Getting back to work quickly after your vacation: 10 practical tips
In the summer months, colleagues come and go at work. Is your well-deserved summer vacation almost over and are you dreading your return to the office? Swiss recruiter Robert Walters reveals 10 tips to make your return to work a little easier.
- Start your morning well prepared
Having to get up early again is probably hard enough. Set the breakfast table the night before and choose your outfit in advance. This way you avoid stress before you even leave for work. Are you traveling by car? Then leave on time, because you never know if there will be traffic jams. If you can work from home, this is definitely advisable on your first day. That way everything is a little quieter.
- Start with a tidy desk
If there is still clutter on your desk because you didn't have the time or inclination to do so before your vacation, tidy it up first. Check your mail and the things that were on your desk while you were away. Before you fly back, take a look at your calendar. What is planned for the next few days? This will help you avoid missing deadlines in the first week.
- Catch up with your colleagues
While you were enjoying your vacation, your colleagues were undoubtedly very busy. Ask them what has happened in the office in the meantime. Any news on that one file? Did they have nice weather here too? If they haven't been in the office either, you can ask them what they've been up to. Take the time to catch up with everyone, it makes the transition from vacation to work a little easier.
- Use your overfilled letterbox wisely
Your first day at work is not the right time to empty your letterbox. It will probably be overfilled. Create three labels to solve the problem. For example, red for "urgent", blue for "less urgent" and green for "I can probably delete".
Then tag your emails by only looking at the subject line. Once you've done this, start working on the "red mails" and leave the rest aside until you've updated them. If an email is urgent, the sender will probably send a reminder.
- Do not work through your emails chronologically
It seems logical to start by replying to the oldest emails. However, this is not efficient. After all, you may answer a question that has already been answered ten emails later by a colleague (who was not on vacation).
Avoid unnecessary "sorry, I just saw that my colleague already replied to your question" emails and start at the top of your inbox. This way you may be able to delete some old emails because they have already been resolved. Also, some will have remembered your out-of-office dates, which means their emails will be at the top of your inbox.
- Choose quality over quantity
Don't overdo it with your emails. Trying to answer everyone as quickly as possible can sometimes go wrong. If you read too quickly and miss a particular question, you can expect another email with the same question. Another email in your pile of unread messages that you could have avoided. Therefore, take enough time to read a message completely.
- Create a to-do list
Now that you know which appointments are coming up in the next few days and you've checked your mailbox, it's a good idea to create a to-do list. Take a sheet of paper or a digital piece of paper and write down all your tasks. Prioritize them or set a deadline. Then decide which tasks you need to do today and which you need to do later in the week. But don't take on too much straight away; it takes a while to get back into the swing of things. So start with the small things.
- Postpone non-urgent meetings
You have a long to-do list and your inbox is full of urgent emails. It's only logical that you would rather spend your time on this than on a long meeting. Therefore, try to postpone non-urgent meetings until later in the week.
- Eat a healthy diet and exercise
Take a healthy snack and lunch with you to the office to keep your energy levels up. Nutrition plays a big role in your concentration and productivity. So avoid sugary snacks and opt for fruit, nuts or yogurt. Plan a short walk during your lunch break. Exercise will help you stay alert and productive. Fresh air can also help you clear your head and refocus.
- Treat yourself to a breather
If you think you can work for eight hours straight after two weeks' vacation, you are mistaken. Don't waste all your energy on the first day. The more vacation energy you save today, the more relaxed the rest of the week will be. Don't work too late in the evening either; there's no point in exhausting yourself on the first day.
The first day may be a little chaotic and you will no doubt be homesick for this wonderful vacation, but before you know it, you'll be back to your usual rhythm. Don't feel like going back to work? Then maybe it's time to think about a new job...
Source: www.robertwalters.ch
