Summer’s here for those of us in North America and winter vacations are being planned elsewhere in the world. The usual vacation conversations are taking place in IMs, chats over cube walls, and on cell phones. (After all, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen people gathered around a water cooler…) Inevitably, amid the discussions about beaches, cottages, mountains, resorts and cruises, someone protests that there’s no way she can take a vacation this year because it’s just too busy at work. Well, I encourage anyone who’s thinking that way to take a good look at our June Know How Network article, “What I Learned on my Summer Vacation,” and the feature articles in this month’s Cheetah News. Everyone needs time to refresh and recharge; successfully doing so just requires smart planning within your work group. So don’t make an unnecessary sacrifice, because it probably won’t benefit anyone in the long run.

If you’re really nervous about being able to handle that workload waiting for you when you come back, maybe you should check out Cheetah’s new, online course offerings. Our Project Risk Management Online class helps you master the six project risk management processes of the PMBOK^® Guide – Third Edition so you can create a risk management plan for your projects that will save you time on every project. Maybe you’ve been planning to get started on your PMP^® certification but you’ve been dragging your feet because you’re not sure exactly what you need. Our CHEETAH^® SmartStart^TM for the PMP class helps you determine if you have what you need to successfully pass the certification exam. If you don’t, we show you how to prepare in a way that is most effective for you.

We can’t take care of all the travel arrangements for your vacation, but we can help you better arrange your time so you can get away. Enjoy your vacation!

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, Chief Cheetah

Last year for vacation...

According to a recent Yahoo! HotJobs survey, 74 percent of the U.S. workforce surveyed has two or more weeks of vacation time each year, but 45 percent of those people didn’t use all of their vacation days in 2006. You might feel you’re staying ahead of the game by not taking a vacation, but you may actually be getting further behind. Without time off to recharge your batteries and improve your focus, burnout can make you less productive. So tell us what you did with your vacation time in 2006.