Hey Siri, How Not to Lose It on the First Day After a Holiday Break
Coming back from a long vacation may be tough — and seeing 999 unopened emails in your Inbox doesn’t make it easier. Here are a few things I do to make sure my recharged batteries don’t go along the lines of the PARTYNEXTDOOR’s song right away.
These might be no eye-opener, but hey, in case you were wondering: it’s not just you struggling out there.
1/ DO NOT RUSH INTO OPENING AND, MICHAEL SCOTT FORBID, REPLYING TO EVERY EMAIL CHRONOLOGICALLY
Check email by subject line without opening each yet. Look for hints (like Action Needed or Urgent) or emails marked as important, pay attention to recipients (most probably you know who the firedrills usually come from) or try email search for relevant keywords (such as ‘ASAP’, ‘urgent’, ‘prioritize’, or ‘by Monday EOD’) and see if any of these are unopened yet.
2/ CHECK YOUR CALENDAR. AGAIN.
If you’re a control freak (well, I am 🤭), most probably you’ve already checked your calendar in advance, but do so again and make sure you have enough time to prepare, to follow-up, and also (surpriiiiise!) to breathe. It’s ok to move meetings that can be moved in case you have a high priority looming on the horizon, or if your day is too packed for you to get the important stuff done. Meetings are not pocket monsters, don’t try to catch ‘em all.
3/ KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES
As much as you want to, most probably you won’t complete everything in one working day (I don’t even dream about Inbox Zero anymore), prioritize wisely. Yeah, we all know it in theory, but getting organized in practice will save you a nerve cell or two. Prioritize with Trello/Asana/your app of choice, or something as simple as DIY Eisenhower’s matrix sketched in your notebook — whatever gives you that refreshing feeling of accomplishment (for me nothing is more satisfying than crossing something out in my to-do list with a neon yellow highlighter, yum 👌🏼).
4/ COMMUNICATE, IT’S FREE!
Drop a line in a team chat or send an email to your manager and/or peeps you work most closely with to double check if there’s anything that requires your immediate attention. Everyone is most probably in the same shoes, so they will appreciate (or at least understand) the gesture. Don’t forget to ask how their holidays were and send a meme they can relate to.
We’re all humans first, and office people second.
5/ STAY HUMAN
Whenever you feel stressed, set you inner Gina Linetti free. Take breaks, eat your lunch on time, and remember that work never ends, but a working day does.
What are you ways of getting work done without sacrificing your sanity?
