Fish More, Worry Less – Making the Most of Vacation Time
Unless you are retired, or unemployed, or have a massive trust fund, then you probably have a finite amount of vacation time each year. Whether it’s two weeks, or three, or four, or more, it never seems to be enough to accomplish everything that would otherwise be possible.
If you work for yourself, you might have more autonomy in determining when you take time away, but you might also have more responsibility that prevents you from taking that time off. If you are employed by some other entity, then you likely have limits imposed on when you can be outside of the workplace.
Of course, the goal with any strategy should be to keep your job. Security, seniority and institutional knowledge all have their own benefits. Even if you intend to shift to something else at some point, you want it to be on your terms, at the time/s that you choose, not with a surprise pink slip. When you are at work, it pays to be 100 percent engaged, and none of your superiors should think that your leisure time always comes first. At the same time, don’t be a patsy – make it clear that your leisure time is part of the bargain, and part of your compensation. You’ll want as much as you can get.
Hanna and I have both been at our jobs for the long haul. She’s been at hers since September of 2004 and I started mine in February of 2001. Over that time, we’ve made some mistakes with respect to accumulating and using vacation, but we’ve also developed some savvy strategies for maximizing time.
The following list is a Baker’s Dozen of ideas – you don’t need to implement them all, but even one or two can make a huge difference:
If your workplace allows you to carry over vacation time, try to carry over as much as possible early in your career. For my first three years at this job, I got the equivalent of 13 days of vacation, before moving to 19 in the fourth year. Thirteen doesn’t go that far – a week off here, a day or two there, and a couple of family events. I was miserly with it my first year and took ZERO vacation time, which meant that in years two and three I had the full 19 if I wanted them. I ended up banking even more, so going forward I had extra time. It sucked that first year, but come on -- you can do anything for a year. [A corollary to this. If they don’t let you carry over vacation time, use it all or ask to be compensated for it. It is part of your compensation package.]
If your workplace allows you to earn/use comp time, volunteer for extra assignments. By working on some of your days off, or a few extra hours a day, you can quickly bank a lot of extra time off for when you want it, while also appearing to be a super-productive team player. Take on an extra shift, or an extra project. If you would’ve been sitting at home watching reruns of “Friends” or “Law & Order” anyway, this is a no-brainer.
Trade Shifts with a Co-Worker. If your workplace allows it, trade shifts or weeks or assignments with a (responsible) co-worker. Back in my tournament-fishing days I knew a lot of first responders who seemed to have a bunch of time off to practice. Typically, it turned out, they had seniority to choose the best shifts, which put them in position to trade them with more junior co-workers. If you don’t mind working on holidays or your friend’s birthday, or weekends, you can easily put yourself in position to have more consecutive days off than your schedule would typically allow, all without taking more vacation.
If (when!) you are recognized for doing a great job, ask for a bonus of time off. Many workplaces give cash bonuses for a job well done. There’s no reason that they can’t give you time off instead, or in addition to, the cash, even if there’s no formal way to do that in place. Just ask. When budgets are lean, it’s a particularly good way to retain employees without laying out a lot of scarce money.
During your annual review (you should ALWAYS ask for at least one review per year), ask to be accelerated on the leave schedule. Many workplaces have semi-rigid plans for accumulating vacation time. You might get two weeks annually your first two years, then three weeks until you’ve been there 10 years, then four weeks thereafter. When your boss is commending you for going over and above the call of duty and thanking you for your incredible devotion, that’s the time to ask to move into the next class, even if it’s “not time.” It doesn’t cost them anything out of pocket. More importantly, unlike the “bonus vacation” in #4, it sticks with you – for example, if in the above illustration you’re moved up to four weeks of vacation after year five, you get that same amount in the five ensuing years when you would have earned less.
