This list is written mainly for the surgery bound because his/her leave will be longer. However, for the main caregivers, please review this for your work responsibilities. Think about how you can manage them or keep them on hold while you are out even though for a shorter period of time.

Balance Your Needs with What the Work Needs

If you work for someone else or for yourself: The main concern will be how the work will get done. If you work for someone else, their secondary concern will be your welfare.  Your job is to balance the two needs and come up with (a) a backup plan and (b) a reasonable set of expectations for when you can partially and fully return to work.  This is true even if you work for yourself.

On Backup Plans

As soon as you know you’re going in for surgery, start thinking about each client and each project you work on. The trick here is to think creatively.

How can you prepare your employees or independent contractors for your departure? How can you divide your responsibilities among different people, if you do not have a singular person to take all that you do?

Consider Timing, Skill Sets, and Relationships

First, take a hard look at the details of each client or project. What’s going on now which could be wrapped up prior to your leave? What could potentially wait until afterwards? What will be mid-project while you are out?

What responsibilities can be left for when you return?  What can go on auto-pilot? How can get you get each project or client – or most of them – to maintenance mode, so your involvement will not be needed until you can get gradually involved again?

Consider the skills required for the client/project, and then review the skills of people you work with. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, consider a trusted administrative person or assistant who could keep thing together for the early days of your leave – much the same as you might hire on those probably all-too-rare vacations you take. If you still have time, try out someone to work with before you go out.

Write it Down and Communicate — Over and Over

Once you know who will do what, write it down. You’ll need to communicate this plan more than once, so may as well make it easy on yourself. You’ll have enough to think about without having to recreate the wheel.

If you work for someone else, set up a formal meeting/phone time to review your backup plans, any issues you’re concerned about and brainstorm together. You’ll need to take the lead on making sure your manager and clients know when you’re going out. You will need to repeat yourself, countdown fashion, over and over. If you’re valuable to your organization, they’re going to be in sort of a denial about you going out, but it’s your responsibility to take care of your clients and projects, so keep at the communication.

Change voicemail/email auto-reply etc. about two weeks before you’ll be out as another reminder.  As you get closer to the date, you can use both to list who your backups are going to be as well.

Next blog entry: Answering the question: “When will you be back?”