When was the last time you used your PTO? Wait, before you answer, let’s rephrase that question. When was the last time you really used your PTO?
Sure, maybe you allocated a few days on your calendar to be out of the office and off somewhere else. The time was allocated as PTO. Yet, at some point, as you sat on the beach, you found yourself trying to shield your mobile phone’s screen from the sun so you could better read (and reply) to email.
When you took your phone out to scan the QR code at that cute little café you were grabbing brunch at, you paused to answer a text from someone in the office. When the family settled down in the evening for a movie on the big TV in your rental, you pulled the laptop out to scan over spreadsheets and work docs.
You weren’t really off, you were just working differently. Sound familiar? So we’ll ask again, when was the last time you really used your PTO without all that “I’ll just work different on vacation.”
Technology enables us to work from almost anywhere with decent Wi-Fi access and cell service. Just because we can work from anywhere at any time, however, doesn’t mean we should.
PTO isn’t just a nice thing companies offer to keep us happy. It’s also a necessity to help us recharge, manage stress, and mitigate the risk of burnout (read more about that here: “Who Has Time For Vacation?”) We all need downtime in order to work at peak performance those times we are at the desk. As leaders, we need to really take time off and we need to encourage our teams to do the same.
The first step to really taking time off and disengaging from the workload is to recognize that the business actually can survive without you for a day or a week or even more. There is someone else in your organization that can manage the red-hot tasks that can’t wait to be handled until you’re physically back at the desk. There are many more tasks that simply don’t need to be attended to immediately. They can sit and wait for your return.
Let go of that overwhelming sense of self-importance that says “I just can’t ignore all the work stuff because my constant interaction with it is all that keeps the business moving forward.” If that’s true, let’s set up a coaching appointment to talk about building healthy teams, delegating, and avoiding the snowball of urgency and dependence on a single person.
Part of your vacation (or staycation) planning should include identifying specific work-related boundaries. If you’re in leadership, there may be a certain threshold of events or concerns that will warrant an interruption from your team. Identify where that line is and clearly communicate that to your team.
“If the building is literally on fire, call me after you’ve called the first responders.” It may be, “If that mega deal we thought was complete has a hiccup and there’s info needed to try to smooth the edges back into place that can’t wait for my return, send me an email outlining what’s needed. Text me to let me know to check for the email and when you need a response by.”
There may not be one person that can step in and handle all your usual tasks while you’re gone. There are, however, people who can take on a bit of this and a bit of that. Identify who is the go-to for what info while you’re out of pocket. “For questions regarding Project A, contact Jack. For questions regarding Project M, see Jill.”
With a clear path of who to seek out while you’re enjoying some downtime, folks will be less likely to attempt to ping you with questions and tasks that don’t actually need YOUR attention at that moment.
The problem with setting boundaries that we don’t keep is that people learn quickly they don’t need to honor them the next time you try to set them – including you. If you’ve built a team you trust, empowered them do the work they are capable of doing, and established a clear out of office game plan, then there’s no reason for you to check in, read emails, respond to any of those emails you’re not reading, take calls that aren’t urgent, or any thing else of that ilk.
Leave the laptop behind. Silence notifications. Move your email, Slack, and other work-related apps, into a separate folder on your phone so they aren’t tempting you to open them for the peek. Live in the moment. Enjoy the time you’ve carved out for yourself. Embrace the freedom to be focused on something other than your usual day-to-day rhythms. And remember that all that stuff, that stuff you’re quietly letting do its own thing without your intervention, will be there when you get you back and are ready for it.
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