Are you back to work after the holidays today? I am and I’m slightly dreading it, not because I dislike my job, on the contrary I love it, but because I’ve been on vacation for so long that I’m pretty sure I don’t remember my password… whoops! Here are my 7 tips to regroup after the holidays!
I didn’t think I was going to be out for so long honestly, I was supposed to be back last week but then I got sick with COVID and that went out the window. So I didn’t even have access to my computer (because I forgot to bring it home) to put up an out of office message or do my whole prep for vacation routine! I’m going to return to a desk full of files and papers and an inbox full of emails. Lovely.
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7 Tips to Regroup after the Holidays
Quickly Review Inbox: your inbox is going to be full and it’s going to be full of crap. This scan of your inbox is supposed to be for you to quickly delete emails that don’t matter and to help add to your to do list (the next step). My voicemails come to my inbox so on this quick review I usually listen to them and write them down. I don’t handle the voicemails or the contents of the emails yet.
Create your To Do List: this is where you write down absolutely everything you need to accomplish. Every email you need to reply to, every person you need to talk with, every document you need to file, every meeting you need to schedule, etc.
Determine the Urgent Needs: After you write down everything, use the Eisenhower Matrix to determine the order in which you need to attack this to do list. If you sign up for my newsletter below you’ll get a link to download my Priority Worksheet to help with that plan of attack.
Start with the Old: after you’ve handled the urgent things then start with something you were working on before you left. This is going to let you ease back into work. Handling new things on the first day back might get your brain a little frazzled.
Check in with your Boss & Coworkers: make sure everyone who needs to know you’re back knows about it. Also, if you set aside a few moments to say hi to your coworkers then that will give you time to catch up which means they won’t be disturbing you later and interrupting your workflow.
Try Not to Overload your Day: keep it light if you can, you’ll burn out if you try to jam pack your work day. Check back in with your priority worksheet so you’ll know what doesn’t need to get accomplished today.
Take a Break (or Two): take a walk around the office or go to the water cooler and get a drink. Take a minute to breathe and so a quick stretch!
These tips are useful for now, to regroup after the holidays, or to simply get back to work after a vacation or long weekend! Best of luck getting back to work today!
