The temperatures are rising, and that means vacation time isn't be too far away. As summer rolls around, so do thoughts of white-sand beaches, towering palaces and underwater adventures.

But in today’s always-connected world, too many vacations are turning into nothing more than a chance to work from a hotel room, far from home. StepFeed says No! We all need our vacation, so we’ve put together some tips for you to maximize the fun and minimize the work.

1. Put extra hours in ahead of vacation.

Work yourself like a dog in the week leading up to your vacation. It’s easy to drift off, fantasizing about pina coladas by the beach - but fight the intrusion of Beach Boys tunes in your head. If there is something you can do ahead of time - do it. You’ll thank yourself when you have an uninterrupted day at the pool.

2. Prioritize.

Set clean boundaries with your boss, underlings or coworkers. Is the building going to burn down? Call me. Can someone else handle this? Can it wait? It’s easy to feel guilty about leaving your staff while you are hiking through the streets of Seville, but you deserve the break. Don’t insist “call if you need anything.” They might take you up on it. Emergency calls or text messages only. Be firm.

3. Plan ahead.

Make sure everyone in the office knows who is covering each aspect of your job. Need a TPS report? See Nizar. Need a file from my office? The receptionist has the keys. If there it is clear who will be handling what for you, it will cut down on the number of unnecessary messages during your vacation.

4. Put an out-of-office responder on your email.

This is such a simple one, but there is a second key step - respect it! You’ve told them that you will respond in five days - respond in five days. Consider any non-emergency email as already responded to, resist the urge to follow up with them until you are back home.

5. Schedule.

Are you so key to the operation of your company that it would disintegrate if you didn’t check in for five days? You might want to evaluate how wise that is, but in the meantime, schedule a set hour each day that you will check your email and be available on Skype or gchat.

By committing to those hours, you can be as efficient as possible, and hopefully your coworkers will be too. Log on promptly, prioritize everything waiting for yo, and cut it off when the hour is up.

The beach is calling. You’ll be more productive during that hour a day than if you try to handle things five minutes at a time throughout your whole day. Juggling a Skype call while the kids are in line at Disney World will just end in a loudspeaker announcement looking for your kid.