Change Your PTO Forever By Simply Turning Off
Everything Work-related, Turn It Off. Delete it. Destroy The Desire To Check-in
Everything Work-related, Turn It Off. Delete it. Destroy The Desire To Check-in
It’s really that simple. Some people have no problem with this, but if you’re like me you might struggle with leaving your job for a few days.
Tech companies especially have this problem when they offer “Unlimited PTO” — personal time off — as a benefit. Too many individuals fall into ruts where they view themselves as unable to turn off. The feeling is generally perpetuated by management but is a solvable problem. For those that struggle, read on. Those of you that don’t, keep enjoying those vacations!
“But my team needs me!”
Oh ho, so self-important are we? I used to be this way. It was extremely limited to those around me and honestly, if they knew that I felt that way when I went on vacation, they would have beat me up.
Set up a leave of absence plan detailing anything that is set to launch or needs attention during your absence. The longer you will be gone, the more detailed this should be, but the key piece is to work with your team on coverage.
As a manager I have a “for every day you’re gone, please give me 1-week advance notice,” not because I like rejecting PTO requests, but because I want to make sure folks can switch off and I have time to get coverage for their absence.
If something breaks, your team will recover
Say it with me “if something breaks, my team will recover.” If you don’t believe that is true, find yourself a new team or a new company. It’s too much pressure to put on yourself to think that you are the only one standing between success and failure (unless you are a one-person company).
Your absence is a good chance for your team to stretch into new areas of code, new responsibilities, or nothing new at all. Regardless, it gives you a chance to let go, and a chance for your team to realize how big of a hole is left when they don’t get their usual dosage of dank memes on Wednesdays.
Turning everything off
Let’s get real tactical on how to do this. You need to get rid of apps on your phone that are tied to work. If you’re like me you probably mindlessly check in when you’re not doing anything in particular. The best way to ward off the work demons is to delete everything associated with work altogether.
Messaging service
I’ve always used Slack at work, but I’m hoping this extends through other messaging platforms as well. Set a status on yourself that states clearly “OOO 8/24 – 9/1” or something along those lines. Add a fun emoji that represents your time away so it drives the point home further. Set yourself to inactive, and pause notifications. Once all of that is done, delete the application from your phone.
Email
Set an Out of Office notification so when someone emails you, it will ping back to them with details on your absence. Add a note about who to talk to instead, then turn off all notifications and delete the application.
Phone
Remind your team that you will not be responding while you are away. The further up you go, there could be things that need a fairly prompt response. Let your peers know what sort of item would be an absolute emergency and only then can they send you a text you may not respond to.
Learn from what went well or what went poorly
Every change is an opportunity to learn, and your PTO is no exception. Once you return, chat with folks to see how things went while you were out.
Did you leave anyone in the lurch?
Did they get by fine without you?
What things could you do differently next time to make a smoother transition?
Did your negative fantasies of taking time away come true?
Our anticipation of what could go wrong is usually worse than what actually goes wrong. There are very few things that can happen from one week away from work that are unfixable when you get back.
Stop making excuses and go away
For realsies, if you’re super worried, start small with a day or two off. When things don’t completely explode, make a mental note and lengthen the PTO next time around. Continue doing this until you take a full week off.
Challenge yourself to take some time off in the next few months, you’ve earned it.
What else has helped you take more time off over the past few years?