By IMAGE
13th Aug 2017
13th Aug 2017
Going back to work after a break away, even if you love your job, is hard to do without feeling a little down. It doesn’t matter if you’re coming back from a staycation or dealing with jet lag after visiting shores far away, getting your game face on can be a challenge. So how can you return to the routine of daily life and be productive? Try these helpful tips to get you back in the groove-
1. Jump straight back into your routine. Go to the gym, return to your regular bedtime and your normal eating plan. The sooner you do it the quicker you will feel back to yourself.
2. Before you announce your arrival back in the office, pause for one second and take notice. Look around. While you are an integral part of the team, and your contribution is important, did the business stop or fail while you were away? The likely answer is No. So, keep that in mind the next time you feel the urge to answer your phone or respond to emails out of hours. Things continue without you so keep your personal time sacred.
3. Accept that you will have a mountain of emails and messages to respond to. Tempting as it might be to deal with them instantly; resist, resist, resist. Set aside time (maybe 2 hours) later in the morning to scan, read and prioritise your responses.
4. The first thing you should do is take time to catch up with your work colleagues. Use this time to re-acclimatise and to get a feel for what happened while you were away. Check in with your team to see if there are any high priority tasks you should deal with immediately.
5. Ease yourself in gently and get the ball rolling by starting with a task that you enjoy. Get it done first to set you up for the things that must be done but may not be your favourite!
6. If you promised yourself that you were going to change something when on holidays, follow through on it. It might be career, social, personal or professional but whatever it is, commit to it. Re-energised and ready for action, use your energy to embrace possibility and change.
7. Plan your next break. Whether it’s a day away with friends, a weekend down the country, a city break or a bigger trip, start putting plans in place.
8. Just because you are home doesn’t mean that you have to forget about your holiday. Grab your phone and have a look at your pictures. Pick your favourites, print, frame or make an album.
If the feeling doesn’t lift within a few days, and your post-holiday blues is more than a feeling of readjustment, do not ignore it. Instead, consider your feelings as a warning sign that you need change.
If the feeling runs deeper than the disappointment that your holiday has ended, chat it through with a friend you can trust. If this doesn’t work speak to your GP or make an appointment with a counsellor. In doing so you decide to face into and deal with whatever it is that is not working for you. By getting the help now, your aim is that this time next year you will look forward to returning to work rather than dread it.
Our careers are a huge part of who we are and play a vital role in our overall enjoyment of life. With hard work and planful change, you can transition or pivot into something you truly love. You wouldn’t settle for second best in other things, so why do it with your career? Remember, only you can design a career that you love, and if you don’t, somebody will do it for you.
By?Sinead Brady
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