I am just back from a working vacay. Having done this for the last few years, I am convinced it has a place in my annual calendar. Many friends have wondered if this is either a phrase to excuse workaholism or a poster for being inefficient and hence not able to finish work ahead of a vacation. This post is to explain what a working vacay means to me and dispel some misconceptions about it. In fact, I would go as far as to say I would recommend it to others too!
Working Vacay – notes from 9 days in my summer home (May 2018)
a) This is not my REAL or ONLY vacation. I do need a proper ‘unplug‘ vacation, which is also an important part of my annual calendar. For instance, I will be doing a week of this in June and again in September or December this year.
b) Working from a different desk, city, location – has an interesting way of letting you stay connected with work and yet distance yourself from some of the daily routine stuff that perhaps clogs your productivity. I find this helps the quality of the work I do while on work vacay.
c) No meetings please – only calls! I clear my calendar of all meetings during this period. Since my working vacay is in India (in fact in my family’s summer home), I can safely commit to calls while excusing myself from being physically available for meetings. This eases up a lot of time that can then be diverted into productive work. (more on how to convert most meetings into productive work calls in a separate post)
d) Working vacay is possible when you can make yourself available, but perhaps a bit more selectively than when you’re physically at your work desk. I think what makes it work so well is that instead of continuous and unplanned interruptions, discussions are a bit more planned in order to make the right time for it and therefore more focused and productive. I may end up dropping someone a 1 min audio note on WhatsApp in lieu of a 10 min phone call (over a bad connection might I add!). This discipline of planned discussions usually does spill over for a long time even after I return to office.
e) A different view – and I mean this literally. My work vacay usually takes me to a scenic spot in my family’s summer home. Working in a scenic or refreshing ambience is a sure trigger for better energies at work.
f) The team steps up and how. I am lucky to work with a wonderful set of marketers. I love my everyday interactions with them. But when I am away and even though I am working, somehow I find they filter out several things and only let the real critical ones that need my attention get through to me. While this may perhaps cause some stress on their side of the equation, I have always found I come back from a working vacay to seeing at least a few team members continuing that independent streak. They have discovered where I am dispensable and where they may still need me.
g) Balance: The idea of a working vacay is not only about work. I find it easier to cut out other time-sucking activities which then allows me to distil very focused work hours and output. Outside my work hours, I get to do outdoorsy stuff and activities with my 8-year old that are not possible in my everyday city life. My rule is at least 2-3 hours of outdoor activity every day and no work during weekend. I try and avoid electronic media outside of my working time and that usually also helps refuel my reading habit. In addition to clocking in 7 hour work days, I have managed to finish 2 books during the week. I was also able to add a daily library visit that has helped me identify 2 amazing books to read next.
And of course one flip side as nothing is ever completely perfect. This is specific to my case – the only issue with my working vacay is unreliable connectivity and power supply. I have luckily found alternatives that have helped me overcome this but until I figured those out, I did tend to take on some stress!
What do you think about working vacay as a concept? Have you tried one? Do you have special hacks that help you get more out of it?
Pavithra 