Getting Back to Work After a Vacation
Beat the blues and stay efficient after your well-deserved break
Some say the fault is in your job if you are not excited about returning to the office after a vacation. However, even if you have a dream job the change in your daily routine is inevitably stressful. Sometimes coming back to work can cause the post vacation blues.
To stay sharp and engaged on your job, you need time to mentally recharge from time to time, and many people take the advantage of the summer holidays. This helps to maintain top performance and makes you happier, as experiences matter more than the goods you possess. A bit of perspective and reflection time is amazing, but the return is hard and inevitable. You can make it easier.
With a little preparation and planning you can organize a smooth transition back into business. The tips below are collected primarily for those who’ve just returned to the office after a week off, but they work equally well for increasing your efficiency and concentration every week.
Before the vacation
Do some extra work
To stay calm during the vacation, think ahead and try to get some of the usual tasks done ahead of time. If you’re a manager, your co-workers need to get clear instructions on their responsibilities while you are away. If your job is not something that depends on the moment and can be done only in real time, some extra efforts before the vacation will facilitate the easy return afterwards. For the peace of your mind, don’t leave any tasks undone. If you are a good manager, others should be able to do without you for a while and know whom to contact in one case or another.
Write a memo to yourself
Sending an email to yourself to the future is not just fun and games. If you write an instruction about performing your job for colleagues for the time you are off the office — you will discover how useful it is once you return. If there is no one to replace you, write a list of things you should start with once you return. A pre-vacation you writing to the after-vacation you is almost time traveling. In the letter, describe the tasks you are currently working on, what you’ve been collaborating on with colleagues, as well as your general your goals and ideas. This will put you back on the map with your work and you will quickly get started.
During the vacation
Disconnect from the workflows
Some psychologists recommend to stay tuned in all working chats without being deeply involved. You see the problems popping up and you see your colleagues dealing with them. This option attracts workaholics who participate in almost everything even being on vacation several time zones away from the office. However, don’t you wish to spend some time in another world for a while, in a world without tasks, meetings and deadlines? You have deserved several days in a year without disturbing notifications and problems that need to be solved ASAP.
According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the less psychological detach during off-hours leads to higher their emotional exhaustion throughout the year. This is why your main goal during the vacation is to completely disconnect from your job and from the daily routine you’ve got used to. Try new experiences, new activities and dishes, enjoy discovering the world. There is so much more out there when you at least temporarily have fewer responsibilities.
The «While you were away» letter
You yourself can write a letter about what you’ve been doing before the vacation, but to make sure you are on the same page with the team when you return — ask them to write a «While you were away» letter highlighting progress on projects, key decisions and further plans. Read the letter before you actually arrive in the office to be aware of the new priorities of the team. This is an easy way to get oriented.
Sneak back a day early to get caught up
To make returning into the work easier, ensure you have a free day in the city before you need to arrive in the office. This will help you to catch up in your own pace and prepare a plan of what you will actually start with the next day when you will likely be interrupted by the colleagues asking how your holidays were like. You may use the “Invisible” status in a messenger in order not to give your coworkers the temptation to contact you.
Getting back to work
Connect with people
As you arrive back at the office, start with the relationships with your team, especially if you are a leader. Take your time to catch up with the people whom you haven’t seen for a while. If you bring something from your trip abroad, some local sweets probably, your colleagues will appreciate it. Share your experience, tell the stories, speak about the people and places you’ve seen — it will be truly energizing. Live conversation is a better way to discover what you’ve missed than any letter.
Make a prioritized to-do list
Make a list of things you will need to do on the first day and on the first week and gradually tick them off when you are done with them. If you are brave enough, start with what is hard as now your mind is clear and you are likely to find the most optimal ways for solving problems. It’s time to pick the tasks you have long been putting off as you have the energy to tackle them.
Don’t play the hero
First day doesn’t mean you have to stay late to deal with piles of tasks. Try to coordinate work with your natural rhythms and schedule the most challenging activities to the time that is best for you. If you are not a morning person, use mornings for socializing and evenings for being productive.
Leave the office on time, putting more hours at work does not at all lead to better results. Stay relaxed and focused, and you’ll return to your usual rhythm before you know it. When you feel you’re done for today, just go home and sleep, the first day in the office after a vacation must not necessarily be the day when your performance is flawless.
Treat yourself
Being the first week back at work doesn’t mean it’s time to forget about joy and fun. Organize your free time in a way you would do in a trip — and you’ll see that you can equally enjoy yourself while not on vacation. Go out, choose a restaurant with the food of the place you’ve just returned from or stay at home and cook something special. Schedule catching up with friends or a date and make this week feel less brutal.
Make your job more satisfying
Jour job is something that can bring joy and satisfaction after all. Think about the things you love most and do more of them. Discuss it with the team and your boss and get the tasks that allow you to feel you’re a superhero. Inspiration will help you to succeed and make your job more attractive and satisfying daily. The after-vacation time is the best time for rearranging it for the better.
Set new goals and make an action plan
Think over what you want from life and prepare a plan. You have probably thought about it while lying by the seaside at the sunset. It was a perfect time to reconsider your coals, prepare an action plan and estimate the resources you will need. Probably you are ready for a career change? Maybe it’s time to go further? Be brave in what you dream of and then set the timelines for what you are going to do about it. It’s not just the luck, it’s you who can always change your life for the better. To stay motivated, you need long-term goals, not just a list of tasks for the week.
Facilitate teamwork and eliminate procrastination
If you are a leader, as you return after a long vacation your team expects you to speak about the new goals and as your mind is clear use this time to inspire your people and to beat procrastination. On a meeting, speak about the plans ahead and the personal involvement of your employees in the general success of the team. People need manageable projects and general goals to stay engaged. Ensure that the goals you speak about are realistic and that the employees clearly understand what you are expecting from them. Take the time to talk to every team member about their personal achievements and plans to keep everyone motivated and focused.
Plan your next vacation
We all need something good to be looking forward to, including the job opportunities and the way you are going to spend your time off. Even if you have just returned, mark the time for the next vacation in the calendar and start choosing the place where you’ll spend it. The next trip looming on the horizon is another motivation for being inspired to work hard. This is one of the goals to strive forward.
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