Get Out of Town! 5 Tips for Lightening Your Workload So You Can Take a Vacation

You work hard. You covet every day of vacation you're entitled to. So why aren't you using them? According to Expedia.com's annual "Vacation Depravation" survey, nearly one-third of Americans do not always take their vacation days. In fact, Americans are likely to give back more than 421 million unused vacation days in 2005.

Before blaming your job for forcing you to surrender your precious time off, take a look at your own habits at work and home. The best way ensure that you don't forego a single well-deserved day on the beach, on the slopes or just relaxing at home, is to increase your personal productivity. By tweaking the way you work and structure your day, you can get more done in less time and feel good about it. Best of all, you will never have to say no to a vacation again. Here's your five-step game plan for seizing control of your time and boosting your personal productivity:

1. Draw a line in the sand

Creating boundaries is a crucial step in regaining control of your time and increasing your personal productivity. The hard part of setting boundaries is telling other people what's important to you in a way that doesn't compromise the relationship.

First of all, schedule everything in your planner: exercising, going to church, taking the kids to the zoo, having a date with your spouse, spending time with friends, etc. That way, when a coworker says, "Will you come help me raise money at this event?" you can open your calendar and honestly say, "Gee, I'm really sorry. I have something planned." If it's not written down, you might accidentally say, "Uh, no, I'm not doing anything on Saturday. I guess I can help you out."

2. Don't be so darn picky

Have you ever delegated a task to someone, then taken it back because the person didn't do it the "right way"? You may suffer from the disease of perfectionism. If you demand that people perform your way, according to your perfect standards, many people will be content to let you do things your way, leaving you wondering why you have so much on your plate! The bottom line is: distinguish between a high standard and an unrealistic expectation. Some things require high standards and have to be done "just so." Most expectations we impose on others, however, are simply picky-picky standards without merit.

3. Learn to trust your subordinates

You should always retain broader management duties such as overall planning, policy making, goal setting, and budget supervision, as well as work that involves confidential information or supervisor-subordinate relations. But if there is another person who is 80% as capable to doing a task as you are, then delegate.

Consider delegating the following types of work:

• Decisions you make most frequently and repetitively
• Assignments that will add variety to routine work
• Functions you dislike
• Work that will provide experience for employees
• Tasks that someone else is capable of doing
• Activities that will make a person more well-rounded
• Tasks that will increase the number of people who can perform critical assignments
• Opportunities to use and reinforce creative talents

4. Question job responsibilities and related tasks

Have you ever looked back on a completed task and realized that if it had gone undone, there would be no consequence? When you're faced with too much to do, assess the tasks by asking, "What would happen if I simply didn't handle this?" If the answer is "nothing," don't do it.

In order to create effective work objectives, you need to know where you are expected to invest your time, energy, talents, and company resources. If you are to be evaluated on your successful accomplishment of work objectives, do those performance objectives really match what you do during the day? The things you want to or should be working on aren't always the things you're being evaluated on.

5. Stick to your guns

Many of those people have a jam-packed calendar because they can't say "no." Others prey on them, because they know a people-pleaser can never refuse. Perhaps you're afraid of losing control on something you may eventually be responsible for. It's time to get realistic and determine if the demands on your time have exceeded your ability to handle them.

Saying "no" does NOT undermine your authority or competence. Your credibility is actually enhanced when you honestly tell people you lack the time or the interest. First, it makes you seem more desirable (we always want what we can't have). Second, you ensure that you don't perform tasks slipshod, making you appear less competent in the end. Three, you'll have more time to devote to the tasks that do return the highest value for your time. So flex that "no" muscle, create your rules, and make sure others stick to them.

Make it a productive day! ™

© Copyright 2005 Laura Stack, MBA, CSP. All rights reserved.

This article may be reprinted provided the following credit line is present: "Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP, is "The Productivity Pro"® and the author of Leave the Office Earlier. She presents keynotes and seminars on time management, information overload, and personal productivity. Contact her at 303-471-7401 or Laura@TheProductivityPro.com."

Sell More: Laughing and fun boost profits and reduce bickering, Laura Laaman, Business First of Louisville.

Workers need a raise to lift economy. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne, IN, USA. Since 2001 yearly productivity growth has averaged 4.1 percent, while wages…

US Job Growth Boosts Outlook, Los Angeles Times (subscription) - CA, USA.
Productivity growth has tapered off recently. The broadest measure of employee pay, the employee cost index for salaries and wages, rose 2.4% in the first quarter.

