As you begin to finalize your summer plans, you’re probably allowing a week or two for vacation time. Maybe it’s a family trip to the beach or a group trip on a cruise. Whatever your dream vacation turns out to be this summer, if your like other workers, you might find yourself checking in with the office. After all, it’s hard to leave all your work behind when you know you have to come back to it eventually. According to CareerBuilder.com’s annual vacation survey, here is some information and advice when it comes to making your get-away plans. Results from the survey show that workers plan to spend their vacations in a variety of ways, including: - Traveling (36 percent)
- Visiting family and friends (24 percent)
- Resting (20 Percent)
- Catching up on housework (8 percent)
- Running errands (3 percent)
When planning a vacation, consider the following tips to make your time off a true break from the office: 1. Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Make sure that everyone on your team knows what days you plan to be out of the office as far in advance as possible. Also, keep a journal of a day in your work life and share it with a co-worker who will be covering for you. The journal should have important information such as project contact information, any emergency passwords, etc. 2. Think Big. If you know that you will be taking a big vacation this year and expect a big project to appear at around the same time, do everything possible to leave as much room between the two events. Projects sometimes run longer than projected, so make sure you build in enough time to your plans so both don’t become stressful. 3. Stick to a plan. In most cases you are going to be away with other people on vacation. If you have to work, schedule a (short) block of time each day to check in and take care of any important business. Sticking to this plan will allow you the piece of mind of knowing things are fine at the office and will allow your family or friends to schedule activities without having to leave you behind. 4. Teach by example. If you are the boss, take a vacation and limit your contact with the office. Workers will feel much better getting away and enjoying themselves if they see the boss doing the same. | 
