How To Unplug Without The Stress: A Project Manager’s Guide To Time Off

As a project manager, you know the pressure of juggling multiple deadlines, managing teams and clients, and keeping everything running smoothly. The idea of taking time off can feel like an impossible dream. So rather than taking real rest, you end up checking emails while vacationing, opening your laptop around loved ones, and ultimately not giving your full self to work or vacation. 

I’ve been there. I’ve let “urgent” client needs get in the way of family time. I’ve scrambled to find WiFi on vacation just to send one more email. 

So how can you step away from the chaos without everything falling apart? The answer is simple: planning. It’s all about setting yourself (and your team) up for success, so you can recharge without the guilt or stress of returning to a mountain of work.

Here’s how to do it.

Before You Leave: Setting Yourself Up For Success

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Two Weeks Prior

Ideally you should be letting your team and stakeholders know as soon as possible that you’re planning to take some time off. But at a minimum, you need at least two weeks to make sure everyone is on the same page and aware of your upcoming absence. The focus at this point is on informing others, and setting yourself up for success for when you return. 

• Mark your calendar—and everyone else’s. Make sure that your time off is on your calendar and, just as importantly, on the calendars of your manager, your team, and any important colleagues. The sooner it’s on everyone’s radar, the better.
• Block time for re-entry. Don’t forget to reserve time on your calendar for your first day back. Block out at least the morning (or even the entire first day) to catch up on emails, project updates, and to reorient yourself with any developments that occurred while you were away.
• Sync with project resources. Touch base with your team to discuss active projects and what they might need while you’re away. If there are critical deadlines hitting during your time off, see if it’s possible to accomplish the work early or hand off upon your return. If that’s not possible, make sure you have a clear action plan. 
• Designate a point of contact (POC). Choose someone to be your go-to person for client requests and questions from the team while you’re away. Be sure to check that they’re not also planning time off during your absence and align on what kind of support is expected from them.
• Communicate with impacted parties. Be proactive in communicating with your key stakeholders and clients about your time off. This gives everyone enough lead time to plan around your absence and does not create any unnecessary stress about the impact to projects. 

One Week Prior

As your vacation time inches closer, your focus should be on reminders and risk management. You might feel like you’re being annoying, but reiteration is key. Everyone is wrapped up in their own lives and work—odds are they aren’t thinking about your upcoming vacation (or the challenges that might come up while you're gone). Some things you should be doing one week out from your time off:

• Create a status report. Provide a detailed status report on all active projects. This should include deadlines, key milestones, and any critical dependencies. Walk through the status with your team and address any questions to avoid confusion while you're gone. If you're already using project management software, this should be a breeze.
• Remind everyone. Send a reminder about your upcoming time off, who the point of contact will be, and any critical notes. This ensures no last-minute surprises.
• Assess risks. Anticipate potential risks or challenges that could come up while you’re out. Work with your team to develop contingency plans to address these risks so that the project continues to move forward without interruption.

As part of risk planning, it is also important to work with your POC on what constitutes an emergency worth contacting you about. This gives your POC clear boundaries on what should escalate to you (and how to reach you) and what the team can try to solve on their own. 

For example, you might agree that if any of the following emergencies come up, they should contact you:

• A client is threatening to terminate a project. 
• A resource is unexpectedly OOO and it has a major impact on a project. 
• A client’s site goes down.

Day Of Departure: Last-Minute Preparation

At this point, your head is probably so in vacation mode that the idea of doing anything else feels impossible. Resist the urge to throw in the towel early! With just a few additional minutes of prep before you log off, you’ll keep your projects running smoothly and make your vacation even more enjoyable. 

• Send a final reminder. On the day before your vacation, send a final reminder to all impacted people, reiterating the status of ongoing projects, your absence timeframe, and the POC’s details. Attach your project status report and risk contingency plan for easy reference.

• Block time to unplug. Block off the final hour of your day to wrap up loose ends before you leave. This buffer prevents you from staying late or logging back on once you’re officially offline. 
• Set your out-of-office (OOO) response. Set your OOO email response to start a few hours before your end-of-day. This gives you a buffer so you can focus on critical work prior to departure and let anything non-critical hold off until your return. Don’t forget to also update your chat status with your vacation timeframe.

During Your Time Off: Setting Boundaries

We’re all guilty of peaking at our work email and messages while we’re on vacation. This urge comes from a good place—we just want to make sure everything is going okay without us. But these small check-ins can actually have a huge impact on your ability to truly recharge. Instead, focus on disconnecting and trusting your team. 

• Disconnect to reconnect. Ideally, you’ll want to stay fully offline during your break. If it’s possible, turn off email and phone notifications. If you still find it too tempting to check in, you can even delete any work apps from your phone for the duration of your time off. 
• Put trust in your team. As the one typically in charge, it can be really easy to want to jump in if you see an issue arise. But you won't know what the team is doing to solve that issue in the background, and by interfering, you won't be giving them the opportunity to step up and work towards a solution without your guidance. The more trust you give your team, the more successful you will be in building a team of problem solvers. 
• If you must check in, set limits. If you absolutely need to check in on work, set strict boundaries for yourself. For example, limit checking in to 30 minutes in the morning or evening. The goal is to stay present and not let work creep back into your time away.

After Your Time Off: A Smooth Re-entry

After a fun and relaxing vacation, the last thing you should do is run full-steam ahead and burn yourself out the moment you return. I’ve been there—it’s easy to convince yourself that taking a vacation was actually more stressful than not taking one. Focus on pacing yourself and easing back into the flow of work. 

• Send a quick note upon your return. Send a message to your team, key stakeholders, and clients that you've returned. Let them know that you are still digging through email, so if there is anything that requires immediate action, ask that they flag it for you to avoid any delays.  
• Tackle emails strategically. Before responding to anything, skim through all of your emails and chat messages. Often, issues will have resolved themselves in your absence, and you’ll avoid the mistake of responding to something that’s already been handled. You’ll also get a clearer picture of what needs an immediate response, and what can wait a day or two. Very few messages need a response the moment you return. 
• Catch up with your POC. Schedule a quick check-in with your designated point of contact to get a rundown of anything that came up while you were gone. This way, you’ll get up to speed and can tackle any outstanding tasks. Some important topics to cover: Any missed deadlines (internally or on the client side, and the impact to the project timeline), any frustrations on either side, or any wins you can celebrate with the team. 
• Express gratitude. Your point of contact likely had to take on additional responsibilities while you were away, so be sure to thank them for their support. A small gesture—whether a thank-you note or a coffee gift card—can go a long way in showing appreciation. 
• Sync with project teams. Extend your usual huddle to allow time to discuss everything that was accomplished while you were out and any issues that arose that still need to be addressed. 

The Bottom Line: Plan, Protect, And Recharge

The most important takeaway from all of this? Your time off matters. Taking a break isn’t just a luxury—it’s essential for your productivity and well-being.

If you don’t take care of yourself, burnout is inevitable, and that will negatively impact both your personal life and your work performance. A vacation is meant to give you the space to rest, recover, and recharge. With the right planning and clear boundaries, you can be sure that your projects continue to run smoothly in your absence. Taking the time to prepare for your time off doesn’t just benefit you—it sets your team up for success too.

So, take a deep breath, follow these steps, and go enjoy your well-earned break. You’ll return to work feeling more refreshed, focused, and ready to take on whatever comes next.