4 Steps To Successfully Transition Back To Work After Taking a Vacation
What does it feel like to come back to work after a week off? Or even a long weekend away from work?
You're likely still transitioning into work mode, a bit absentminded and potentially still longing for the time spent where you weren’t chained to your computer. That’s ok.
While it’s necessary to take breaks and spend time away from work, it is almost impossible to come back to work without feeling a bit disconnected, distracted, and experiencing low energy. It takes time to transition back into the corporate, productive working professional you spend so much of your time being.
The goal of working with, and learning from, Career Civility is to make work easier. And to honor that human side of the working professional. The side that dreads coming back to work and is scared to tackle the mountain of work waiting for them.
When transitioning back into work mode after a holiday weekend or a long vacation,
Here are 4 steps to follow to shake off the cobwebs and maximize your time to productivity.
Organize your inbox
Think of your inbox like your bed in your bedroom. An freshly made bed can make the room feel clean and welcoming and an unmade bed makes the room feel messy. Block out the first morning back to work and use it to spend the time organizing your inbox.
Here’s how -
Label your inbox. The goal of labeling your inbox is two-fold:
1. Labels allow you to tag emails under a certain category so it automatically files emails into a folder for you
2. And the labels remind you what you need to do with the email
Create labels to remind you which tasks need to be done ASAP and which tasks require follow up or additional information. For example, create a red label that says “to freaking do” and add that label to all emails you need to action on.
Use labels that work for you and the work you’re doing on a daily basis. These are simply examples within my own inbox.
BONUS: If you use Gmail, go to settings → labels → create new label → and create as many labels as you need to stay organized.
2. Highlight revenue generating tasks first
As you are organizing your inbox and adding labels to various emails, you will likely start to get a feel for what you need to take action on. And it may feel overwhelming. The revenue generating system will help simplify all the tasks that are on your plate.
HERE’S HOW: Take stock of all the emails you need to respond to and all the tasks you need to add to your to do list. Write it down.
Then ask yourself “which tasks will bring me the most success?” (ex: success = what will get you paid at the end of the week).
Highlight all the tasks that will bring you the most success. You have just picked your ‘revenue
3. Respond to necessary emails
Now that you have identified which emails are revenue generating emails and which emails can wait, it’s time to respond.
Here’s how you can respond to each email -
“Hey xx, confirming receipt of this email now that I am back in the office. I will be able to action on this by xx date”
4. Set a goal for yourself
In order to stay motivated, set a small goal for yourself that can be accomplished by the end of the week. And include a reward.
For example, whenever I return from a vacation, my goal is to workout 3x that week and respond to all emails I missed. And if I accomplish both tasks, I will treat myself.
That’s it! You have successfully completed your first full week back to work following a vacation. And honestly… that’s an accomplishment in itself.
