How to ask for vacation days

Have you been in this situation

The holidays are coming up. You want to take a few extra days off to spend time with your family, who you rarely get to see. Youre secretly laughing at the thought of your coworkers being trapped in their cubicles while you enjoy fresh air and sunshine.

Me on a ski vacation.

You ask your boss for a few days off and what does he say?

Sorry, we have too much going on. Well need you here.

Today, I want to help you use your vacation days without any pushback. Youll even get something at the end of this post that can help you get an extra week or two of paid vacation using the same techniques my students use to get $43,000 raises.

But first, lets look at how you can get your boss to say Yes when you ask for time off. Starting with a word-for-word script you can use when requesting vacation time even if its during a busy time for your company.

Subject: Vacation request (October 2nd through October 6th)

Hi Jack,

Id like to request vacation time from Monday, October 2nd, through Friday, October 6th because Ill be taking a family vacation over those days.

While Im gone, Ill be reachable by email but not phone. Ill be making sure that we have coverage in the support queue while Im gone, and Ill also be distributing a playbook to my team so its clear who owns which issues.

Is this OK?

Thanks,

-Ramit

Now, what makes this so effective?

To answer that, lets look at this email from your bosss perspective.

What reasons might he have to decline your request?

• Hes worried a project youre working on wont get done while youre gone


• He doesnt want your workload to wind up on his desk


• He doesnt want to run around reassigning your tasks to other people

Now lets see how this email overcomes these objections and gets him to say Yes to your request.

First, it opens with a friendly tone. Saying I would like is a much softer request than stating I request or Im taking this time off.

Second, the word because is strategically chosen as it increases compliance. Saying because and giving your boss a reason for the time off (no matter what the reason is) makes it more likely he or she will say yes.

Third, remember how your boss was worried your work wouldnt get done? Well in that last section you ease that concern by showing him youve already thought about that. Youve even gone the extra mile to ensure any projects youre working on still get finished on time.

Finally, be sure to send the email weeks even months in advance. Its far easier for your boss to say Yes when he has plenty of time to plan around your absence.

How to get more vacation days (and a raise)

Most people spend their careers at whatever salary theyre given. They never even ask for a raise or extra vacation days because they expect their boss to respond with an angry No!

But the fact is, you could very easily get a 10-20% raise or extra week off simply by asking the right way. Let me show you how.

I created an Ultimate Guide to Getting a Raise. You can use this guide to earn more, get more days off, or both. Its yours free, just opt in below.

Show me how to get a raise and more vacation days

Name:

Email:

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam.

How to ask for vacation days is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

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4 Things to Do When You Wake Up Feeling Exhausted

Have you had those mornings where you wake up feeling utterly exhausted? I definitely have! It has been a goal of mine to make sure I'm getting enough sleep every night so that my body isn't tired when I wake.

There is more to waking up feeling tired. I often find that we confuse being physically tired with having hit a point of burnout. Maybe the feelings you are dealing with in the morning have little do with your sleep habits, and everything to do with your mind habits.

If you are rolling out of bed each day already feeling defeated, it is no wonder you want to pull the covers over your head and dip out of existence for a while longer.

I want to give you 4 things you can do when you wake up feeling exhausted.

1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

I know what you are thinking, "What does comparing myself to others have to do with exhaustion?"

Well, it has a lot to do with it! We can exhausted spending all day long trying to live up to what we think everyone else is doing.

Have you ever thought: What is my problem? Why can't I get my act together? Why can't I be doing more? I should be doing more like that person over there. Look everything that person can do. Why can't I be like that?

We can exert so much mental energy beating ourselves up for not measuring up. This does nothing but make us more tired and worn out. As an introvert, I have a smaller capacity to go-go-go than extroverts do. I cannot just pour, pour, pour into other people all day long and not take time to slow down, breathe, and have some quiet.

By getting over the guilt of being an introvert, I can take the time I need to replenish myself which allows me to live life feeling much more refreshed and energized.

Accepting who I am has allowed me to understand that we all have different needs, and it is okay if I can't get as much done as someone else. Everyone has their struggles that they are dealing with. And that person whom I'm looking at and wishing I could be like is probably feeling like they don't measure up in some areas, too.

2. Replenish Your Supply

All of us have people whom we pour into on a daily basis. This could be your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, your extended family, your friends, and on and on the list goes. You have to be intentional about filling yourself up if you want to have something to pour out to others.

Filling yourself up might be:

• Reading a book you enjoy.


• Listening to a podcast that you find interesting.


• Playing uplifting music.


• Counting your blessings.