Q: Laura,

I have enjoyed your website immensely. I wanted to ask you, I noticed on your wall you have a color-coded system on your calendar. Could you tell me how you organize things? Thanks, Chithra D., Cliffside Park, NJ

A: Great question!

I have a wall calendar that my assistant maintains, so everyone in the office knows where I am. My virtual employees (sales force) use the Internet and a live calendaring system (www.eSpeakers.com), which links my schedule right to my Web site.

For the in-office calendar, I like to use color-coding labels (round, ¾" diameter) on an annual wall calendar, to not only reflect the events on my calendar, but to ensure I have the appropriate life balance. I'll list the colors I use (you will have to modify the categories to fit your particular job and life situation), but this will give you an idea of how to start:

GREEN = GO. Firm (paid) business scheduled. For me, this is a speaking or training engagement
YELLOW = HOLD. Try to schedule around this date. We're currently holding the date for a client possibly interested in booking me on that day.
BLUE = CAUTION. A conference I'd like to attend, birthdays, first day of school, Halloween, etc. My staff must check with me on these dates before scheduling me for anything. I keep the first "hold" on my calendar for these days.
RED = Trainer out in the field. My sales force has booked another trainer (not me) on these days. I just want to be aware they are out there that day.
ORANGE = Blocked for vacation. I like to see a good week of orange every couple of months.
PURPLE = Laura's personal day. I block out one day a month for a fun day, just for me. I get a massage, pedicure, manicure, etc.

Get creative! Pick different colors to indicate goals in your life (exercise days, relationship days, etc.) to strike the balance you want to achieve. I also use miniature dots on my day planner for a broad, quick view while I'm on the road.

I've placed photos of the wall calendar and my planner on my web site for you to review.

Ask the Productivity Pro® Your Burning Question

What is the most frustrating productivity challenge you experience at work? What keeps you at work late? What is the biggest waste of your time? What is the #1 thing that negatively impacts your productivity?

Ask Laura your question and it and Laura's response may be featured in an upcoming newsletter.

Laura, I think your book (Leave the Office Earlier) on the subject of personal productivity is the best book I've read on the subject; practical, realistic and engaging enough to motivate me to action on a number of counts. The assessment and subsequent suggestions for prioritizing reading and work on the principles in the book are most helpful.

Ruth S.

Laura, I'm so excited that I have an empty inbox! I attended your session in San Diego and it's really working! I bought your book for a co-worker to share the principles. I usually carry around at least 100 messages so this is huge for me! Thank you so much!

A big fan,
Rebecca H., Boulder, CO

Dates: September 7 & 8, 2005
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: 2 Inverness Drive, Suite 189B, Centennial, CO 80112

September 7
"Planning and Conducting Productive Meetings: Making the Time Count!"

Meetings, meetings, meetings! Where minutes are taken and hours are wasted. Today's managers and professionals spend so much time attending them…you'd think most would be trained in how to plan and run them. Not so. Most meetings frustrate employees, because agendas aren't distributed, objectives aren't defined, time runs over, and no decisions are made. Another two hours of your day down the drain! This course gives people who call meetings the requisite skills to plan and execute a productive meeting, and follow-up properly afterward. It also provides the protocols necessary to keep a meeting on the right track, even if you're just attending. You will learn to achieve the objectives of the meeting, in a minimum amount of time, in a way that's satisfying to all participants.

September 8
"Project Management for the Rest of Us: Secrets for Productive Goal Setting and Planning"

Whether you are remodeling your basement, coordinating a social event, or managing a new software release, the competencies and skills of project management are the same. Everyone manages projects at least part-time. In fact, many people in an organization do not have a job; rather, they pursue a number of projects. This course will help you carry out your projects productively with proper planning, scheduling, and monitoring. The complex tools you've heard about in project management are refreshingly absent. The process is simple, and the tools presented do not presume any prior knowledge of the subject. Questionnaires, checklists, and worksheets are provided.

Tuition: Your investment for each workshop is only $295 per or $245 when enrolling three or more individuals for the same workshop. A $100 discount will be given for the second day if you enroll in both seminars.

Registration: On-line registration is preferred at www.theproductivitypro.com/program_publicworkshop.html. Or you can print the enrollment form and fax it to 303-471-7402 with credit card information. You can also mail a check made out to The Productivity Pro® to 9948 S. Cottoncreek Drive, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130. You will receive a written confirmation of your enrollment.