2021 - Surviving #Day1 at work post-end of year vacation.

So, here it is ..you’ve spent many waking hours in the last week or maybe last two weeks of December 2020 just chilling, binge watching K-Drama Netflix and basically doing nothing!

And lo and behold .. you suddenly come to the realization that “IT’S TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK - TOMORROW!” Horror!

And that fast became one of the reasons why I seldom went on vacations .. long ones at least. Making the transition from vacation to back-to-work was neither easy nor pleasant for me. But it had to happen. So here are some tips on returning to work and how to make it less agonizing -whether you’re working from home or back at the office.

# Tip 1: Tidy up your workspace – Wherever it may be, clear up all the clutter around your work desk. File those documents accordingly or shred them. But spend no more than 1 hour – set a timer - no longer! And the longer you wait; the more they become an eye-sore and a nuisance as the files begin to stack up on and around your work desk.

# Tip 2: Undo your Out of Office Message – it’s a good idea to do this first thing on the day you are back at the office. Check your mails. A suggestion is to filter your mails by sender’s name so that you can quickly catch up on whatever projects or discussions that took place while you’re away. That would be more effective than going thorough your mail chronologically. So, clear out that mailbox!

# Tip 3: Make a To-Do list of things for that day - Why? So that you don’t get sucked into the paralyzing fear of having to clear everything on the same day once you’ve read your mail. Make a prioritized list of tasks to complete. Target 6 things you need to accomplish on your first day back at work. Focus on those first – but I’m not saying - you don’t work on the others if you have time to spare. And you’ll definitely be reminded of all the thing you half-worked on before you left for vacation. Are those on your priority list too or can they wait?

# Tip 4: Refrain from doing everything at once - You will feel the urge to work on many things just to catch up but check your self always. Working on too many things on your first day will only give you unnecessary stress! And if you are anything like me, you’ll soon develop a fear of taking off days. So, make it a point to focus on one thing at a time and completing the "To Do" list for your first day at work.

# Tip 5: Cut Out Distractions - If you’re working from home keep the TV off and mind focused on the fact that you’re back at work. And if you’re back at the office and it’s the first day of meeting up work colleagues – wait for Tea or Lunch break to share all those stories about how you spent your time during the MCO, CMCO and the RMCO. And yup - refrain from surfing and connecting to social media until later.

# Tip 6: Leave Your Office on Time - Make it a point to leave your office on time at least on your first day back at work. If you’re working from home – that applies to you too. Set the alarm. Now if you have put in the hours and the work as you rightly should – there’s no reason for you to be guilty whatsoever! You were on leave – and taking the break that you were entitled to. Don’t be too hard on yourself! You’ll be back into the normal work swing soon enough.

Do cut yourself some slack.

Breathe. Stay calm and focus on what you want to achieve.

So, enjoy your first day at work.

This is Kak Ana – Empowerment Coach and Licensed Master Practitioner of NLP® signing off. Until the next entry, have good days ahead!