How to Enjoy Your Vacations More - Part 3

Decide BEFORE you go on vacation, whether you are going to work, how often, and how much.

If you don’t want to work, don’t work.

If you do want to do some work, do.

But make the decision in advance. Know your reasons for your decision. And make sure you like them.

When you don’t decide in advance, the indecision is always playing in the back of your mind.

Telling yourself you aren’t going to work, and then working, feels terrible.

Telling yourself you are going to work, and then not working, feels terrible.

The former results in resentment. The latter results in guilt and anxiety.

None of which make for a great vacation.

Listen, there truly is no wrong or right way to vacation. You get to decide what you want and that decision may look different for you at different times. 

Maybe you do want to work some. Maybe you don’t want to work at all. Maybe you want to work a lot and just want a change of scenery. Maybe you just want to check your emails to keep your inbox clean.

All of those options (and any others) are fine.

But decide in advance exactly what you are going to do.

Understand why. 

Examine whether you like the reasons. 

And if you do, plan accordingly.

If you decide in advance that you aren’t working at all – what do you need to do before the vacation to make that happen? Finish up certain projects? Delegate? Push back deadlines?

If you decide in advance that you are working, decide exactly what you are willing to do and how much time you are willing to spend doing it. Otherwise the work creep will take over your vacation.

If something comes up that you weren’t expecting, decide how you are going to handle it in advance to the extent possible. Who can you ask to step in? Arrange that before you go. If you can’t arrange it in advance, and it comes up for you, figure out what actually has to be done before your vacation is over. Do that and only that.

Being stuck in indecision doesn’t make for a great vacation. Waffling doesn’t make for a great vacation. Making the decision in advance helps cut down on so much of the mental drama. (Not necessarily all of it - you are human after all - but so much of it).  

Less mental drama = better vacation.

A ❤️ note to you: Learning to make decisions in advance is a skill. Learning to know and like your reasons for your decisions instead of making them based on unintentional thought patterns is a skill. Learning how to stick to your decisions is a skill. You don’t need a coach to learn these, but it sure does help the learning process move faster. If these are skills you’d like to learn, sooner rather than later (or never), sign up for a free call with me at jenndealcoaching.as.me/consult. 

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How to Enjoy Your Vacations More - Part 4

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How to Enjoy Your Vacations More - Part 2