Continuing the theme of summer survival tactics, this week's column focuses on planning for chaos. While last week was all about serenity and inner management of stress, this week is all about steps and tools to help things run as smoothly as possible.
First, get yourself into a good state of mind for using last week's four-step gratitude approach: A few deep breaths, envision people you love, notice something beautiful around you, a few more breaths, and done!
Now it's time to get practical. It's vacation time. You'll be away … and so will other people. Knowing this, prepare well in advance for the impact on your work.
Start by listing all of your projects and areas of responsibility. For this first step, nothing is too small. Then flag the ones that are active now or will be during vacation season. Make a plan for each one — who you need to communicate with, what you can do in advance and the best back up person in your absence. For lower priority, lower risk projects, this can be a light effort. But for your centerpiece projects, it'll be worth the effort to do deeper planning.
Let's say, for example, that you're responsible for the publication of a newsletter in September. A lot of work has to happen over the summer to ensure successful delivery. Even with a good project plan, it may not have the nuance to help manage planned absences. You can ease the stress by scheduling pre- and post-vacation check-ins with people, finishing deliverables that'll be due immediately upon returning before you go, and setting clear expectations about who's in charge while you're gone. Work with others on the team to get the same type of prep in place for their time off.
Do some pressure testing on your plans, considering everything that could go wrong. Use "if … then …" to develop contingency plans. This is best done with the whole team, each person thinking from their point of view, both in terms of potential problems and solutions.
Develop a list of backup people, and be sure they will really be available. It is beyond annoying — and unfortunately, quite common — to call a backup only to find that they are also on vacation.
Remember, too, that there will be things that come up that are genuinely unpredictable. Accept that, do your best to plan, and don't beat yourself up over those "out of the blue" events.
