Summer, winter, spring, fall. Doesn’t matter the season, it just never seems like the right time to go on vacation. You’re either in the middle of a project, at the end of one, or just starting another. As project manager, you set the tone in your work environment, so if you want to be sure everyone is at peak performance, you need to show your team that it’s important to take time to recharge.

Taking uninterrupted vacation time for yourself and supporting other team members to do the same is the first step. As well as by example, be sure to tell your team in meetings and in one-on-one conversations how important you believe quality time off is. They should know that while they’re on vacation, they are not expected to participate in conference calls or return voicemails or e-mails. So be sure you do the same. Make sure team members realize that in order to be able to enjoy vacation time, everyone needs to be committed to making it happen.

Needless to say, if people arbitrarily start scheduling vacation time, disaster is right around the corner. But just as with any other project, it’s important for you and your team to have a vacation “project agreement” on the books. You’ll need to iron out how far in advance vacation requests should be made, determine if there’s a minimum and/or maximum number of days that constitute “quality time off,” and figure out how many people can be on vacation at the same time. Beyond that, it’s also good to establish some best practices for how to take a vacation.

1.     Preparation is everything. In addition to giving you a status update as project manager, team members need to let everyone else know when they’ll be gone and who on the team is covering for them.

2.     Leave worries behind. Be sure to brief whoever is covering for you before you leave and make sure the materials and/or files they might need are easily accessible. Your voicemail message should indicate who can be contacted in your place for immediate help, and your e-mail system should have an automatic “out of office” reply turned on as well. You also want to make sure you leave yourself some notes about what needs to be done when you return, so you can get back into the swing of things more easily.

3.     Stay away! Don’t call the office to talk about work or to check voicemail or e-mail. You’re either at work or on vacation – so don’t try to be in two places at the same time. Trust that even without you there, the team can follow through on your behalf. Lose the guilt over taking this time off; you’re simply having as much respect for your personal life as you do for your professional life.

4.     Back to work. Give yourself some time to get caught up and acclimated. Try not to schedule meetings or travel for your first day back in the office. Instead, tell everyone what a great time you had. And start planning your next vacation!