Ask for an alternate work schedule. When I started at my current job, I was expected to work five weekdays each week, eight hours apiece. Most of the time I was there for nine hours anyway. After a year, I asked for one of the formal AWS plans that my workplace offers – called 5/4/9. Now, I work nine out of 10 weekdays. Eight of them are 9-hour days and one is an 8-hour day. That gives me an extra day off every two weeks, effectively giving me 26 extra vacation days. I’m there anyway, and I don’t have to rush home to pick up kids or feed them, so why not work the extra hour? I’d work four 10-hour days if I could get EVERY Friday off.
When you switch jobs, take time off in between. Ideally you’ll get some severance pay when you leave, or your final paycheck will trail your departure by two weeks, so that builds a financial cushion. Use it to take some time for yourself unless they really need you to start immediately or you really need the cash. Remember in #1 when I described how I took zero vacation time when I switched jobs in 2001? That’s technically true, but the reality is a little different. When I left my job at a better-paying law firm, I was still owed two weeks salary. We’d also just been given some generous bonuses. I had enough cash to see me through easily, so I negotiated three weeks off between jobs. That gave me enough time to take care of some “life errands,” recharge my batteries, and fish a big tournament at Toledo Bend.
Negotiate Up Front. If you’re in position to do so when accepting a job offer, ask for more vacation or an accelerated vacation schedule up front. Not all offers will be negotiable, but as long as it doesn’t make you look like a slacker it doesn’t hurt to ask for an extra week of paid vacation, or a bonus amount for meeting certain goals. In today’s ultra-competitive job market, the applicant/acceptee often has the upper hand.
Always use holiday weekends to your advantage. I’m fortunate to get a generous suite of Federal holidays off at my current job. Combined with my every other Friday off, I get quite a few four-day weekends. Add in a single day of leave, and that’s enough for a four-night, three and a half day trip to Lake El Salto. On Columbus Day weekend, Hanna and I went to Grosse Savanne in Louisiana for two days and then fishing for a day in East Texas and I didn’t use any vacation. It kills me when I don’t get to use those days to my advantage.
Take the first/last flight out. If your vacation time is more valuable than your money in some instances, pay more for the better flight times. I catch an 8pm-or-later flight home many times, which often puts me into bed after midnight, but I always manage to drag myself into work the next day. Under the same circumstances, many of my traveling companions take a day off, but to me that’s just a waste. Note: If you’re a brain surgeon or rocket scientist, please disregard this advice and only go into work when you are well-rested. Also, non-stop flights are worth extra if you can get them at the right times. Even if a connecting flight would allegedly get you home at the same time, you double your chances of being delayed or canceled, which increases the odds you’ll have to take an unnecessary vacation day.
Once you’ve established credibility and some amount of seniority, see if you can occasionally telework. If you can squeeze in a few hours of work from a remote location, or while the plumber is at the house, or after your kid’s 2pm school play, you can minimize the amount of vacation time you have to take. You might even be MORE productive on some matters. Again, the key here is to avoid at all costs any appearance that you’re cheating the system. If you’re marking down remote hours and you’re instead at the pool, or taking a nap, or giving it less than 100%, you are going to lose all credibility. Document everything you’ve accomplished so they know you’re not shirking duty.
Trade Quality for Quantity. If your workplace has firm limits on the amount of vacation you can take and when you can take it, as long as you’re financially stable upgrade your experiences. If you were going to take a domestic fishing trip, maybe splurge for the Amazon. If you were planning to go to Alaska and return to work on a redeye, find a way to go business class so you can return slightly more refreshed. There is always value in saving and sacrificing for later, but the occasional splurge can feel good, too.
Leave Without Pay. This should be a last resort because it hits you in the wallet and also restricts your future flexibility, but if you’ve run out of paid vacation time and encounter an opportunity you just can’t miss, ask if you can take leave without pay. It allows you to keep your job and still enjoy the experience.
Everyone has different limitations on what they can ask for an accomplish, depending on the nature of their work, their financial needs, their employer and their family situation. The goal is turn 10 vacation days in to the equivalent of someone else’s 15, or to make 20 “feel like” 25. My AWS calendar alone is a life-saver. I don’t know what I’d do without it. By adding in a few extra tidbits, I still have to work, but it doesn’t feel quite as onerous.
