You’re sitting at your desk, blankly staring at your computer screen and remembering the days (which were just yesterday) when you were sipping a cocktail on a beautiful beach. Unfortunately, your vacation is over and it’s time to get back to work. Easing back into regular life is often difficult when you have hundreds of emails to reply to and a week’s worth of memos to catch up on. Here are five tips that will help you get productive again after your vacation.
1. Do one thing at a time. The sheer number of emails you have to reply to and calls you need to make can be overwhelming. Take a deep breath and do just one thing at a time. As you go through all your messages, take note of what needs to be done right away and what can wait until later in the week.
2. Ask for Help. Don’t be afraid to ask for a bit of help upon your arrival. Whether it’s from a personal assistant or other members of your team, you’ll likely need a few extra hands on deck to get you through your returning week. Delegate tasks where you can and get help from coworkers to meet deadlines. And, if needed, don’t be afraid to ask for an extension.
3. Don’t plan any formal meetings. Try to stay meeting-free for the first two days you’re back at work. You’ll need this time to catch up on what you’ve missed and create a game plan for the rest of your week. It’s okay to have an informal coffee break with coworkers to find out what you’ve missed, but formal meetings can often get in the way of your productivity and interrupt your train of thought.
4.Write things down. As you go through all the messages you have waiting for you and you get all caught up with what you’ve missed, write everything down. Not only will this make sure you remember everything, it will also help alleviate some of your stress by knowing that you don’t have to remember everything. Make a prioritized to-do list. As you start checking things off, you’ll begin feeling much more relaxed about being back at work.
5. Make time for fun. Give yourself a break by making time for things you enjoy doing. Read a book at lunch, keep music on while you are working in your office, or schedule an after-work yoga session. You’ll ease back into normal life much easier if you don’t leave all the fun at the beach.
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