Paul extols the benefits of taking time off.
Show Notes
Don’t wait! Get that vacation on the calendar.
To enjoy it to the fullest, take a couple of days before your vacation to get into “vacation mode.”
Completely unplug from work. Get out of the environment that causes you stress.
You’ll come back reinvigorated, but you still need to take a day to organize your newly formed goals and get acclimated once again.
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And most importantly…make it a big day.
How do I make the most of my vacation?
(Transcribed from podcast)
Well, given the time of year, I do have a great question for all those salespeople and sales leaders out there. And that question is, “How do I make the most of my vacation?” We are in the summer traveling season. Airports are busy. Beaches are packed. Now is the time when people are taking their vacation and, you know, taking a vacation, it can be difficult sometimes. Right? We’re busy. We’ve got deals we’re trying to close. We’ve got things going up in the air. But it is such a critical part of just shutting things down for a while—recharging. And that way you can finish the year strong—finish the second half of that year strong. So that’s the question we’re going to ask on today’s show: How do you get the most out of your vacation?
Before we do that though, a quick shout-out to Andrea over at The Creative Impostor Studios. Andrea, this is my notice. I’m going to be taking some vacation here in just a few days. Can’t wait for that. But anyway, you know, Andrea and her team, they do such a great job on editing the podcast, taking care of things, just getting things done. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, reach out to Andrea and her team. We’re going to have a link over to her website on this episode’s webpage. So, all things podcasting, Andrea is your go-to resource. Again, The Creative Impostor Studios is the name of her company. She’s also got a cool podcast as well, so check that out.
Also, if you’re going to be taking a summer trip, pick up some light reading. How about Value-Added Selling. It’s available on Amazon or wherever you get your books. We’re now in the fourth edition of the book. Actually, I’ve got exciting news on what the next five episodes are going to look like. We’re going to do a little five-part/six-part series on decision-makers, and a lot of that information can be found in the book. Check it out. It’s available on Amazon or wherever you get your books.
Let’s get back to that question: How do I make the most out of my vacation? Well, first thing you’ve got to do, you’ve got to schedule it—put it on the calendar. Don’t wait any longer. How many of you, right now, have those trips that you were putting off? Granted, I know we’re in COVID and there’s still a pandemic going on and all that, but I know there’s a lot of pent-up demand for vacation. So, if you’re waiting to book it, if you’re telling yourself, “Well, I’ll do it in the fall,” “Well, we’ll do it in the winter,” “Well, we’ll do it next spring,” just do it now. Take some time. You’ve earned it. Now is the time to take a break.
So, how do you make the most out of your vacation? Well, the first thing you’ve got to do is you’ve got to schedule it. You’ve got to plan it. You’ve got to make it happen. So get that date on the calendar. Block off a week. You know, companies, they give you, I don’t know, anywhere from two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, six weeks of vacation per year. They give it to you so you can use it. When you operate at a high level all the time, just like salespeople do, you need time to relax. So, make sure that you are taking your vacation time. Don’t wait till the winter. Don’t wait until the spring. Don’t wait until next summer. Book that trip today. You got to get it on the calendar. Once it’s on the calendar, you’re halfway there. So get it scheduled. Quit putting it off.
Next thing. To get the most from your vacation, it’s important to take a couple of days to get into vacation mode. I remember as a kid growing up, my dad would tell me something, and I always thought it was weird because I was a kid at the time. But he told me, he said, “You know, it always takes me at least two to three days to get into vacation mode.” At the time, I didn’t understand it, [be]cause hell, I was a kid. I was in vacation mode all the time, except when I was in school. But you’re in vacation mode all the time. And so I remember he did say something. It was really insightful, now, reflecting on it. I get it. I know. I’m getting ready to take a couple of weeks vacation here, beginning tomorrow, which you guys will hear this while I’m actually on vacation. But, what I’m going to do, I’m going to take two days before we actually leave to go on our vacation just so I can get ready—get in that mode. Because you know how it is. When you are constantly, everyday, getting up there, putting in the effort, making it happen, it’s not like you can just turn that switch off. Okay? And we don’t want to, most of the time, obviously, right? When we’re working, we want to keep that switch on all the time where we’re going and we’re getting things done.
