There’s nothing like the joy and excitement of planning a well-needed vacation – and the disappointment when it ends, seemingly in the blink of an eye. Regardless of whether you traveled across the globe or enjoyed a short staycation at home, the feeling of dread about going back to work is understandable. With the right planning and mindset, post-vacation blues won’t ruin your day.
Here are five ways to help ease your transition back into work life after some time off:
1. Communicate clearly before you leave
Proper communication will make your transition from office to vacation and back again as seamless as possible. Informing your coworkers that you’ll be out of the office is just as important as telling your supervisors. It may also help to share a status update on where your current projects are at, as well as solidify who is covering any projects for you while you’re away. Communicate mindfully and effectively—the emphasis should not be on the details of your luxurious vacation, but rather the ways in which you can help minimize disruption in your absence.
2. Clean up your workspace
The last day before your absence, take time to organize your work and desk. Similarly, the first thing you should do when you come back from vacation is tidy up your workspace. Taking care of unopened mail or other items on your desk will put you in a productive mindset and is a nice way to ease back into the workload.
3. Prioritize your day
Upon your return, review deadlines and prioritize your responsibilities. Consider keeping your email and phone vacation notices up for the first half of the day or turning on your “do not disturb” notice in order to work your way through the backlog of tasks and correspondences without distraction. Another tip: don’t review your emails in chronological order. Instead, sort your messages by subject or sender. This makes it easier to quickly find out what happened while you were gone.
4. Pace yourself
Understand that you probably won’t be able to catch up with all your work in one day. Accept your limitations and plan to stagger the work throughout the week. Additionally, avoid multitasking and instead tackle projects one at a time.
5. Plan for something fun
Going on vacation is often a time of indulgence, so it’s no wonder that coming back to reality can be difficult. To make the transition easier, give yourself some time to adapt to returning to your daily work routine. If you are traveling it is best not to arrive the night before you are scheduled to work—give yourself a full day of rest after you return home to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the work week ahead. Additionally, plan to do something fun after your first day back. Meet up with friends for dinner, spend the evening at the beach, or even just plan to indulge in your favorite TV show.
By effectively planning ahead and taking things slow, you should find the transition from vacation back to work much more bearable.
Is it post-vacation blues? Or is it something more?
If after all of this you still find yourself painstakingly trudging through your return to work, perhaps the issue goes beyond post-vacation blues. If you’re not happy with your job or career path, ALTRES Staffing may be able to help. We understand the local job market and match qualified candidates with Hawaii’s leading companies every day. We offer jobs you won’t find anywhere else, and one interview will give you access to hundreds of jobs. Best of all, our services are FREE for jobseekers. You can search our current positions, or just reach out if you need guidance. We are happy to help!
Sign up for our newsletter
Sign up for our monthly HIVE newsletter and get tips for finding a job, managing a business and advancing your career right in your inbox.
There’s nothing like the joy and excitement of planning a well-needed vacation – and the disappointment when it ends, seemingly in the blink of an eye. Regardless of whether you traveled across the globe or enjoyed a short staycation at home, the feeling of dread about going back to work is understandable. With the right planning and mindset, post-vacation blues won’t ruin your day.
Here are five ways to help ease your transition back into work life after some time off:
1. Communicate clearly before you leave
Proper communication will make your transition from office to vacation and back again as seamless as possible. Informing your coworkers that you’ll be out of the office is just as important as telling your supervisors. It may also help to share a status update on where your current projects are at, as well as solidify who is covering any projects for you while you’re away. Communicate mindfully and effectively—the emphasis should not be on the details of your luxurious vacation, but rather the ways in which you can help minimize disruption in your absence.
2. Clean up your workspace
The last day before your absence, take time to organize your work and desk. Similarly, the first thing you should do when you come back from vacation is tidy up your workspace. Taking care of unopened mail or other items on your desk will put you in a productive mindset and is a nice way to ease back into the workload.
3. Prioritize your day
Upon your return, review deadlines and prioritize your responsibilities. Consider keeping your email and phone vacation notices up for the first half of the day or turning on your “do not disturb” notice in order to work your way through the backlog of tasks and correspondences without distraction. Another tip: don’t review your emails in chronological order. Instead, sort your messages by subject or sender. This makes it easier to quickly find out what happened while you were gone.
4. Pace yourself
Understand that you probably won’t be able to catch up with all your work in one day. Accept your limitations and plan to stagger the work throughout the week. Additionally, avoid multitasking and instead tackle projects one at a time.
5. Plan for something fun
Going on vacation is often a time of indulgence, so it’s no wonder that coming back to reality can be difficult. To make the transition easier, give yourself some time to adapt to returning to your daily work routine. If you are traveling it is best not to arrive the night before you are scheduled to work—give yourself a full day of rest after you return home to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the work week ahead. Additionally, plan to do something fun after your first day back. Meet up with friends for dinner, spend the evening at the beach, or even just plan to indulge in your favorite TV show.
By effectively planning ahead and taking things slow, you should find the transition from vacation back to work much more bearable.
Is it post-vacation blues? Or is it something more?
If after all of this you still find yourself painstakingly trudging through your return to work, perhaps the issue goes beyond post-vacation blues. If you’re not happy with your job or career path, ALTRES Staffing may be able to help. We understand the local job market and match qualified candidates with Hawaii’s leading companies every day. We offer jobs you won’t find anywhere else, and one interview will give you access to hundreds of jobs. Best of all, our services are FREE for jobseekers. You can search our current positions, or just reach out if you need guidance. We are happy to help!
Sign up for our newsletter
Sign up for our monthly HIVE newsletter and get tips for finding a job, managing a business and advancing your career right in your inbox.