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Trying to get back into work mode? see 5 Tips to be productive after a long break from work

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Its been amazing long weekend. Your mind might still be in holiday mode and getting out of bed or driving through the traffic on this Tuesday to resume back at work might seem more difficult than ever. However, here are some tips to help you to be productive and fully maximize your resumption day after a long time away from work.

Plan your day

This is a point that cannot be overemphasized in order to achieve more on your first day back at work. As you review your emails, voice messages etc. you’ll be reminded of all the things you were working on before you left for the break.

Getting a journal and a pen to list and prioritize all that needs to be done is about the best way to go about this. If you have them all piled up in your head, you might just end up being overwhelmed with the volume of work but breaking it down into small, achievable tasks which should be time bound helps you achieve more.

It feels like someone on a mission and feels even better when you tick off all that you had set out to do at the end of the day. Planning your day will help you make the mental transition from holiday mode to work mode much smoother and less painless.

Stick to the plan

Sticking to the plan no matter is as vital as the first point above. Avoid small talks and longer lunch breaks where you tell colleagues all about your amazing long weekend. Avoid longer hours on social media to catch up on all that went down during the weekend. This would only mean that it might be too late to achieve anything substantial before clocking off for the day and then you would be even further behind the next morning.

You really need to find a way to stick to that plan either by playing music through your headphones to help you focus, or taking your laptop to the conference or meeting room that’s not in use to ensure you are not distracted, whatever works for you.

Formulate an email strategy

Even if you’re keen to start productive work the moment you hit your desk, there’s that overflowing email inbox standing in your way. But if answering every single email will take all day, how will you get anything else done?

It’s a problem that faces almost everyone returning from a long weekend, and the solutions are many and varied. But the main thing, again, is to have a strategy. Find an approach that works best for you and your workflow and then stick to it.

 Control your emails, don’t let them control you

There is a tendency to be welcomed back with a bulk of messages that should be attended to and however much you tell yourself you won’t spend all day answering emails, its easy to get panicky about your contacts getting annoyed with you afterall, no one likes to feel ignored.

One strategy that can help here is to set up an email auto-response, throughout your first day back. Do not waste your time by typing such sentences over and over again, you should start using an app if need be to speed things up.

This should take the edge off, with everyone but you might have to make an exception for the most demanding clients or colleagues.

Take a positive attitude

Returning back to work after a long weekend or break is a transition period and but have to shake off things and adopt a positive attitude to help you accomplish your tasks.

Take a structured, planned approach to your day and you will feel fulfilled when you clock off at the end on a much happier note than you began. Take a breath and think about the things you love about your job if that might serve as enough motivation to the right vibes and set you back in work mode.

It might take a few days for you to finally get readjusted which is fine however, stay calm and focused and you’ll be back to your old routine at work before you know it.

 

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