Vacations are an essential time for us to refuel, relax, and recharge. With the busiest travel season here, it seems appropriate to spend a few minutes thinking about vacations. Some of my clients seem to never take them, and the others that do, often complain that they were not able to unwind. This summer, make your vacations stress free by using some of these ideas that have worked for others.

1. Make Time to Get Away and Stick to It
Karen found that the first step to enjoying vacation is to make sure you actually take them! Karen was like many of my clients. She would schedule some time off, and when it became time for her to go, she would stay and work, fearing that if she was gone, things would fall apart. Through the coaching process, Karen made a big change in her life by scheduling her vacation time at least four months in advance. Some of them were long weekends and other vacations were a little longer. Karen found by making sure she took time off, she was actually able to accomplish more at work.

2. Leave Work Behind
Christy and I were talking about her upcoming vacation to Florida. So, are you going to leave your laptop and work at home? Christy began to panic. As we talked, Christy realized that in order to fully enjoy herself, she would need to leave her work behind. Christy began to realize how much she needed to shut out these distractions for a short time. In her case, she didn’t feel like she could shut out his business world for a week, but she did decide that she would only check her messages every two days and she would then only spend two hours focusing on work.

3. Divide Responsibilities
Judy and her female co-workers were escaping for a long weekend. She was already feeling stressed from all of the planning and organization. One strategy we talked about was to write down everything that needs to be done to get ready for the trip and who can be responsible for each part. Each of them planned a different part of the trip. One was in charge of food, the other entertainment, another lodging. This new method left Judy feeling energized instead of drained during her vacation.
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