SPILL: How to Make a Clean Getaway – and the Most of Your Time Away from Work

Whether it’s for a vacation, leave, or even an extra-long weekend, how we depart often makes a big difference in ensuring we enjoy both the benefits of the break and a smooth return to work. We asked OBA lawyers: What’s a time-off lesson you learned the hard way – and how has it changed what you do before stepping away from work?

A Lesson in Administration: Authorize Payment-Making Ahead of Time

“Be able to permit/delegate with the credit card company ahead of time some money-oriented tasks like credit card payments to avoid the need to be ‘on’/’available’ for staff asking you for the two-factor authentication. Assign a secondary credit card to another staff member who can then make payments in your absence.” - M. Max Chaudhary, Chaudhary Law Office

A Lesson in Communication: Manage Expectations with Early Messaging

“Whenever I know I’ll be away for more than three days, I give people plenty of notice so there are no surprises. About a month before my planned absence, I add a notice (in bold, capitalized, and a different colour) just above my email signature, listing the dates I’ll be out of the office. This gives clients, colleagues and opposing counsel advance notice of my absence. If a file is particularly active, I also encourage them to raise any issues before I leave or schedule a follow-up after I return.

In addition, I add an extra day or two to my out-of-office period. That time allows me to review and triage emails, deal with urgent items, and get back on top of my files before new requests start coming in.

The lesson I learned the hard way is that if you don’t manage expectations before you leave, your time away doesn’t really feel like time off. Earlier in my practice, I would rely only on an out-of-office message and assume things would wait. Instead, I came back to urgent issues, frustrated clients who didn’t know I was unavailable, a backlog of old requests and incoming new requests, which made the return stressful and overwhelming.

Now, I focus on communicating early, addressing urgent matters where possible before my absence, and building a small buffer for my return. These simple steps protect my time away and make the return far more manageable.” - Elena Mamay, Mann Lawyers

A Lesson in Organization: Put Tasks on a To-Do List – and out of Your Mind

“To keep work out of my mind as much as possible when I’m going on vacation, I like to have a running ‘to do when back’ list where I put the things I need to follow up on upon my return and the things that would have been nice to get finished ahead of the time off that I didn’t get through. Knowing I’m coming back to an organized To-Do list helps push the work out of my mind while I’m off.” - Kathryn J. Manning, Q.Arb, DMG Advocates

A Lesson in Delegation: Assign a ‘Lawyer on Duty’

“I take a decent amount of vacation time. The trade-off is that I never unplug. Never. I was on a safari in Tanzania and still responded to emails. For a long time, I felt like it was worth it to stay online to be able to travel more than the average lawyer and law firm owner. The problem is that because I have always been available, I have deprived some of my senior lawyers of the need to develop the leadership skills that would allow them to problem-solve. Going forward, I am assigning a ‘lawyer on duty’ to handle any client issues that cannot wait until I return. I might actually come back from vacation refreshed, and my team members will grow, knowing that we have confidence in them.” - Brenda Hollingsworth, Auger Hollingsworth Professional Corporation

A Reflection on Maintenance and What Matters Most

“The lesson I learned the hard way is this: I am not that important — and I am replaceable.

There were years when I chose work over family. I missed Sunday afternoons when my daughter begged me to go shopping with her. I sat in hockey arenas with my laptop open instead of watching my son play. I worked through Christmas on an “urgent” motion because no one else wanted to.

Looking back, I barely remember those files. I cannot recall most of the clients’ names. What I remember clearly are the moments I missed. My daughter is now in high school. She no longer needs me to go shopping with her the way she once did. My son is stepping into high school, and I struggle to remember the names of his early hockey teammates — the children I used to half-watch while drafting submissions.

The people who truly sustain us are not our clients. They are the ones who love us, and whom we love back.

I am still not perfect at taking vacations. But I have changed some things. I no longer answer every ‘urgent’ weekend email. I delegate more carefully. I set boundaries — and I try to hold them. When my children talk to me, I stop typing. I look into their eyes. I listen. I sit with other parents at hockey games now. I ask my daughter’s opinion about makeup. I research products with her instead of rushing through errands alone.

I am not only legal counsel. I am their mother. I am myself.

Time away is not indulgence — it is maintenance. Love ourselves. Love our family.” - Ningjing (Natalie) Zhang Ph.D. J.D. (she/her), Bridgepoint Law