为休假准备的十件事

1. 给你老板发个备忘录，问他是否同意你离开两个星期，并告诉他具体日期，还可以再问问，这是否和他的休假计划相冲突。这不仅仅是告诉他你可能会离开的时间，表示你可以和他的计划协调一下，同时还能提醒他，他也将休息一段时间，那么别人也有权如此。

2. 告诉你的同事，如果你是经理级别的话，那就告诉你的下属，你将休假的消息以及离开的时间，确保在你不在的时候一切还能正常运行。如果你的重要下属也计划在同样时间休假的话，那你休假时可能就会心神不宁，所以就告诉他们换时间吧。休上个专有假期就像打仗一样，总是会有一些损失的，但不能因此就放弃了你的假期。

3. 如果你要出国的话，确保你有最新的护照。一旦你确定事情进展顺利后，别忘了跟老板说一声，用轻松活泼的话语告知他你的假期计划正如期进行，你感到非常高兴，希望他分享你的喜悦，看他是如何回应别人的情绪的。

4. 确保在你要去的地方你的电子设备能正常工作。手机没有“黑莓”（BlackBerry）那么重要。这不是因为你一直要发电子邮件，或者你希望每时每刻都能被人联系到，而是因为你只要在早晨和一天结束前发半小时信息，你就不用查看收件箱中的8756封信了，而其中有些还有“紧急”的标记，尽管你已经设了一条“离开”的自动回复。顺便提一句，当你做完这些，你可以随机地对老板说，黑莓在怀俄明的群山中还能工作，真是太棒了。

5. 如果你要去像中南美洲伯利兹城这样的地方，有大如橄榄球的昆虫和传染人类未知疾病的丛林，你要打一些必需的预防针。别忘了在老板能听到的情况下，抱怨下接种时的疼痛。

6. 在你假期开始的前一周，看一下你的计划。人们将会在你计划离开的两周内安排满事情。不能解释为什么会这样，但事实总是如此。“为什么我的日历上会有与Beanie和Cecil的会面？”你可能会问是谁写上的。“我就要走了，已经和你们说过十六遍了。”然后他们会回复说，“你要走？真的吗？”无论如何，你应该为自己空出时间，把重要的事情安排给他人。

7. 如果你是一个经理的话，你走之前几天需要召集所有的重要员工，再问他们一次，在你离开的这段时间，他们要做些什么。尽管你已经确认过没有人会同时休假，但至少会有一个人说他或她本来也打算离开。不能解释为什么会这样，但事实总是如此。与人为善，因为他们将来或许会成为你的老板，所以你现在不得不小心待人，特别是那些正在走上坡路的人， 他们可能会在你走下坡路时对你不利，但确保你的手下在你离开时仍能井然有序地工作，这意味着他们都会坚守岗位、尽职尽责。不要忘了和老板抱怨一下，处理这些事情有多么困难。

1. Send a memo to Bob, asking him if it’s okay for you to take two whole weeks together, and informing him of the date and perhaps asking whether it fits with his vacation plans. This will not only serve the function of informing him of your potential non-presence and coordinating it with his own, but also remind him that he, too, will be taking some time off and that others might be entitled to some also.

2. Inform your colleagues and, if you are a manager of some sort, your reportees that you will be away, telling them when, and making sure that your functions are covered during your absence. If any important subordinates were planning to take the same time, and it would destroy your peace of mind while you are away if they did so, simply tell them that they’re out of luck. Establishing a bona fide vacation is a war. There are going to be casualties, one of which should not be your vacation.

3. Make sure you have your passport up to date, if you are traveling abroad. Once you ascertain that all is in order, make sure to drop the fact that you have done so to Bob, employing a breezy and informative style that let’s him know that your vacation is proceeding according to plan and that you’re happy about it and hope he shares that happiness, seeing how he’s so tuned in to other people’s feelings and all.

4. Make sure that your electronics work at the location to which you are going. Cell phones are not as important as BlackBerrys. This is not because you will be doing e-mails all the time or that you wish to be reachable 24-7, but because by doing half an hour of messaging first thing in the morning and at the end of the day, you will be avoiding the nightmare of returning to 8,756 e-mails in your inbox, some of which were marked URGENT! even though you put up an away message. After you have done this, by the way, you may observe to Bob in an offhand way how incredible it is that BlackBerrys work in the mountains of Wyoming.

5. Get any shots that you require if you are going to places like Belize, which has bugs as big as footballs, and jungles that sport diseases that haven’t been invented in humans yet. Don’t forget to complain that those inoculations hurt within earshot of Bob.

6. One week before your vacation, take a look at your schedule. People will have stuffed it with things to do for the two weeks you are planning to be away. There is no logical reason why this happens, but it does. “What’s this meeting with Beanie and Cecil doing on my calendar?” you may ask the person who put it there. “I’m going to be away, as I told you sixteen times already.” To which they will reply, “You’re going away? Really?” In all cases, set about clearing your time and delegating the important stuff to other people.

7. If you are a manager, a few days before your departure call in each of your key people and once again inquire what they are planning to do during your absence. At least one will mention that he or she was planning to be away, in spite of the fact that you have ensured that nobody was going to be doing so. There is no logical reason why this happens, but it does. Be kind to this person, because they are likely to be a future boss and you have to be careful how you treat people when they’re on the way up, because they may be the ones who are treating you on the way down. But do make sure that your ducks are in order for your time away, which means that they are all present and accounted for. Don’t forget to complain to Bob about how hard it is to do this.