Preparing for an upcoming holiday is exciting – you find yourself counting down the hours until you can clock off. But as soon as your alarm goes off for your first day back, however, feeling of dread returns.
To help you avoid these negative emotions, we caught up with Cory Huff, head of marketing at Productive Flourishing who shares his top tips on how to prepare for your return to work after a holiday and stay on top of your game.
Huff begins by explaining that the return from a holiday is a transition phase, so you shouldn’t push yourself to do more than you normally would. He advises to reconnect with your job and identify what it is that you love about it. Catching up with your coworkers is also a great way to ease back into the office after some time off and find joy in the workplace. He recommends establishing a ritual that will help you get into the zone. For some people, for example, this might be exercising in the morning or meditating before work.
Preparing for a vacation is essential for a successful return. Huff recommends planning for your absence and for your return to the workplace. By taking these steps, you set yourself up for less stress and worry when you’re back. It’s easier to catch up on everything that happened during your absence if you’re not racing against the clock to get work out.
When it comes to working on a project and being unsure of where to start, Huff recommends breaking it down into pieces. He also suggests collaborating with colleagues so you can get their point of view as well. He also recommends planning in some buffer time to review a project once it’s finalized.
Huff lists these top productivity tips:
- Manage your time: be intentional with your use of time and how you allocate it
- Visualize, prioritize, articulate, chunk and sequence: practice these when working on a project
- Follow the five projects rule: your brain can only handle five projects at a time
- Set SMART goals: simple, meaningful, actionable, realistic and trackable goals
- Use time-blocking in your schedule: block out time for specific projects
If you want to gain more insightful information on this topic, be sure to watch the full interview. Meanwhile, check out our other expert guides related to job searching on CareerAddict.
How do you stay productive at work after returning from a holiday? Let us know by leaving a comment below!