While she wishes she could walk out of the office on Friday, head off for vacation and simply not think about work again until her mini-hiatus ends, she knows that's not a reality. From past experience she's found it's better to plan ahead and check-in while she's out on vacation. She's also learned that in order to truly enjoy her time away from the office, she, in fact, has to be away from the office. So she limits the time she's spends checking email and voicemail and makes sure everyone knows when she'll call in, so she's not fielding lots of calls from co-workers who feel they need to reach out to her. That way Girlawhirl gets to decide when to focus on work, instead of having work chase her all vacation long. She's not alone in her semi-working vacation status though. According to CareerBuilder.com, 20 percent of workers plan to stay in touch with the office while on vacation.

CareerBuilder.com suggests leaving a “roadmap” for her employees, with details on project due dates, important phone numbers and client lists to help them navigate the workload in her absence and – best of all – prevent Girlawhirl from walking into a “war zone” when she gets back.

For more tips on how to balance work while on vacation Girlawhirl and Super Pals read Are You Working or Vacationing? on Careerbuilder.com.

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Jul 26, 2006:

Can girlawhirl get away with a work free vacation?. read full entry