Vacation was sooooo good. If you’re thinking you can’t imagine how I could take a vacation right now, I get it. It’s hard to leave at this time of the season. We took off for a week to go to Mexico during Spring Break, and it wasn’t easy knowing I’d miss some of our most important practices before our biggest competition yet. Additionally, we have tryouts available to the public for not just All Star, but for our All Star Dance and Competitive Tumbling programs. So, how did I make this vacation possible without feeling stressed the whole time? Below are my top 3 tips for taking a vacation from your gym: 

  • Have a couple vacation checklists. I know the week before vacation is going to be a little crazy, and my brain isn’t always on the most important things, so I’ve eliminated errors over the years by creating a few checklists. 
    • The first is a checklist for everything I need to pack every time I go on a trip. Do I need a hair dryer every time? No, but it’s on my list so I can think about it and assess if I need to bring it each time. You can keep this list on a Trello card or in your notes section on your phone. When we get back from the trip, I uncheck all the boxes and it’s ready to go for next time.
    • The second checklist I use is one to make sure all the loose ends are tied up before I leave. I put an autoresponder on my email, make sure my staff knows about any special practice things (what I want them to be working on, if a certain stunt group needs special attention or if someone will be gone while I’m gone so they can plan ahead.) I also do a few things like make sure any chat features on our website and social media are being checked by someone else for the week. If you teach private lessons, this is a good time to just double check that calendar and make sure your regulars know you’ll be gone.
  • Do a vacation runthrough. This sounds silly, but taking a few days off the month before you go on vacation can be super helpful to make sure your staff feel confident in their capabilities while you’re gone. It also helps you see what systems need revisions and what major areas will need your attention while you’re gone. Make sure your staff knows it’s a runthrough so they can pretend like you’re not available. It’s important for you to see their decision-making skills before you’re potentially unavailable to answer questions for a few days!
  • Get up a little earlier. The week before I left, I worked a little longer than normal. Once my daughter went to bed, I hopped back on my computer for a few minutes each night so I could work ahead. I made sure to stay focused with my time. Now that I’m back, I woke up 30 minutes earlier this morning than normal. I actually think I’m well-prepped for the week, but I’ve already seen this morning that my list is a bit longer than expected. I intend to tackle those things one at a time and utilize the mornings before anyone else is awake. Is this EXTREMELY hard after a week of sleeping in and napping on the beach? You betcha (as a Canadian would say), but it’s necessary to make sure I can get back in the swing of things.

One more tip – I realize Worlds, Summit and All Star Worlds can be ANYTHING BUT a vacation. I also realize that the gym must go on even while I’m gone, so I use the items above and treat those as “vacations” as well. There’s nothing worse than stressing about gym emails while you’re watching a division or heading to warm ups. Good luck, and go plan your next vacation!