In each post of this series, I’ll share another bit of advice that will help you better plan and enjoy your time off.

• Plan your time off waaaay in advance. If you go up to your boss and say, “Hey, can I take a vacation the next two weeks,” he’s probably going to say no (unless you’re not a particularly valuable employee… or your boss is really nice). For those longer-than-a-day-or-two vacations, you have a much better chance of getting the okay (and not having the okay later revoked if something comes up) if you announce your time-off plans well in advance. How much notice should you give? My boss likes us to give six months if we plan to take off more than a single week, three months for just a week. But when in doubt, just ask your co-workers and management how far in advance you should plan your vacation.