Do you feel completely frazzled every time you’re prepping for vacation—and then end up too exhausted to enjoy it?
Michelle is here to break down why vacation prep feels overwhelming (hint: it’s not because you’re disorganized) and shows how working women can simplify their to-do lists, set real boundaries, and finally rest—without guilt.
In this episode, you will:
- Learn how to identify what truly must get done before you leave (and what can wait)
- Discover why your out-of-office reply can be a powerful boundary to protect your peace
- Get practical tips to make packing easier and reduce stress the week before your trip
Press play now to learn how to prep for vacation in a way that actually helps you rest, recharge, and return refreshed.
Featured on the podcast:
What's Causing Your Overwhelm? quiz
Ep #67: Enjoy a Blissful Vacation by Planning Ahead
PackPoint
Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.
Send Me a Message - Have a question, comment, or just want to say hi? Message me here, I'd love to chat!
Work With Me - Interested in working with me 1-on-1, taking a class, or joining one of my coaching groups? Message me here to get the scoop.
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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Michelle Gauthier (00:00):
What if the most stressful part of vacation
is all the stuff you have to doin order to get there?
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
(00:20):
Working Woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences, andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life
.
Hi, friend, this podcast is verytimely because I am going to be
(00:41):
on vacation when this comes out, and so are many people.
I have been canceling with myclients for next week and it
seems like almost everybody elseis on vacation too.
I thought this would be theperfect time to talk about how
to prep for your vacation sothat you can enjoy the vacation
and feel less stressed the weekbefore.
(01:02):
When you listen today, you'regoing to learn why vacation prep
feels like a pressure cookerand how to ease it.
How to simplify your pre-tripto-do list without sacrificing
the things that really matter,and a little extra bonus why
your out-of-office message isactually a powerful boundary, or
has the potential to be one,depending on how you word it.
(01:24):
Actually a powerful boundary,or has the potential to be one,
depending on how you word it?
These ideas will change how youapproach rest, prep and
managing your time.
Maybe you've got a trip on thecalendar and this is perfect
timing for you.
Maybe you don't right now, buteither way, these ideas will
teach you how to approach restand prep time for time off
moving forward.
(01:45):
Before I jump into all that, ifyou are loving the podcast, the
best way to say thanks is totake 30 seconds and leave a
review.
It helps other overwhelmedworking women find these
conversations too.
I wanted to remind you too.
There's a quiz on the homepageof my website.
The link directly to the quizis in the show notes and the
(02:05):
name of the quiz is why am Ioverwhelmed?
As you know from listening tothis podcast, there are several
reasons that people areoverwhelmed.
It's usually one of four thingsthat's causing most of their
pain.
Take this quiz and find outwhat is the source of your
overwhelm and what to do aboutit.
No matter what your result is,I offer you a tip specific to
(02:27):
that result even printableworksheets and videos for you to
be able to make progress onyour own.
If you know you're overwhelmedand you've tried to solve it and
it's just not working out,maybe you are ready to work with
me.
The link to set up aconsultation for a one-on-one
conversation about that is alsoin the show notes.
(02:48):
Okay, let's get started.
So if you feel frazzledprepping for vacation, it's not
a sign you're disorganized orungrateful or that you shouldn't
be going.
It's just a lot to coordinate.
Okay, the first thing I want tosay about vacation prep is
you're not doing it wrong, it'sjust a lot.
(03:09):
So you know a lot on thispodcast I'm talking about that.
We can think about things indifferent ways.
So, yes, you could work onthinking this isn't a big deal.
Going on vacation is easy, butin my experience it really isn't
.
There, legitimately, are a tonof things that have to be done,
and especially at my corporatejob less so now because of the
type of job that I have, but atmy corporate job you can
(03:32):
guarantee that something wouldblow up and there would be a big
work emergency between if I wasleaving for vacation and Friday
was my last day.
For sure something would happenon Friday and on Thursday as
well.
For sure something would happenon Friday and on Thursday as
well.
I can specifically rememberworking until midnight or later
on several Fridays before wewere heading out on vacation.
(03:52):
When you have a lot going on atwork as well, it just feels like
so much to try to packeverything, get on the plane on
time, etc.
So I think the key to this isknowing and acknowledging that
when you are especially if youhave kids when you are the mom,
the person in charge of thefamily and usually in charge of
(04:13):
the kids if you've got a 50-50relationship and you guys are
each two and a half amazing,that is fantastic for you.
That is not what I normallyfind and, as a single mom, that
is not what I ever find at myhouse.
