How to take time off (from someone who sucks at it)

DISCLAIMER: I am really, really bad at practising what I’m about to preach.?

You should ONLY read this article if you’re like me, where you focus way too much on work and way too little on taking breaks.?

Look, I know how valuable holidays are to recharge.

I know that life isn’t just about work.?

I know how much my career has benefited from taking breaks.?

Yet I still really struggle with planning my downtime.

And it’s BECAUSE of this that I've had to learn a few practices to help me do so.?

FWIW, here are three things you can try if you’re also not great at making time for yourself.?

Prepare your leave before you leave

Too many times, I’ve found myself scheduling leave but only thinking about what to do with my leave when it starts.?

Either work was too busy or I kept pushing it back, until suddenly my leave would start and I’d then wonder what I would do with it.?

Usually the leave was based around a specific event which I would plan for, but I wouldn’t consider what else to do around the event.?

And then when I found myself with time off, I was left fairly unfulfilled with how I chose to spend it.?

It’s like going to the shops to make dinner.?

If I want to have an amazing dinner, I need to plan for it before I go shopping. But if I stop by the shops after a busy day at work to sort out dinner for that night, then I’ll still make a meal, it just won’t be flash hot…

If you’re someone like me who keeps letting work get in the way of your leave, then it helps to really question the excuses you’re making for not planning your leave.?

Is work really that busy?

Do you really not have the time to think about a holiday?

Remember, for anything worth doing, you need to make the time, rather than find the time. So if you want fulfilling leave, make the time to plan it.?

Outsource your planning

But what if you’re still bad at making time to plan your leave?

Then you need someone to help you.?

Some people adore planning holidays, and if that’s not you, then you should bring someone in to help as soon as you can.

I am very, very fortunate to have an amazing partner who just loves planning holidays.?

Bec has organised incredible experiences for us as a couple (and now as a family), and I am very grateful to have her in my life.?

And before being with Bec, the fondest holidays I had were arranged by professionals, or with the help of other friends and family that would enjoy them with me.?

My point is that whenever I put the burden solely on myself to plan my leave, I found myself returning to work less satisfied than when others were involved in the planning and the experience.?

Negotiate more leave with your employer

The final practice I recommend is to negotiate an extra week of holidays with your employer.?

This one act can be the best thing you do all year, and it’s more possible than you may realise.

For starters, your employer may be more willing to give you extra leave because it’s a non-financial benefit, versus a pay rise which is a financial benefit (and a more direct cost to them).?

But even in strictly financial terms, one extra week of leave is the equivalent of a 2% pay rise (based roughly on 1 week / 52 weeks), which can seem quite reasonable.?

And yet the goodwill to the employer of an extra week of leave goes well beyond any cost it would involve. I was fortunate to work for an employer whose standard policy was 5 weeks leave per year, and this was highly regarded by everyone who received it.?

So if you’re not good at taking time for yourself, then having an agreement with your employer to do so is extremely helpful.?

Plan your leave before you need it?

Ultimately, we’re all aware of how valuable leave is throughout our careers, but it can be hard to prioritise our leave over our work.

Just imagine if you gave as much attention to your down time as you did your work. How much more fulfilling and satisfying would your leave be?

So if you have approved leave coming up and haven’t thought about it, this is your prompt to do so.

And if you haven’t scheduled leave for the foreseeable future, then your future self will thank you if you lock it in right now.

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