Are you preparing for a vacation at work in the near future?

Do you want tips to help make the process go smoothly and seamlessly?

You’ve cleared your vacation time with your supervisor.

You’ve made the last of your travel arrangements and you’ve packed your bags.

There’s just one thing you need to do: get through that last week of work before your vacation!

Preparing for a vacation at work is a true exercise in time management.

Not only do you have to take care of your day-to-day work responsibilities, but you have to deal with all those other vacation-related items.

You must ensure your work is covered and alert your colleagues and clients to your upcoming absence. 

In this post, you’ll find a day-by-day guide to help you wrap things up before your much-needed break.

Note that the guide presented below is based on a Monday through Friday schedule.

Should your vacation plans differ, simply adjust the days as needed.

Monday 

Monday is a day of golden promise – at the end of the week you’ll be on vacation!

Before you get ahead of yourself, it’s time to buckle down and focus on your upcoming absence from work.

On Monday you should:

• Meet with your supervisor and colleagues to confirm your task, assignment, and project deadlines for the week
• Send out a meeting invite of your vacation time and/or block out your vacation time in your work calendar
• Avoid scheduling meetings on Thursday or Friday, if possible. If these meetings are unavoidable, mitigate damages by finishing up other non-meeting work earlier in the week
• Conduct work as usual

Tuesday

One day down…several more to go. It’s time to keep to the status quo.

On Tuesday you should:

• Ask a colleague if you may list them as your away contact on your email/voicemail messages 
• Conduct work as usual  

Wednesday

Happy Hump Day! Your vacation is so close; you can almost taste it.

That being said, you don’t want to let the momentum drop from earlier in the week.

On Wednesday you should:

• Conduct work as usual 

Thursday

Just one more day after this…and then you’re free! It’s time to put the pedal to the metal.

On Thursday you should:

• Remind colleagues and key work contacts that tomorrow is your last day in the office before your vacation
• Finalize any reports/deliverables/materials
• Conduct work as usual

Friday

Almost there….just a few more hours until your vacation!

Pay close attention to the hours on the clock. Your vacation will be here before you know it.

On Friday you should:

A.M.

• Check in with colleagues and supervisors one last time to give a brief status update as to where your work currently stands
• Conduct work as usual. This is an excellent time to do “brain-off” work such as filing, data entry, cleaning out your emails, or any other tasks that are short, and sweet

P.M.

• Wrap up any work from the morning   
• In the late afternoon, set your away email and voicemail messages. Be sure to include your colleagues’ contact info for any urgent requests.

Congratulations! You made it through the workweek. It’s time for you to enjoy your well-deserved vacation.

How about you? Which of the above tips are you going to use to make sure you manage your time well before a vacation? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!