So if you're the one who'sreally doing everything prepping
for the vacation and makingsure the kids are packing their
things and calling to make surethat the dog has a place to stay
(04:36):
and all of that the first thingto do is acknowledge that it is
a lot and you will need time towork on that.
So just plan maybe a coupleblocks during the week in the
evening times to prep for thatvacation.
So you're not doing it atmidnight on Friday after you
finish up your last work call.
Which leads me into my secondpoint, which is to think about
(04:59):
the prep that you really need todo, and if you're like me, you
probably tell yourself that youhave to get everything on earth
done before you can go onvacation.
So there are a couple essentialsto prepping for vacation.
Number one is, of course, thepacking.
I have an episode, which isnumber 67, that talks all about
(05:19):
prepping for vacation and all ofthe things that you should
consider, like setting yourexpectations and what to use for
packing.
I don't suggest starting with ablank piece of paper.
Either use ChatGPT and say I'mgoing to Minnesota for five days
, I'm bringing my kids, we'restaying on a lake, etc.
Etc.
What do I need to bring?
And have it give yousuggestions.
(05:41):
Or I use an app calledPackPoint and it has just a list
of things to bring and you addor remove the things that you
want.
So it pretty much suggests like150 things and you need 30, and
then you can save it.
So every summer when I go toMinnesota, I already have my
packing list all ready to gothere.
So go, listen to that episodeif you need more details on
(06:03):
exactly how to do that.
The other part of it there's thepacking list in the packing and
then there is everything elsethat has to be done before you
leave.
For example, maybe you tellyourself I have to respond to
every email and get my inbox tozero.
I need to fold all the loads oflaundry.
I need to schedule 15 posts topost while I'm gone.
(06:23):
One of my other ones is Ialways decide you know, that bag
of returns that's been sittingin my bedroom for two months
must go back before we go onvacation.
My car right now I need to takeit in.
The check engine light is onMust get that done before we go
on vacation.
So ask yourself what canactually wait until I get back.
So if you'd prefer to get allthat stuff done and you have the
(06:46):
time, go for it.
But if you don't have the timeor it's going to make you feel
super stressed this week, askyourself what can wait till I
get back?
What am I doing out of guilt?
So maybe you feel bad.
You're going to be gone fromwork, so you feel like you have
to do all this extra If you'redoing something from guilt,
always question that you have aright to take vacation just like
everybody else does.
(07:07):
And what are my actual must do's?
So what must get done?
For example, before we go outof town, for sure I have to take
the dog to the place where shestays.
I need to stop the mail.
Okay, if I don't stop the mail,there will just be a big pile.
I really want to water myplants because I love my plants.
(07:28):
Other than that, like my housecould be a mess, my returns
could still be in my bedroom.
There could be emails that areleft.
So think about what must getdone, what you can pause and get
back to when you get home, andwhat actually just really
doesn't matter.
So one of the things that Ireally like to do is wash my
sheets and make my bed withclean sheets.
So when I get home, that Ireally like to do is wash my
(07:49):
sheets and make my bed withclean sheets.
So when I get home, that I comehome to clean sheets, it is the
best.
That is not a must do.
I can absolutely do it after Iget home and it doesn't really
matter.
I just really like it.
So it's kind of on the nice tohave list.
So once you do that, if youtake the advice of creating a
packing list with chat, gpt orusing Packpoint and then making
(08:12):
your list of everything you haveto do and really highlighting
the absolute essentials andseeing if you've got time for
the rest, hopefully you'refeeling pretty chill.
And then my third point is tomake sure that your out of
office setup is a boundary, nota trap for yourself.
So let's talk about thatmessage.
We slap on our email at thelast minute, that out of office
(08:35):
reply.
I feel like when I worked for acorporation that setting the
out of office reply was theofficial okay, I'm gone.
And if yours sounds like I'mout of the office, but feel free
to reach me if it's urgent orI'll be checking email
periodically.
That's not an out of officemessage.
It's like I'm halfway onvacation.
(08:57):
Please reach out to me if youneed me.
Please feel free.
One of my clients was justtelling me a story about how
they had this set up and someonecalled when they were at the
pool with their kids and ofcourse they thought this is just
going to take 15 minutes.
It took way longer than 15minutes, of course, and then she
couldn't get it out of her headfor the rest of the afternoon.
So she took one call and thenit ruined the time that she was
(09:19):
with her family.
She wasn't able to be presentwith them because she was
worried about this problem.
So, instead of that, setexpectations in your out of
office and just what.
You tell people from the officeand say I'm currently out of
the office, I'll respond after Xdate.
If it's urgent, please contactthis other person.
