Ah, summer. The season of PTO requests, half-empty offices, OOO auto-replies, and that mysterious lull in productivity that shows up the moment temps hit 80 degrees. And while your team is mentally poolside, your business still has goals, customers, and a printer that somehow only breaks when your IT person is on vacation.
Welcome to the delicate art of summer-proofing your business: keeping things running smoothly even when half your crew is chasing the ice cream truck.
Here’s how to keep operations cool, your team sane, and your customers cared for—even if your calendar looks like a game of Out of Office bingo.
1. Plan Like Everyone’s Leaving... Because They Probably Are
Start by assuming that every key person will be gone at the exact moment you need them most.
It’s not pessimism—it’s math.
- Get PTO calendars organized early
- Cross-train teammates on critical tasks
- Identify the “if this person disappears, we all panic” roles and make sure there’s backup
It’s like a fire drill, but for beach days.
Pro tip: Use a shared team calendar with color-coded vacation days. Bonus if you add a “do not schedule meetings” layer, so you’re not trying to brainstorm revenue strategy with two interns and the janitor.
2. Batch the Busy Work Before the Heat Hits
If you’ve got blog posts to write, newsletters to schedule, or social content to create, do it now—before everyone disappears like interns at 4:59 PM.
Batching = focus
Batching = sanity
Batching = your future self saying “thanks” with an iced coffee in hand
Get the non-urgent but still important stuff lined up so your business doesn’t go quiet the moment your marketing manager starts working from a hammock.
3. Automate Like You’ve Got Better Things to Do (Because You Do)
Let’s talk tech. Summer is not the time to manually forward emails or enter data into spreadsheets, as if it were 2003.
Automate:
- Customer follow-ups
- Recurring invoices
- Social posts
- Internal reminders (like payroll or watering the plants)
Whether it's Zapier, Mailchimp, Buffer, or your CRM, find what works for you. Set it up, test it, and enjoy a little peace.
4. Rein in the Summer Scope Creep
Summer can tempt teams into launching ambitious projects—right when half the staff is out chasing lake weekends.
Now probably isn't the best time to rebrand your business, rebuild your site, and start offering 24/7 customer support in five languages.
Instead:
- Stick to your priorities
- Delay what can wait
- Keep meetings short and preferably indoors
Think maintenance mode with intention, not chaos disguised as hustle.
5. Overcommunicate Like Your Business Depends On It (It Does)
The only thing worse than a surprise vacation is a surprise communication gap.
Make sure everyone knows:
- Who’s covering what
- How and when clients should be updated
- What actually counts as an emergency (hint: probably not a confused customer)
Use Slack statuses, scheduled check-ins, and a shared doc to keep everything clear.
Bonus tip: Draft template replies for common questions so whoever’s on support duty doesn’t have to Google your refund policy.
6. Give People Permission to Breathe (Including You)
Summer shouldn’t just be about survival. It’s also a chance to unplug, recharge, and maybe wear something besides business casual.
Encourage your team to unplug during PTO. And make sure you do too. A well-rested leader is better than one pretending to enjoy a working vacation.
Trust your team. Trust your systems. Trust that the world won’t end if your phone’s off for a few days.
(And if it does... well, maybe scaling that fast wasn’t the move. Kidding. Kind of.)
Final Thought: Stay Cool. Stay Ready. Stay Out of the Weeds.
Summer doesn’t have to throw your business into chaos.
With a little prep, some automation, and smart delegation, you can keep things running smoothly, without breaking a sweat.
So get your summer-proofing plan in place, pass off that task list, and enjoy a season that doesn’t revolve around crisis mode.
You’ve got this. Now go find some shade.