Re-entry after vacation
It’s the season for vacations. Just got back from mine and it was wonderful. It felt rejuvenating to get back to Productivity Coaching with clients. A client that got back from vacation mentioned that it took several days to relax into their vacation and some time to adjust back into work.
Did you really rest while you were on vacation? Maybe, like me, you arrived back at your desk excited and revitalized. Maybe you feel a bit tired or jet lagged. That’s why focusing on re-entry is so important. Here are some ways that you can ease back into work after taking time off.
Plan for a day of re-entry. The day you get back from vacation block out the full day to handle any emergencies, paperwork, email and get a handle on what you’ve missed out on.
Remember the 80/20 rule. When you do hit email, there maybe hundreds of them that piled up while you were gone, know that only about 20% of them are relevant and important.
Sort email by person or project so that you can get a full scope of all that happened when you were gone.
Batch email that you can delete quickly like blogs and daily digests, this will significantly decrease the number of email you have and have you focusing on the 20%.
Grab a trashcan. You probably got some snail mail while you were gone. Ditch it so it doesn’t clutter your desk.
Reconnect with projects and people. Take a look at the folders and documents that hold information for projects and quickly browse through them. This will help you to link back to what you were working on. Bond with people who help with those projects, set up lunch meetings and meetings to check in.
Create a top five. Create a list of the top five things that you need to do upon your return. Focus on those and get them done.
Scan your calendar. Grab your calendar and scan a few weeks ahead. Connect back to what you have going on.
Schedule your next vacation. If you had bunches of fun on your last vacation make sure to block out time for your next adventure.
Welcome back! It doesn’t have to be the daily grind. You can keep that peaceful feeling you gained on vacation by using these techniques. Get in there and make great things happen.
Margo Crawford is a Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer with Wave Productivity. She works with entrepreneurs, small business owners and business professionals to help them get more focused, organized and productive in their workplace. If you want to lessen the time you need to jump back into work after vacation, she can work to get you more productive and organized in your office. Haven’t had a vacation in years? She can help with that too by coaching you on work life balance and integration. Call 602-677-8275 or email [email protected] to schedule a free consultation today.