That kind of message sets thetone to say I'm not available.
(09:43):
I value rest, I value boundaries.
I trust that things can wait orthat other people can handle it
and, honestly, the most urgentthings usually aren't.
And right now, if you'resomeone who's like, yeah, but
you don't understand my job, Ihave to be on call all the time.
For example, I work with a lotof realtors and they do get
(10:05):
calls all the time and of course, they get deals during the time
that they're on vacation aswell.
If you can't just say I'mcurrently out of the office and
fully unplugged to rest andreset, I'll respond after X date
, and that won't work for yourline of work.
What will?
Can you have your messagesdefault?
Go to somebody else on yourteam and they'll reach out to
(10:27):
you if there's a problem.
Can you tell someone from youroffice that something urgent
comes up?
Call my phone, otherwise I'mjust put it, turning on out of
office.
What could you set up?
If not a full cut, what couldyou set up?
Another thing to think about,too, is what if you really were
going on vacation to some faraway place that did not have
(10:50):
Wi-Fi?
Would everyone survive?
Think about that, even if youare, just like me, live in St
Louis and going to Minnesota.
If you think about it that way,like I, am unreachable for the
next week.
What really is going to happenand why do we feel like it's
okay to do it?
If we are going to anothercountry, or we'll be in a really
strange different time zonethan we're used to, or we don't
(11:12):
have Wi-Fi or cell service, thatit's okay, but it's not okay to
just decide that you're onvacation.
So here's what we talked about.
First of all, we talked abouthow vacation prep feels like a
lot, because it is a lot.
We talked about how to do yourprep in the most efficient way
and making sure you're clear onwhat must get done and what are
(11:33):
nice to haves, and then how toset up your out-of-office actual
message and how you communicateto the people who you work with
.
One bonus that I've seen workreally well with lots of my
one-on-one clients is that they,upon return, take one more
vacation day.
So if you come back fromvacation on Saturday or Sunday
and you take Monday off and youhave that whole day to do
(11:57):
whatever you want to do if youwant to catch up on your laundry
, unpack, wash your sheets andput clean sheets on your bed,
take a nap, whatever it is Ihave just found over time that
people feel so much more restedand sometimes they'll even go
through their work emails onthat day that they're off, so
they don't walk into the officefeeling blindsided.
Hopefully a couple of thesetips will help you have a great
(12:18):
vacation with your family thissummer.
If you like this episode or anyof the episodes on this podcast,
I would be so grateful if youwould take the time to do a
rating or review.
Those are super helpful becausethey help other people see the
podcast.
When it has a lot of greatratings and people come and
search for overwhelmed, forexample, this podcast pops up
(12:41):
first.
So I really appreciate youlistening and I appreciate you
sharing the message with yourfriends.
Have a great week and have agreat vacation.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
website at michellegauthiercom.
(13:03):
See you next week.
What if the most stressful part of vacation
is all the stuff you have to doin order to get there?
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
(00:20):
Working Woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences, andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life
.
Hi, friend, this podcast is verytimely because I am going to be
(00:41):
on vacation when this comes out, and so are many people.
I have been canceling with myclients for next week and it
seems like almost everybody elseis on vacation too.
I thought this would be theperfect time to talk about how
to prep for your vacation sothat you can enjoy the vacation
and feel less stressed the weekbefore.
(01:02):
When you listen today, you'regoing to learn why vacation prep
feels like a pressure cookerand how to ease it.
How to simplify your pre-tripto-do list without sacrificing
the things that really matter,and a little extra bonus why
your out-of-office message isactually a powerful boundary, or
has the potential to be one,depending on how you word it.
(01:24):
Actually a powerful boundary,or has the potential to be one,
depending on how you word it?
These ideas will change how youapproach rest, prep and
managing your time.
Maybe you've got a trip on thecalendar and this is perfect
timing for you.
Maybe you don't right now, buteither way, these ideas will
teach you how to approach restand prep time for time off
moving forward.
(01:45):
Before I jump into all that, ifyou are loving the podcast, the
best way to say thanks is totake 30 seconds and leave a
review.
It helps other overwhelmedworking women find these
conversations too.
I wanted to remind you too.
There's a quiz on the homepageof my website.
The link directly to the quizis in the show notes and the
(02:05):
name of the quiz is why am Ioverwhelmed?
As you know from listening tothis podcast, there are several
reasons that people areoverwhelmed.
It's usually one of four thingsthat's causing most of their
pain.
Take this quiz and find outwhat is the source of your
overwhelm and what to do aboutit.
No matter what your result is,I offer you a tip specific to
(02:27):
that result even printableworksheets and videos for you to
be able to make progress onyour own.
