PTO Penalty Collateral

I have written many times about the PTO Penalty, which consists of two phases. Phase I is the frenzy leading up to the time off when you are trying to get tasks wrapped up or handed off before you leave. Phase II is when you return from time off to an out-of-control email inbox and are buried under a mountain, the size of which is directly proportional to how long you were gone.

I am experiencing a collateral PTO penalty next week because the other consultant working on the same team at my primary client will be on vacation. She's currently in Phase I as today is her last day before she's sign-o-noffa. Starting next week, I'm going to discover all the tasks she had in motion that I have not been involved in that will suddenly require me to get involved or wait a week until she's back. 

I'm not going to get stressed about it. My plate has been maxed out beyond full for months now, so might as well just keep piling it on. I can only do what I can do, This is what happens when you have single points of failure, which is bad when that failure is a full-time employee and even worse when that failure is a consultant.