A Floyd Wickman Team blog by Mike Pallin At the risk of being obvious, the answer for independent contractors is in the title. When it comes to vacations, prepare for them, take them and come back from them. It’s mighty important to do all three, and do all three right.

Prepare Here is Floyd’s #1 Rule of Thumb: Schedule vacations in advance. A scheduled vacation gives everyone back at home something to look forward to (LFT’s), and gives you something to work toward. Everyone needs LFT’s to be happy and pay the price for being out of balance.

Taking the right steps in preparing for a vacation, allows you take a true vacation and come back refreshed. Here are a few more ideas to consider.

Change your outgoing voice message.

Arrange for a partner to handle your emergencies while you are away. In return, you handle theirs when they are away.

Brief your team in advance, and trust them to do their jobs. People will go out of their way to prove you right if you show them you trust them.

Alert your clients in advance, and give them instructions on who to call if they need anything. Manage their expectations.

Finally, get yourself booked with appointments for the first day back at work. Hit the ground running.

Take Taking a vacation from work doesn’t include working. If you feel like you must at least check in now and then, set a schedule and a time limit for each check in. Nothing says to your family, “You don’t matter to me,” like taking a call in the middle of dinner. At the very least, set your phone on airplane mode and put it away. Leaving your phone out on the table, even if it’s turned over, isn’t putting it away. Disconnect from work so that you can reconnect with the special people in your life. It’s called undivided attention.

Finally, remember that things tend to start happening the day before you leave for vacation and things tend to pile up while you are on vacation. It’s just the way the Universe works, so accept it and appreciate it.

Come Back Some people can get back home from vacation at 10PM and be back at work at 8AM the next morning. I am not one of those people, so I always schedule a buffer day at home at the end of vacation for re-entry.

There are usually a few chores that need doing, photos to post, laundry, messages, etc. Giving yourself a day to re-acclimate to the home front lets you savor the vacation time away, reflect on it, and put a bow on the gift of the experience.

I hope these tips will help you create some wonderful new vacation memories. Many of these suggestions came from our program graduates and coaching students. To find out more about The Floyd Wickman Program and R Squared coaching, visit us a www.floydwickman.com.