Administrator, Your Holidays Matter

Your holiday is booked. The family is excited. The slower days are calling your name!

But wait…there’s heaps of work to do before then!

You’re looking at your week wondering how on earth you’re going to get everything done before you set your holiday response email.

This is no way to start your well-deserved break. So, let’s prepare well so you can rest well!

Here are my top tips for making sure you can really switch off but no one is left wondering if the service run sheet will get done!

4-6 weeks before your leave do the following:

1. Look at all your weekly tasks

   1. Which ones can happen in advance?

   2. Which ones need to happen during your leave?

2. Look at all your irregular tasks 

   1. Which ones can happen in advance?

   2. Which ones need to happen during your leave?

Ok, you should have two lists; things I will do before my leave and things that need to happen during my leave.

For the things that can happen before leave:

1. Ask for your content and necessary info early! You’re putting extra things into your normal weeks, so you need to give yourself plenty of time to get them done.

2. Plan when you will do each task so that nothing gets forgotten

For the things that need to happen during my leave:

1. What’s easy to delegate? Delegate it now.

2. Can anything be scheduled or just missed? If it’s during a school holiday break,  a lot of people will be on holiday during this season; will members mind if the sermon audio/video goes up online a week late?

3. For the things leftover, make a plan. If you’re worried, chat to your supervisor/pastor to nut it out together 

If anything is put in the ‘I’ll just hop online and do it while I’m on holidays’ list…try again! This list doesn’t exist. We’re often tempted to do this rather than ‘put someone else out’ or accept that it doesn’t need to happen. However, we underestimate how much this can undo our time of rest. Just popping online can easily lead to more work. You may see an email that you find hard to ignore or a notification that needs attention. Then you could spend the next few hours or days having to disconnect again. But if you truly switch off, you’re more likely to come back from holidays rested, rejuvenated and ready to get back into it. 

Do you find this hard? Rest is a good gift from God that he wants us to enjoy. God himself rested after creation, Jesus rested throughout his earthly ministry and there is a pattern of rest for God’s people in both the Old and New Covenant. God has created us as creatures who need rest and we can ask him for help to do it well.

Now, when it comes to that final day of work you should be tidying up loose ends and scheduling social media posts, announcements or emails to go out, not stressing that the list is too long! And when it comes time to set your holiday response email, go for it! Close down all of your tabs, turn notifications off and log out of apps on your phone. Commit to really being on leave from your work so that you can come back refreshed and energised to serve God and your team wholeheartedly!

Head over to the VCA Hub for more resources and to share anything else you find helpful when preparing for leave!