4 Things to Do At Work the Day Before Your Next Vacation

By Chelsea Babin

Although the summer season is winding down many people are planning for or looking forward to their upcoming vacations. From which hotels you’ll stay in to your travel plans to your itinerary you probably have it all figured out. But do you have your last day at work before your vacation planned? You should! Here are 4 things you need to do at work the day before your next vacation.

1. Set Your Out of Office Email Early: Chances are you’ll have a lot of things to do on the day before your vacation and not necessarily enough time to do it. Why not set your out of office email to start a day early? That way anything that isn’t incredibly high priority can automatically be relegated to a later date so you can focus on important tasks now and you’ll be able to let anyone sending you emails know that you’re about to be out of the office for a period of time.

2. Focus on Anything High Priority: It’d be nice to get everything on your to-do list done before vacation but sometimes that just isn’t feasible. Make sure you dedicate some time in the morning to make a list of any high priority tasks that you need to complete or work on before the day is over and set aside as much time as possible to knock those out on the day before you leave for your vacation.

3. Communicate With Collaborators, Customers, and Clients: Does everyone know you’re leaving? Does anyone need anything from you before you head off on vacation? Make sure you set aside some time to communicate with important collaborators, customers, and clients the day before your vacation so no one will be surprised you left and so you can address their needs, if they’re urgent, before you head off at the end of the day.

4. Have Clear Boundaries Set: Are you okay with getting a few work calls on vacation if they’re urgent? Do you have some time at the airport to tackle a few work related tasks? Or would you rather the last bit of work you do be at the end of the day? Make sure you communicate your expectations and the boundaries you’re comfortable with to your bosses and coworkers before leaving for the day. Leave them contact information if it’s different than your normal contact information or simply let them know that you’ll be unplugged for those days and unable to help with any work related matters.

If you don’t have a game plan for your next vacation or for your last day at work before your next vacation it could turn into a bit of a disaster. However, if you do these 4 things on that last day you’ll be prepared to relax without fears or anxieties of things you forgot to finish up at work following you around on your trip.