With just three days till we all finish up for the Christmas break its not uncommon to feel so burnt out that you literally are on your knees crawling to the finish line. But putting your exhaustion aside, you need to ensure you cover all your bases before you take off on your break and make sure there is adequate coverage or plans in place for your absence. We all know that things run smoothly when we are in the office, so when we are not around things have the ability to go pear shaped (that is unless the offie is actually closed for the holiday period)! So for my last blog of the year I thought I would share with you my top 8 tips to safeguard yourself whilst on leave, allowing you to go off and have a well deserved and worry-free break:
1. Out of office on - check!
First things first, make sure you actually put an out of office on! Although we all know it's Christmas and there are obviously public holidays in the mix, it's still important to put your out of office on instructing others on who to contact for when and what. Make sure you detail who should be contacted for the different facets of your role (i.e for invoicing/PO approvals; for diary requests etc), and last of all put yourself down as the emergency contact. But I stress, state that you are only contactable in 'emergencies'.
2. Adequate coverage - check!
In an ideal world its always good to ensure there is at least one other assistant in the office that can cover you during the holiday period. But if you are in a small office and you are the only assistant, or the office is closed and you are forced to take leave, it's a good idea to keep a quiet eye on your email. Now I don't mean reading and responding to every email that comes in your inbox, as you are on holidays after all! But keep a silent eye on things to ensure there isn't any huge dramas going on that need your attention. And even if you do have someone covering you I am still a firm believer in checking that email every day, just once, silently. Keeps you in the know/loop on things too.
3. Pass on your passwords - check!
If you are going on holidays and are going to be completely uncontactable, ensure you pass on all your relevant passwords for yourself and your manager to your delegate so they can approve requests on your behalf. This is especially important if your manager is away on leave at the same time as you. Its naïve to think you can both go on leave and the whole business will just stop until you come back. It just doesn't work that way. So make sure you pass on your logins and passwords, as sensitive as this is, just ensure your delegate is trustworthy and they are stored in a safe place (i.e don't email them, and don't write them on something that can be lost, or worse still, stolen).
4. Ensure you're up to date before you walk out the door - check!
In the hype around the Christmas period and all the Christmas drinks and events that fill your final week, don't let your work fall by the wayside. You'll regret it when you come back in the new year. Its stressful as it is coming back from leave and trying to catch up on weeks of emails, so don't create any more unnecessary work for yourself. Just be organised and be on top of as much as you can before you depart for those Christmas drinks, or last minute bout of Christmas shopping!
5. Forward your phone - check!
Ensure your phone is forwarded to the other assistant covering you, or if there isn't anyone then ensure you change your voicemail to advise you're on leave, giving your mobile number for emergencies only. Similarly, change your voicemail on your mobile advising you are on leave and that in the event of an emergency please have them text you so you can respond. Its not uncommon for your phone to ring when you're on leave and even during the Christmas period, but that doesn't mean you have to answer it. However its difficult to decipher what's urgent and what's not by screening and listening to voicemails, so make it clear that in the event of an emergency they should text you.
6. Look forward at the calendar - check!
The last thing you want is surprises the day or week you return to work. So have a forward look at the calendar before you go and make sure you put in place any plans you need to for that first day, or first week back so that there isn't any last minute stuff going on when you walk in the door on your return.
7. Take your tools - check!
It's really important to take your laptop (and charger) home whilst you're on leave. Heaven forbid anything happens on the work front you will be well prepared and able to login and action anything urgent. Its better to be safe than sorry in these situations. You may think, "well I'm on leave - they can deal with it!", but a good assistant would be organised enough to have their tools at their fingertips with the ability to logon and act if necessary. Of course if you are off jet setting around the world you can't always do this, but none the less ensure you have your (work) phone at the very least.
8. Check your emails the night before...check!
As I mentioned before, there is nothing worse than coming back to thousands of emails after being away for even just a few days. So my best advice is to do a cull the night before you are due back so that you know what your priorities are. Respond to any of the quick emails, and delete out all the junk that has filled your inbox. Don't spend hours doing this as technically you are still on leave, but you'll be grateful you did this when you return the next morning!
Will all the above plans in place, you will be able to have a well deserved break, with every base covered so you can actually relax! We all do such a demanding job and when the end of the year comes most of us are just ready to fall in a heap. But don't drop the ball just yet. Make your list (not to Santa!) and check all the boxes before you walk out the door.
Lastly before I sign off for the year, I wanted to thank you all for your support and kind comments over this last six months. I have literally been blown away with the acceptance of my blog by you all which is so encouraging, making me want to post and expand my platform further.
Hopefully next year I'll have some exciting developments to share with you.....I just need to find some time to work on them all......lucky its the holidays! Guess what I'll be doing on my two weeks off?!
Wishing you all a fabulous festive season and happy and safe new year.
Lastly before I sign off for the year, I wanted to thank you all for your support and kind comments over this last six months. I have literally been blown away with the acceptance of my blog by you all which is so encouraging, making me want to post and expand my platform further. 