Planning for a long/big vacation

Obviously, I have a theme this week! My family and I have left for 3 weeks in Park City, UT.  Some have wondered, how can you possibly do that?  Well, it isn’t always easy, and the key is planning.  Planning at the business and planning at home.  I start lists weeks in advance on the home-front (stopping the paper, holding the mail, setting up automatic transfers to cover the already automatically paid bills, and training the neighbors’ children to take care of the fish and water the plants).  On the office side of things, it’s talking about it at staff meetings, spending time preparing my team for all possibilities that could happen while I am out, and alerting my clients.  Then, you have to relax.  Ok, maybe you forgot something…you can buy it there or live without it.  An important bill is going to come while you are gone (call the company to take care of it remotely).  And the last step is to practice leaving for significant periods of time…regularly!  We have been doing this for a number of years and each year it gets easier.  We know the routine, we start the list in advance, everyone knows their duties both on the home-front and at the business, and then we just go with the flow once we’re gone.  You can do…start small if you have not taken many vacations.  Go for 4-5 days, then 7-10 (get 2 weekends in!), then work your way to 2 weeks and more!