How Do I Stay Productive On Vacation
- Sep 7, 2022
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 23, 2024
Written by: Janifer Wheeler, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Staying productive on vacation can be super challenging. Sticking to your normal routine of meetings, calls, emails, and projects is nearly impossible as you try to meet the demands of your lazy family who only wants to take a break and have fun. Guess what? Getting off your phone, computer and iPad is a great idea. When you let go of something, you find space for something else… like being present and producing unforgettable memories.
Advice from a work/life balance coach
If you’re looking to relax, reset or reconnect, but you bring along an extra suitcase filled with lots of work, that’s not a vacation — that’s boot camp!
I remember those days… before I became a productivity coach and started my JOYFullProductivity movement.
I’d come home from a trip more exhausted than when I left and with more laundry! On so many trips, I’d have planned a fairly tight schedule, filled with rushing from this thing to the next — hurrying because “it might close” or “the line will be long.” Missing meals or eating late. To be honest, doing a lot of the same bullshit behaviors I did at home is why I never felt fully rested after a vacation.
Once I changed my perspective on productivity and realized that slowing down IS the key to doing more, I applied it to my travels. Now we travel with looser plans and sometimes, with no plans at all other than finding a cool restaurant or seeing some music.
Letting go of Toxic Productivity behaviors can be hard. Breaking free from old patterns and habits isn’t easy. However, making a few tweaks can help you feel more confident in taking a break.
How do you truly unplug? Here are my tips:
What does it mean to unplug yourself?
Having recently returned home from a 12-day trip to Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific NW, here are my best MICRO tips for JOYFull Productivity on a BREAK!!
Most of the time, when you put your phone, watch, or tablet on its charger, you don’t use it. You leave it alone and do something else as it replenishes its battery.
The same goes for vacation. Unless someone is bleeding, barfing, or otherwise dying, it’s not urgent. It can wait. Go do something ELSE.
The following tips will help you prepare so that your vacation is the break you deserve.
Create a vacation plan with buffer days
Building in days at the beginning and end of your trip provides uninterrupted time to pack and prepare for departure and return. For example, I like to leave my house clean, all the laundry done and put away, trash removed, fridge clean, etc. I can’t do that if I am working until the last minute.
The same goes for the return trip home…because the house is clean when I get back, I can use the next day to do laundry, meal plan, buy groceries and check the mail so I can EASE back into my regular schedule rather than crashing headlong into reality without a helmet.
Pack efficiently
Why are colors important in packing?
As a former over-packer, I have learned that picking a color scheme and building your entire wardrobe around it helps you pack more efficiently and makes deciding what to wear less of a hassle. Great for kids, too.
I usually go with black, navy, or gray as my base. I then include tops, fun shoes, scarves, or jewelry to add pops of color. It’s pretty much creating your own version of Garanimals. This also reduces the number of shoes you need as one pair of black shoes could easily go with all of your outfits.
Check off each item as you pack it. It could also help to note where you pack it, especially if you are over a certain age and experiencing temporary, yet lengthy, mid-life syndrome. This is helpful when you repack for home — just go back to the list and check it twice! Not leaving your crap at hotels is so very nice!
Become a minimalist packing queen
We hear a lot about minimalism when traveling, and as much as I like streamlining and finding ways to save time and energy, I also tend to overpack for fear of wasting vacation time looking for shaving cream, razors, a hair dryer, band-aids, Nyquil, etc... I’m still working on it.
In addition to packing with a color scheme, you can extend your wardrobe by adding scarves, belts, jewelry, or any other fun, small accessories to the basic pieces. For example, I could take 2 t-shirts and 1 pair of jeans into 6 outfits on the cruise by interchanging a belt, a scarf, and jewelry.
Less shit in my suitcase when I leave = more room for souvenirs!
Commit to disconnecting
This is possibly the hardest one for those of you who are stuck in toxic productivity hell. It’s also hard for those who aren’t. Easy access to technology has altered everyone’s attention span, and phone addiction is real. Even the best-laid plans to avoid your phone/email/social media can be derailed.
If it feels too hard to truly disconnect from your business and not check-in, at least put an “OUT OF OFFICE” auto-reply on your inbox and reduce the amount of time you check your email. Maybe pause the notifications on your phone and let some calls go to voicemail.
The more distractions you can eliminate, the more restful this break will be.
Should I check my work email on vacation?
Protecting your vacation time and putting some hard boundaries around email is really important. Nothing ruins a vacation day faster than a problem you have to manage from hours or countries away.
Attempt to limit yourself to the day you leave (wrapping up loose ends), and the day you return (catching up) with nothing in between.
Frances Jay nails the philosophy of JOYFull Productivity: “My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do.”
This is especially applicable when you are taking a break from your business. Your brain, body, mind, and soul need to rest and reconnect with those you love, including yourself.
At the JOYFully BadAss Business Academy, our mission is to help you disrupt the hustle culture mindset that causes toxic productivity, overload, and burnout. If you are struggling with overload and have a hard time taking a break, sign up for a FREE Bundle of tools to help you get started on your journey to JOYFull Productivity.
Janifer Wheeler, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Janifer Wheeler is a former teacher turned entrepreneur. She’s spent over 25 years helping schools & small businesses get their shift together through process design, internal structure, education, and workplace culture.
She started The JOYFull BadAss Business Academy™ to help other BadAss female biz owners win the burnout battle using JOY as a business strategy. Her work-at-your own pace courses are delivered via MicroText, making them easier to integrate into your daily routine.
Her clients have gotten trapped by their own brilliance and believe the hype that you must hustle & grind or you will never be successful. No one at the JFBBA believes that BS. If it’s not JOYFull, they aren’t doing it.
As an advocate for JOYFull alignment, she facilitates a process that ensures you are working in your JoyFull Zone of Genius more than you aren’t. And for the rest of the shift that needs to be done, hand it over to staff or an assistant.
It sounds scary ‒ giving other people control, but the JOYFull BadAss has your back. She will help you create the process, structure, and workplace culture you need to effectively and efficiently build a team that will help you avoid business owner burnout and realize the goals & dreams you set for yourself.
Janifer is an award-winning international speaker and facilitator who can infuse your organization, conference, workshop, or event with joy and BadAssery.
She enjoys connecting with people through her global networks that including Netwomen.co, Mums at Work, Amazing Women Alliance, The JOYFull Badass Network, Polka Dot Powerhouse, Brainz Magazine, FEM, and Entrepreneurs Rocket Fuel. There’s no limit to what can be done when we lift each other up.
