Do you yearn for a vacation but hesitate taking time off because you dread the state your business will be in when you return? You’re not alone. This fear makes many of us have a bad attitude toward taking vacations. Vacation should be a permission slip to live carefree, slow down, and really enjoy life. The reality is your return to work could feel like getting run over by an eighteen-wheeler because of the hundreds of new emails and voicemail messages surely waiting for you. You do not have to return from vacation overwhelmed though! These seven simple strategies will enable you to enjoy your time off, because they will ensure a stress-free return from vacation.

1. Set Expectations And Abide By Them
Set clear expectations with your staff and clients that you are going on vacation and do not break them. If you tell everyone you will not be able to return their emails and phone calls until you are back in town, stick to it! If you reply to even just one email or return one call while you’re away, you are asking for trouble. Don’t set that precedent. If you do it once, they will expect you to do it again. Vacation over!

2. Change Your Voicemail
Let callers know you are out of the office and provide a date of return in which you’ll be able to connect with them. Include instructions on who can assist them while you are away and how to get in touch with that person. Delegating your responsibilities for while you are on vacation will reduce the amount of calls you need to return and tasks you need to complete once back in the office.

3. Create A Vacation Folder And Email Rules
Set up a new folder within your email account named *Review Upon Return. Then, create an automatic rule to forward all of your incoming emails to that folder. When pesky notifications sound that you have X new emails in your inbox, the temptation to look is just way too hard. Use this awesome trick to eliminate the urge to read work emails while on vacation.

4. Turn On Your Out Of Office Auto-Reply The Day Before You Leave
It is nearly impossible to reply to all of the emails that flood your inbox right before you leave. Notify senders a day in advance of your departure that you are on vacation to set the expectation that you will not reply to their email until you return. If you wait until the day you leave to turn the notification on, you could find yourself responding to emails into the late hours prior to your vacation – just so you can depart feeling like you tied up loose ends and can now relax.

5. Stop Working the Day Before You Leave For Vacation
Ok, you can work but don’t schedule any meetings or appointments the day before you leave because they give rise to new tasks to create, projects to research, and people to reach out to. The last thing you want is to produce a head full of new ideas demanding planning and solutions right before departing. Use this day for catching up only. Close open loops on projects and tasks so you can leave with a clear head.

6. Do Not Overschedule Yourself The First Day Back
The day you return also needs to be reserved strictly for catching up on current tasks and projects and responding to their related emails and voicemails. Again, no meetings or appointments. Taking on too much upon your return would lead to playing catch-up for weeks and negatively affect your productivity.

7. Process Your Emails
Do not return from vacation and check your emails! Checking means cherry picking which emails to read and respond to. Instead, process emails starting in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest). Determine which action to take upon every single email between Delete, Forward, Reply, Schedule, or File and make your move. Instead of overwhelming you like checking emails does, processing emails aids you in creating an organized, manageable inbox.

All work and no play is harmful to the soul. Because you put so much time and effort into running your business, you have earned breaks from your daily work demands to go and refresh your soul. Taking regular vacations is key to improving your productivity, fostering renewed focus, and decreasing burnout. Don’t turn down the opportunity to take a vacation for fear of the impending doom upon your return to work. Enjoy your time off knowing with confidence you fully prepared yourself for a stress-free return from vacation!

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This article originally appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of CHOICES Magazine