But in order to truly relax, you really need to take a couple of days before just to get in that vacation mode. So, if you can do that, make it happen. Take a couple of days before your vacation starts. Get ready—get in the right mindset. It’s going to help your first few days of actual vacation be more enjoyable. So try to take a couple of days before you take that vacation.
Make sure you get out of your environment that causes you stress. You know, that’s another thing we can do to unwind, unplug, all that good stuff. You need to take yourself out of those situations that cause stress. And that includes your work environment. With many of us working from home, a lot of people are doing staycations, where you stay at home, you stay around your area and you go do things. That’s great. I get it. But you need to get out of the office, get out of your workspace, get out of those areas that cause you stress and just abandoned them. Literally abandon them for the time of your vacation.
Which brings me into my next point. To really enjoy your vacation and to really reduce your stress, you need to completely unplug from work. When I say “completely unplug,” I mean, completely unplug. Don’t even bring your laptop on vacation. If you can, don’t even bring your cell phone, your mobile device, whatever, if it’s tied to work. Leave all of that behind. Because you can’t truly rest if you’re constantly looking at your email. Or even if you tell yourself, “Well, about halfway through the vacation, I’m going to check my inbox just to clean it up a little bit so I can make my life easier when I get back.” No, don’t do that. Have people you know that work with you figure it out on their own. In fact, I remember one of my first sales managers who hired me. My wife and I were getting ready to go on our honeymoon for 10 days, and my sales manager, he said, “Give me your phone before you leave.” I was like, “What do you mean?” He’s like, “Give me your phone.” I’m like, “Dude, I’m not giving you my work phone.” I go, “I’ve got this project going on. This project—.” He goes, “I’ve got our sales guys taking care of it. You don’t need to worry about it. We’ll be able to order what they need. These guys all know your customers anyway. You’re fine. Don’t even bring it with you.”
And I remember what a great experience that was. What a favor that sales manager did for me—one of my favorite sales managers I ever worked for, by the way. But he completely allowed me to unplug.
Don’t check your email. Don’t go onto LinkedIn. Give yourself a complete break. Once you do that, you’re going to realize how well rested you are. You’re going to come back reinvigorated. You’re going to come back motivated. But you can only experience that if you completely unplug. So again, don’t call your customers. Don’t go on LinkedIn. If your sales manager tells you, “Hey, you need to check in with me.” Say, “No, I don’t. It’s my vacation, man.” So just completely unplug.
And then, one other tip. When you get back from vacation, give yourself one day to get back into it. So, let’s say your family goes on a trip, you fly back on a Wednesday—you land on Wednesday. Give yourself Thursday just to get organized. One thing that I know about vacations, once you come back from a vacation, things seem clearer as to what you need to do—direction, a new direction you want to go in. Perhaps even new opportunities you want to go pursue. Give yourself a day to organize and—. Give yourself a day to organize what you want to do next—to go after those new opportunities, those new goals that have motivated you. It’s really important to give yourself that day to get acclimated once again.
So, just a few thoughts. Make sure you take that vacation. It’s going to reduce stress. It’s going to reduce the likelihood of burnout. Over the past year and a half, we’ve all been working hard—everyone. You deserve that break. Don’t feel guilty about it. Make it happen. Completely unplug. And then give yourself a couple of days on the front end and then a day on the backend just to get in vacation mode and then to get out of vacation mode.
All right folks. That’s the show for today. Thanks for tuning in. I’ll see you when I get back from vacation. But until then, on our next few episodes, we’re going to have a whole series on different types of decision makers. I know you’re going to enjoy it. It’s going to be very insightful. So check it out.
Make it a big day and plan a vacation.
