Returning to work after a holiday can be difficult, be smart, get everything in order before you go to make the transition back simple and smooth.
PLAN BEFORE YOU GO/ GET ORGANISED
This should be done before you go! Make sure you have a clear-sighted plan for when you get back, prioritising tasks in order of importance & urgency.
You should have a well-thought out and organised plan or to-do list for when you arrive back while leaving room for amendments/ changes that will affect your plan once you are back.
You want to make sure you have all those jobs & tasks, no matter how big or small, documented, onto one piece of paper so that you can get cracking on with them once you are back.
Having this plan in place before you leave will also help you to switch off from work while you are away and enjoy yourself.
HANDOVER & RECAP
This goes without saying really; locate the colleague, superior or subordinate who was looking after your workload while you were away and get a detailed handover back. This will allow you to catch up with everything that has or hasn’t moved along & will get everything back fresh in your mind.
‘Where is everything at?’ ‘Does this task still need to be completed?’ These kinds of questions will help to alter your plan in order to re structure and prioritise tasks of the utmost importance.
UPON RETURN:
TOUCH IN WITH ALL RELEVANT COLLEAGUES/PEOPLE
Think about your role as a project in itself & think; who are the relevant stakeholders that I need to speak with? This can range from colleagues to clients, team members to managers, internal to external third parties.
You need to get up to speed and hit the ground running. Therefore you need to know where everyone is at and how developments on their end may impact your own work. You also need to get a feel of what has been going on relating to all aspects of your work. This will give you the opportunity to paint a picture in your head on the progress taken while you were away and also give you peace of mind.
GET STRAIGHT INTO IT
Returning to work after a holiday, it is common to have a lack of motivation. What’s the best way to overcome it? Just jump right back into it, head, shoulders, knees & feet first! Why not read How To Perform At Your Peak Every Day, which may help!
Don’t procrastinate or delay. Think; “what is the toughest or hardest conversation/ task I have to today?” and make this the priority/ first task, rather than putting it off to the end of the day or pushing it out to a few days later, make sure it is one of the first things you do when arriving at your desk. There is no better way to get back into the swing of things than throwing yourself into the deep end.
