Effective planning before you go on vacation can make your time off more relaxing and enjoyable. Unsurprisingly, research reveals that vacations are beneficial for your mental and physical well-being and most employees return more creative and productive. However, to maximize your chances of having a restful vacation, it’s helpful to have a game plan in place to make sure your responsibilities are covered when you’re gone and you’re setting yourself up for an easy return. “To truly relax, professionals need thoughtful preparation, which helps them offload details from working memory and relax,” says Anita Williams Woolley, professor of organizational behavior and theory at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh.

Here’s what experts suggest.

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