Preparing to leave the workplace for a fortnight in a palm-fringed nirvana should have you kicking back and living in margherita time up until the departure lounge. But instead a dread-like fear has entered the equation making you even question why you booked a holiday in the first place.
There’s so much to prepare, loose ends to tie up, people to inform and work to complete before you leave, and you just know you’re working yourself towards a fortnight on a drip in a foreign hospital.
Will they cope without you? What if they cope too well in your absence? Will or wont you be missed? Will your clients move to a competitor?
And what about that Machiavellian newcomer waiting in the shadows for the ideal time to “cover” for you while you’re away? What if said wanna-be does a better job at it too, become the blue eyed Next Big Thing and you’re out of the picture before you can say P45?
No wonder we have to pay a king’s ransom to throw yourself to the furthest corner of the world to get away from it all. We live and work in environments dominated by emails, voice mails, deadlines and targets and all with demands on our time that expect a five minute response and turnaround.
Lunches are for working through, commuting is catch up on the laptop time and evenings are for preparing for the next day. Weekends? What weekends?
The idea of taking the Blackberry to the beach and a few work files to glance through on the plane is becoming increasingly attractive but that way madness lies.
Coaches often work with executives close to burn out working to the mistaken belief that they are indispensable.
They are perhaps failing to trust their own value, have forgotten the meaning and purpose of what they’re doing and think that work/life balance means having a half a day at the weekend in which to sort the laundry.
Some self coaching questions at this time could include:
• What can I do, dump or delegate in the time remaining?
• What do I need to believe in order to leave work happy and contented for my holiday?
• How have I created this situation of ……….
• What unhelpful thoughts do I need to let go of here?
• Is the fear real or my imagination?
None of us can ever truly predict the future and trusting that all will be well in our absence takes a leap of faith. But with the right amount of preparation, trust and a reasonable assumption that the world wont come crashing down as soon as you wave “adios” to your colleagues, you can have the holiday you deserve and return refreshed to the situation you left a fortnight before.
Carole Ann Rice is MD of The Real Coaching Co. Find out more at www.realcoachingco.com
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