If you know you're overwhelmedand you've tried to solve it and
it's just not working out,maybe you are ready to work with
me.
The link to set up aconsultation for a one-on-one
conversation about that is alsoin the show notes.
(02:48):
Okay, let's get started.
So if you feel frazzledprepping for vacation, it's not
a sign you're disorganized orungrateful or that you shouldn't
be going.
It's just a lot to coordinate.
Okay, the first thing I want tosay about vacation prep is
you're not doing it wrong, it'sjust a lot.
(03:09):
So you know a lot on thispodcast I'm talking about that.
We can think about things indifferent ways.
So, yes, you could work onthinking this isn't a big deal.
Going on vacation is easy, butin my experience it really isn't
.
There, legitimately, are a tonof things that have to be done,
and especially at my corporatejob less so now because of the
type of job that I have, but atmy corporate job you can
(03:32):
guarantee that something wouldblow up and there would be a big
work emergency between if I wasleaving for vacation and Friday
was my last day.
For sure something would happenon Friday and on Thursday as
well.
For sure something would happenon Friday and on Thursday as
well.
I can specifically rememberworking until midnight or later
on several Fridays before wewere heading out on vacation.
(03:52):
When you have a lot going on atwork as well, it just feels like
so much to try to packeverything, get on the plane on
time, etc.
So I think the key to this isknowing and acknowledging that
when you are especially if youhave kids when you are the mom,
the person in charge of thefamily and usually in charge of
(04:13):
the kids if you've got a 50-50relationship and you guys are
each two and a half amazing,that is fantastic for you.
That is not what I normallyfind and, as a single mom, that
is not what I ever find at myhouse.
So if you're the one who'sreally doing everything prepping
for the vacation and makingsure the kids are packing their
things and calling to make surethat the dog has a place to stay
(04:36):
and all of that the first thingto do is acknowledge that it is
a lot and you will need time towork on that.
So just plan maybe a coupleblocks during the week in the
evening times to prep for thatvacation.
So you're not doing it atmidnight on Friday after you
finish up your last work call.
Which leads me into my secondpoint, which is to think about
(04:59):
the prep that you really need todo, and if you're like me, you
probably tell yourself that youhave to get everything on earth
done before you can go onvacation.
So there are a couple essentialsto prepping for vacation.
Number one is, of course, thepacking.
I have an episode, which isnumber 67, that talks all about
(05:19):
prepping for vacation and all ofthe things that you should
consider, like setting yourexpectations and what to use for
packing.
I don't suggest starting with ablank piece of paper.
Either use ChatGPT and say I'mgoing to Minnesota for five days
, I'm bringing my kids, we'restaying on a lake, etc.
Etc.
What do I need to bring?
And have it give yousuggestions.
(05:41):
Or I use an app calledPackPoint and it has just a list
of things to bring and you addor remove the things that you
want.
So it pretty much suggests like150 things and you need 30, and
then you can save it.
So every summer when I go toMinnesota, I already have my
packing list all ready to gothere.
So go, listen to that episodeif you need more details on
(06:03):
exactly how to do that.
The other part of it there's thepacking list in the packing and
then there is everything elsethat has to be done before you
leave.
For example, maybe you tellyourself I have to respond to
every email and get my inbox tozero.
I need to fold all the loads oflaundry.
I need to schedule 15 posts topost while I'm gone.
(06:23):
One of my other ones is Ialways decide you know, that bag
of returns that's been sittingin my bedroom for two months
must go back before we go onvacation.
My car right now I need to takeit in.
The check engine light is onMust get that done before we go
on vacation.
So ask yourself what canactually wait until I get back.
So if you'd prefer to get allthat stuff done and you have the
(06:46):
time, go for it.
But if you don't have the timeor it's going to make you feel
super stressed this week, askyourself what can wait till I
get back?
What am I doing out of guilt?
So maybe you feel bad.
You're going to be gone fromwork, so you feel like you have
to do all this extra If you'redoing something from guilt,
always question that you have aright to take vacation just like
everybody else does.
(07:07):
And what are my actual must do's?
So what must get done?
For example, before we go outof town, for sure I have to take
the dog to the place where shestays.
I need to stop the mail.
Okay, if I don't stop the mail,there will just be a big pile.
I really want to water myplants because I love my plants.
(07:28):
Other than that, like my housecould be a mess, my returns
could still be in my bedroom.
There could be emails that areleft.
So think about what must getdone, what you can pause and get
back to when you get home, andwhat actually just really
doesn't matter.
