In this lively discussion, Kae shares her innovative PTO spreadsheet and its importance for mental health breaks. Kendra Adachi dives into her book, *The Plan*, offering insights for effective planning tailored to women's needs. Oliver Burkeman humorously discusses his book, *Meditations for Mortals*, focusing on embracing life’s limitations. The hosts also analyze their vacation experiences with the idea of a post-mortem to enhance future trips and preview the exciting 2025 Hobonichi planner, packed with design features to streamline organization.
Implementing a PTO spreadsheet helps individuals manage vacation days effectively, preventing burnout by tracking accrued, used, and remaining time off visually.
Conducting a vacation post-mortem allows travelers to reflect on their experiences, enhancing future trip planning by identifying successful activities and necessary improvements.
Deep dives
Utilizing a Paid Time Off Spreadsheet
A paid time off spreadsheet is a valuable tool for tracking and managing vacation days effectively. This spreadsheet allows for organization by pay period and includes columns for accrued days, used days, and remaining days, which gives a clear visual of one's paid time off balance throughout the year. By setting up automated calculations, users can easily assess how taking time off impacts their available days, making it simpler to plan future vacations. This method provides an enhanced understanding compared to traditional paper tracking, allowing individuals to consider mental health days and avoid burnout periods during the work year.
Conducting a Vacation Post-Mortem
Performing a vacation post-mortem can significantly enhance future trip planning by reflecting on what worked well and what could be improved. This reflective practice involves discussing factors such as timing, activities, and overall trip experiences with travel companions, providing insights into how to balance relaxation and structured activities better. For instance, assessing a trip's enjoyment level may reveal specific outings that did not resonate well with everyone, providing an opportunity to adjust plans for future trips. Ultimately, this practice fosters growth and encourages families to create even more enjoyable travel experiences in the future.
Anticipating Planner Releases for 2025
Excitement is building around upcoming planner releases for 2025, featuring brands like Hobonichi and Hemlock and Oak offering new designs and functionalities. Hobonichi is known for its quality and aesthetics, with a new cover inspired by Mount Denali that appeals to users, alongside a useful freebie this year—a grid notebook. Meanwhile, Hemlock and Oak has introduced soft covers, making their planners more user-friendly without sacrificing quality. Additionally, new planner brands like Halo are emerging, providing innovative layouts and features that combine extensive functional pages with goal-setting content, making 2025 a promising year for planner enthusiasts.
1- PTO Spreadsheet - inspired by my friend Kae (gratefulkae.com)
2- Vacation Postmortem! Consider doing a post-trip analysis with a partner. Can also extend to other home areas (summer, a school year, a holiday season, etc!)
3- Two upcoming books I’m excited about - Kendra Adachi’s The Plan and Oliver Burkeman’s Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts.
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