your employer, so please don’t feel guilty about taking it.
Have you ever worked late in a frenzy to meet an "absolute deadline," only to receive an out-of-office autoreply the moment you send it? Yep, your clients and colleagues are taking holiday, too.
Plan Ahead
The key to making sure you take your full holiday allowance, as with most things in life, is planning. Often, the people who are best at this are parents.
You do not need to map out your entire year by January 2nd, but pencilling in dates early helps you look ahead. Knowing a holiday is coming up naturally relieves work pressure and keeps you motivated.
2. Give plenty of notice
Giving early notice benefits everyone involved.
If you want a true feeling of freedom when you leave the office, you need all loose ends tied up without last-minute panics.
Inform External Contacts
While you must inform your internal team, do not forget your clients and external partners.
Give them a heads-up a month in advance, and send a quick reminder as the date approaches. This prompts them to raise outstanding issues and complete tasks before you leave, rather than dropping new projects on your desk at the final hour.
Start Handovers Early
Begin your handover process well ahead of time.
Start copying relevant colleagues into project emails and inviting them to key meetings. Loop clients into this process early so they know exactly who to contact while you are absent. Just be careful not to overload your colleagues too early and exhaust their goodwill!
3. Effective handover
Arranging your leave is only half the battle. You then need to make sure you can actually enjoy it.
That means no emails. No phone calls. You. Are. Not. There.
An incomplete or ineffective handover makes it impossible for your team to cover you properly. If you know your cover is shaky, you will not relax. You will end up checking your phone, answering queries... You may as well be in the office, right?
Master the Art of Delegation
Do not be overly protective of your projects, delegation is your best friend.
- List and Assign: Create a clear task list with detailed instructions.
- Empower Decisions: Authorise your team to make judgements in your absence so progress does not stall.
- Develop Your Team: If you have a deputy, this is a prime opportunity for them to grow. The more they cover for you, the better they become, and the more relaxed you will feel.
4. Out-of-office: ON
I cannot stress enough how important it is to set an out-of-office, and then to stick to it. Your out-of-office should be informative and unambiguous. Crafting the Perfect Auto-Reply
Ideally, once someone receives your out-of-office message, they will not email you again until you return.
- Be Explicit: Use the word "holiday" or "annual leave" to send a clear message that you are not on company time.
- Set Firm Boundaries: Consider adding a line like, "I will not be checking my work phone or email during this time."
- Provide Alternatives: State your exact return date and direct urgent queries to your designated handover contact.
5. Secret bonus day
Finally, my secret top tip : take an extra day. Going straight from a beach towel to a boardroom meeting is a shock to the system.
Ease Back into the Routine
Aside from the stress of delayed flights and possible hangovers, a recovery day will make your return to work much smoother and help avoid those post-holiday blues.
Alternatively, you can use your first day back to work entirely from home. This allows you to quietly clear your inbox and address pressing updates without the immediate distractions of office chatter or back-to-back meetings.
Bonus tip
Finally, one bonus tip! To make the whole process easier, implement a system that eliminates double bookings and confusion over cover.
Seeing everyone's availability in one visual place takes the stress out of planning. Leave Dates removes the effort of manually managing absence, giving you more time to run your business. The app offers a 30-day free trial and works on laptops, tablets and mobile phones.
Don't forget to check out our infographic: The Ultimate Time Off Preparation Checklist
