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4 Ways Of Easing Back To Work After The Holidays

You entertained, you ate and most of your days started at 11:00 AM or noon throughout the long holidays season. You were carefree and did whatever you wanted without deadlines, co-workers and the demands of the workplace raining down on you. The idea of going back to work and falling into a routine again is distressing, and you wish the holidays would go on forever. However, with bills to pay and items that need to be done, your plan is to return to work and tackle that inbox full of emails and the mountain of paperwork.

But worry not! Because you can get back to “work mode” and give your best performance this year, even after the long, exciting holiday break. A few ways you can help yourself ease back to work successfully are as follows.

1. Begin Your First Day Early

As much as this might sound insane, it is the best way to get your mind rolling and focused on work. On that first day of work in this New Year, go in early. Going early will also allow you to get a lot done without your colleagues around and giving you more tasks. Clean your desk, sort your emails and plan your week. As the day’s work pile grows on your desk, you will be ready for it and will not have that frustrating experience of watching helplessly as the pile grows. A day that begins early is bound to go well, and you will not have as hard time adjusting as your colleagues.

2. Plan An Exciting Activity That Evening

You are probably feeling anxious coming back to work, thinking that the fun of the holidays is in the past and that the months ahead after the New Year, are just full of winter. Well, it is time for an attitude change and a look at the bright side. Think about another vacation that could be months away or the time off you get every day when you go home. Plan a fun activity every evening. It could be some play time with your kids before they go to bed, watching your favorite show, cooking something special at home or dinner with a close friend. Visualize this exciting activity as you work during the day, and you will have the energy to power through the day as you look forward to the evening.

3. Get The Easy Stuff Done First

Knock off the easy tasks first, and this will build your momentum and enable you to handle the difficult ones efficiently. Reply quickly to those New Year wishes emails from other companies and the personal ones. Reply to inquiries from your colleagues, bosses or clients quickly and deal with the easy paperwork on your desk. Soon half of your unread emails and the pile of paperwork will be out of the way. By the time you start working on that long and difficult task, your brain will already be in “work mode, ” and your ideas will be in full flow.

4. Divide Your Workload Into Manageable Pieces

A single step at a time will help you finally reach your goal in good time. Break your yearly goals into quarterly goals. Allocate time to manage a part of your workload, set milestones and come up with easier ways of doing things and you are likely to make progress faster. Six months will fly by without you realizing it, and then you will look back and feel proud of how much you have accomplished.

After trying out the above suggestions to help you adapt to work life again, you will probably feel the urge to work hard coursing through your veins on day two and probably the rest of the year until the glorious holidays come knocking again!