Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of the VacationCounts readers, supporters, and followers on Facebook and Twitter!
I truly hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and did not personally experience airport distress or cancelled flights due to the extreme weather conditions in many parts of the U.S. and Europe. Now that 2010 is coming to a close, it is time to start thinking about your paid vacation benefit for 2011. Get out your calendar and start planning!
For me the end of the year has traditionally been the time that I purchase a new monthly calendar, grab a blank notebook, and write down all my vacation ideas to consider for the upcoming year. Since you follow the VacationCounts philosophy and took advantage of all your 2010 vacation days, 2011 brings with it a fresh slate of vacation days for you to plan, book, and enjoy.
First things first – check your final paycheck stub and see how many vacation hours you are carrying over from 2010 to add to your totals. Double check the latest vacation rollover policies at work to take into account the rules for carrying over days into the new year and limitations on when they may expire (e.g. they must be taken within the first 90 days). Don’t wait until HR tells you that you have reached some magical limit. Make it your responsibility to keep and use all paid time off since you will be working hard during the year to earn every hour of it. I recommend that you add a recurring reminder to your work calendar (with notification via email or text message if possible) to review your current vacation benefit accrual and time off usage policies at the end of every quarter.
I find it inspiring to reflect upon the vacations I took in 2010 as I open up my vacation notebook with a blank slate for 2011. Whether you prefer to use pen and paper or do all your tracking online, now is the time to get your holiday ideas written down before you make any decisions. Only by writing down all your ideas while consulting a calendar can you accurately determine which vacations are feasible given the constraints of work and family to reach your travel goals for 2011.
Vacation Calendar and Planner
Old School: Pen and Paper Planner
- Buy a paper calendar (wait until after the New Year for 50% off deals at your local shopping mall), preferably with a travel theme.
- Get out your map of the world or globe and all the travel guidebooks on your shelf to pick out destinations that are at the top of your list.
- Grab a pad of Post-It notes (multiple colors if you have them) to be used to tentatively mark dates on the calendar and allocate vacation days.
New School: Digital Planner
- Open Microsoft Outlook ® or favorite online calendar such as Yahoo! or Google Calendar in month or year view.
- Browse to one of the many mapping websites such as Bing Maps (Travel), Google Maps, MapQuest, Rand McNally to discover appealing destinations and road trips.
- Create a new document on your computer (Word, Notepad, OpenOffice) or in the cloud (Google Docs, Zoho, WordPress) to take vacation notes.
Regardless of which approach you use, old or new school, the vacation documentation and scheduling process is the same.
Vacation Scheduling Step by Step:
- Make a list of all the vacations you took in the previous year or two to bring to mind vacation memories from the past.
- Make a list of every destination, type of vacation, and rewarding activity that interests you for the upcoming year. Check out TravelMuse to Get Inspired based on your travel likes and dislikes.
- Prioritize your vacation idea list after thinking through the possibilities, socializing with others, reviewing travel books, and doing research online into costs, weather, transportation options, trip lengths, and other factors important to you.
- Mark all the company paid holidays and other fixed days off on your calendar, using a separate color or indicator since these non-work days are unmovable.
- Flag days on your paper or online calendar with proposed trips until you run out of vacation days, trying to avoid times you know it will be difficult to get away from work.
- Play around with dates, travel ideas, long holiday weekends, major events, and seasonal preferences to get the number and timing of vacations just right.
- Finalize the allocation of vacation days, leaving a few days “in the bank” for personal use or last-minute travel opportunities.
My advice is to use the list of where you vacationed last year as a starting point, but focus on only those trips that fulfilled your unique goals for vacation time. What is it about those vacations that made you happy and produced the kind of benefit you are looking to repeat? Try expanding beyond the specific locations you know about to destinations that offer similar desirable experiences. For example if you enjoyed having spa treatments at a resort hotel on the beach, consider other types of travel that can offer similar benefits. This can range from mountain resorts stays, trips to historic European spa towns, or booking alternative spa-like treatments overseas.
The outcome of this exercise is to fill your vacation calendar for the next 12 months with a realistic starting point. As you take time off and use actual vacation days, return to your calendar to keep it up to date and in sync with your actual accrual of vacation time. Your list of trip ideas will become more important as you find travel deals, get inspired by a specific destination, or simply decide that you are due for a fun and relaxing vacation right away. Most employers require at least some advance notice or manager approval of vacation periods so be prompt to request your vacations as rules dictate.
Make the best New Year’s resolution and start planning your vacations for 2011 as the clock strikes midnight. Return to work refreshed and motivated AND with the anticipation of amazing vacations visible on the horizon.