• Taking time to write in your journal.


• Enjoying a cup of coffee in the quiet.

What fills your soul? Give yourself permission to make that a priority.

I know you are thinking, "I have too much to do each day to spend time on myself". I get that, and for a long time I tried to run like crazy without filling myself up back up.

Guess what? My health took a toll, my marriage felt the strain, and my kids were getting leftovers instead of my best. I've been able to handle things so much better since I find ways to rejuvenate myself each day.

How much of your day are you spending doing things that drain you? Are you doing anything in your day that puts life back in you?

Even if you take just 5 minutes a day to do something that energizes you, it is worth the effort. You'll be amazed at how much of a difference it can make!

3. Let Some Stuff Go

People ask me all the time how I get so much done in a day. Honestly? There are a lot of things I choose not to do so I can give more focus to a few things.

While I was writing and launching my book, Money-Making Mom, Jesse took over a lot of the cooking and menu-planning. He wanted to try it and we discovered that he's really good at it and really enjoys it.

My kids help out with laundry and daily cleaning. We pay to have a cleaning service come in once a week and deep clean our house. And we recently hired on a mother's helper to come in two mornings a week to help with tasks around the house, watch the kids while Jesse and I have meetings, oversee some of the homeschooling (she has her degree in education!), and to even enable Jesse and I to get in a lunch date now and then.

I can't do it all. I don't do it all. In order to say "yes" to something, you are saying "no" to something else. Figure out what your main priorities are, and let some of the other stuff go.

4. Give Yourself Grace

Finally, give yourself grace. There is no way you are going to get everything done in a day. No matter how much you accomplish, there will always be other projects and tasks that need to be completed in the days to come.

Instead of focusing on all of the things that you didn't get done, focus on your progress. Celebrate what you accomplished -- not what you didn't get done.

Give yourself some breathing room in life. Even if you have a mountain of things that need to be done, take a few minutes to rejuvenate yourself. In order to break the vicious cycle of feeling exhausted all of the time, you will need to learn your limits and stick within them.

What helps you on those days when you wake up feeling exhausted?

A reading tree

I now have three children in school. THREE! Three out of four - I'm not sure how that happened so fast but there you go! I was a little concerned about Imogen starting Kindergarten as she is so young (she turns five in early March) but she is the third child, she is ready and excited to go and her preschool teachers promised me they would be honest and let me know if they thought she wouldn't be able to handle it. So while I worry (hey, it's my job, right?!) I also am confident that I made the right decision.

But seeing as last year kind of fell apart at the seams in terms of ensuring homework was always done and the home readers completed, this year I want the kids to nag me about reading, rather than the other way around. And so... the reading tree was created very spontaneously a couple of days ago. It's similar to a rewards system but it's also a record of things we've read throughout the year and also a pretty cool decor addition to our hallway!

The idea is this: every time one of the kids read a book/part of a chapter book - or I read to them - they write their name, the book title and date on a leaf and stick it on the tree. Every 50 leaves stuck on the tree, I'll buy a new book for their library.

I first came across this concept at my mum's preschool when I used to work there during university. During the Read-A-Thon, they would place leaves on the tree for all the children who read that day. In the end it was colourful and pretty and cool. I think she used paper as the tree - and you could do so if you rent or don't want anything marking your walls, but I wanted something more permanent for the year so I just painted it on the wall in our hallway just outside of Zak's room. I used watercolour paints (the Micador paint palette from Officeworks) and painted the tree on freehand in various shades of brown and black. The first strokes are quite dotty and don't look like it would look great at all, but once it's dry you simply gently wipe it over with a baby wipe or two and it blends beautifully. It is also easy enough to wash away - it might need a light coat of paint eventually, but it won't need much at all. I actually prefer using watercolours on the wall than proper paints - the blend of colours is so pretty.

Freehand painting - the outline hasn't been "smudged" yet.

Smudging the paint with a baby wipe.

The leaves are just cut up bits of coloured paper - we're going to start out with greens and greys and yellows and change colours as the seasons change. I envision it should look quite colourful by the year's end! I also imagine our book collection will be a lot fuller. And that can only be a good thing.

Must Make: Painted Brick Books

This idea is so simple and fun but I somehow never discovered it before. Painted bricks all lined up to look like a book collection. Love it!

You can buy them ready made ...

via light reading london

...or DIY your own collection. Get some tips from the video tutorial from how to eugene or a pictorial one from KU Alum.

Wouldn't these make a fun outdoor accessory?

Want a sneak peek at my latest project? Follow Brooklyn Limestone on instagram, facebook and twitter for lots more.

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