Digging Out After Vacation

Community Manager — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:57:00 GMT

Your tan hasn't even faded but you are back to work big time. Hello September, time to get busy.

If your post-Labor Day mojo is in need of a reboot, read our five tips for making your reentry from the slow summer pace painless.

Plan for a Smooth Return: Returning to your office Monday morning from vacation to face a kajillion e-mails is never fun. Take some time Sunday evening to triage your email inbox, deleting what's unnecessary and sorting remaining e-mails into an "immediate action" folder and a "later in the week" folder. Likewise, clear your Monday calendar so that meetings and conference calls fall later in the day or even mid-week. By scheduling in an initial block of meeting-free time, you can catch up on what you've missed before new demands overwhelm.

Schedule an Update: After a vacation, schedule time for key work colleagues to update you on projects statuses, new deadline and other important considerations. By selecting key people to spearhead your update, you minimize information overload and the time-drain or hearing from too many sources.

Build in Fun: Returning from vacation can be a bummer. Ward off the post-vacation blues by booking a lunch date with a good friend or a trusted colleague mid-week. Connecting with friends keeps the post-vacation glow going just a little bit longer. Research shows that the happiest workers are those who feel connected to their coworkers and friends.

Engage in Goal Setting: While returning to work means diving in to must-do projects, take time to focus not just on the nuts and bolts of work but on your career big picture. Passionate, successful employees are those that are always growing and adding new skills or experiences. Look at September as a fresh start, and dive into career building.

Book another Vacation: Saying good-bye to summer Fridays and a leisurely vacation pace isn't easy. So consider scheduling your next getaway now. Knowing that you have a fun vacation to look forward down the road takes the sting out of returning to the 9-to-5 grind.

Finally, we leave you with one of our past posts to help ease the transition from summer BBQs to sweater weather: Top 10 Reasons to be Excited its Fall.

Enjoy your fall!

How do you ease the post-vacation blues? What are your tips for making your return from vacation as productive as possible? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook and Twitter pages.

Beyond Folders : autumn

Digging Out After Vacation