So one of the things that Ireally like to do is wash my
sheets and make my bed withclean sheets.
So when I get home, that Ireally like to do is wash my
(07:49):
sheets and make my bed withclean sheets.
So when I get home, that I comehome to clean sheets, it is the
best.
That is not a must do.
I can absolutely do it after Iget home and it doesn't really
matter.
I just really like it.
So it's kind of on the nice tohave list.
So once you do that, if youtake the advice of creating a
packing list with chat, gpt orusing Packpoint and then making
(08:12):
your list of everything you haveto do and really highlighting
the absolute essentials andseeing if you've got time for
the rest, hopefully you'refeeling pretty chill.
And then my third point is tomake sure that your out of
office setup is a boundary, nota trap for yourself.
So let's talk about thatmessage.
We slap on our email at thelast minute, that out of office
(08:35):
reply.
I feel like when I worked for acorporation that setting the
out of office reply was theofficial okay, I'm gone.
And if yours sounds like I'mout of the office, but feel free
to reach me if it's urgent orI'll be checking email
periodically.
That's not an out of officemessage.
It's like I'm halfway onvacation.
(08:57):
Please reach out to me if youneed me.
Please feel free.
One of my clients was justtelling me a story about how
they had this set up and someonecalled when they were at the
pool with their kids and ofcourse they thought this is just
going to take 15 minutes.
It took way longer than 15minutes, of course, and then she
couldn't get it out of her headfor the rest of the afternoon.
So she took one call and thenit ruined the time that she was
(09:19):
with her family.
She wasn't able to be presentwith them because she was
worried about this problem.
So, instead of that, setexpectations in your out of
office and just what.
You tell people from the officeand say I'm currently out of
the office, I'll respond after Xdate.
If it's urgent, please contactthis other person.
That kind of message sets thetone to say I'm not available.
(09:43):
I value rest, I value boundaries.
I trust that things can wait orthat other people can handle it
and, honestly, the most urgentthings usually aren't.
And right now, if you'resomeone who's like, yeah, but
you don't understand my job, Ihave to be on call all the time.
For example, I work with a lotof realtors and they do get
(10:05):
calls all the time and of course, they get deals during the time
that they're on vacation aswell.
If you can't just say I'mcurrently out of the office and
fully unplugged to rest andreset, I'll respond after X date
, and that won't work for yourline of work.
What will?
Can you have your messagesdefault?
Go to somebody else on yourteam and they'll reach out to
(10:27):
you if there's a problem.
Can you tell someone from youroffice that something urgent
comes up?
Call my phone, otherwise I'mjust put it, turning on out of
office.
What could you set up?
If not a full cut, what couldyou set up?
Another thing to think about,too, is what if you really were
going on vacation to some faraway place that did not have
(10:50):
Wi-Fi?
Would everyone survive?
Think about that, even if youare, just like me, live in St
Louis and going to Minnesota.
If you think about it that way,like I, am unreachable for the
next week.
What really is going to happenand why do we feel like it's
okay to do it?
If we are going to anothercountry, or we'll be in a really
strange different time zonethan we're used to, or we don't
(11:12):
have Wi-Fi or cell service, thatit's okay, but it's not okay to
just decide that you're onvacation.
So here's what we talked about.
First of all, we talked abouthow vacation prep feels like a
lot, because it is a lot.
We talked about how to do yourprep in the most efficient way
and making sure you're clear onwhat must get done and what are
(11:33):
nice to haves, and then how toset up your out-of-office actual
message and how you communicateto the people who you work with
.
One bonus that I've seen workreally well with lots of my
one-on-one clients is that they,upon return, take one more
vacation day.
So if you come back fromvacation on Saturday or Sunday
and you take Monday off and youhave that whole day to do
(11:57):
whatever you want to do if youwant to catch up on your laundry
, unpack, wash your sheets andput clean sheets on your bed,
take a nap, whatever it is Ihave just found over time that
people feel so much more restedand sometimes they'll even go
through their work emails onthat day that they're off, so
they don't walk into the officefeeling blindsided.
Hopefully a couple of thesetips will help you have a great
(12:18):
vacation with your family thissummer.
If you like this episode or anyof the episodes on this podcast,
I would be so grateful if youwould take the time to do a
rating or review.
Those are super helpful becausethey help other people see the
podcast.
When it has a lot of greatratings and people come and
search for overwhelmed, forexample, this podcast pops up
(12:41):
first.
So I really appreciate youlistening and I appreciate you
sharing the message with yourfriends.
Have a great week and have agreat vacation.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
website at michellegauthiercom.
(13:03):
See you next week.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.