As you may or may not know, I’m out in the middle of the Ontario wilderness (well, I guess it’s more like somewhere between Ottawa and Gananoque) on a company retreat. But it’s not exactly a retreat per se. Work still needs to be done.
Until fairly recently I’ve struggled with having to do any kind of work outside the office, but now I’ve got a lot of practise and a few tips that have helped me get through working most weekends, and now this retreat. We’re supposed to be doing team-building activities during the day and encouraged to spend the rest of our time relaxing. However some of us have deadlines coming up so it’s been tricky to do all the activities, spend time with my coworkers and get in a few solid hours of work each day.
Here are my tips to stay productive, even when you’re on vacation.
Tip #1: Get as much done as possible before your trip
This is a no-brainer, right? The less you have to do on your vacation means more time for you to play. Prioritize getting the major part of your workload out of the way before you leave rather than putting it off to plan outfits/bathing suits/meal plans (I am definitely guilty of this) that aren’t necessary. The weekend before we left I spent about eight hours on some more complicated stuff that I knew I would struggle with during the week. This is probably excessive, but I was glad I did because that meant I could make time for other things besides all the company activities like checking in with friends, reading, or writing this blog post. 🙂
Tip #2: Make a schedule and stick to it
When deadlines are involved you have to make the time or your work just won’t get done. Don’t compromise on this, unless your work isn’t super important (in which case you probably don’t need to work on your vacation, so go outside and play already!).
I was lucky in that most of my coworkers were also expected to get things done so most of my disturbances were project-related and they respected my space. If you’re not so lucky, tell your traveling companions when you’ll be working and stick to it. Otherwise you’ll get sidetracked by all manner of distractions like people wanting to play badminton, go swimming or saying things like, “you can work later!”.
I recommend getting your work done early in the morning, preferably when everyone is still sleeping (for me that was pretty easy, I work with some really lazy guys) so it’s nice and quiet. If you can’t manage that, find a place separate from where all the fun/distractions are happening and put some headphones on until you’re done.
Tip #3: Be realistic about that schedule you just made
We went white-water rafting on Wednesday this week and there was absolutely no way I could have gotten anything done. We were gone from about 6am until 8pm and barely managed to stumble into an exhausted heap in the hot tub when it was all over. The next morning I slept in and didn’t even feel guilty (well, maybe a little). But I made some time while the others were making brunch to fit in a few smaller tasks that I’d been putting off. And since today is Saturday, I’m also not going to feel guilty about using my scheduled morning work time to put together this blog post. The guys are going to set up a fancy BBQ for dinner later so I might do some work then. Or I might not. It doesn’t matter, because I’m on vacation!
Bonus Tip
Obviously it’s better not to have to do any work at all, but if it has to happen don’t stress. And don’t forget you’re on vacation! It’s okay to have a day or two or more for just fun.
Now I’m off to work… on my tan by the pool. Have an awesome weekend!
-C
