Make your vacation count!
Business Optimizer looks at ways to minimize your stress when you get back to work after your vacation and how to get back to work full of energy.
With so many of us not taking the vacation, we’re entitled to, it’s more important than ever to make sure the time we do take off really delivers maximum rejuvenation and refreshment. Plan ahead to minimize the stress on either side of your break.
#1. Set boundaries before you go
Set rules with your boss and co-workers before you go so you can keep contact to a minimum while you’re away without returning to any nasty surprises.
#2. Clear your desk
Tidy desk, tidy mind. Clearing your desk before you go is a simple way to reduce stress on your return. It’s infinitely nicer to come back to an empty, polished desktop than stacks of papers, moldy apples, and unwashed gym kits – and your colleagues will be probably in better moods too!
#3. Leave a job list for yourself
Make it easy on yourself by writing yourself a job list with good notes to help you pick up where you left off and taping it to your newly cleared desk ready for your return. If you’ve been able to truly clear your mind while away, it can sometimes be challenging to get back into work. Notes can help you return on the front foot.
#4. Resist the impulse to fill your schedule
It can be all too easy to find your diary filled with meetings when you get back. To avoid this, before you depart, block out some decent periods of time during the days following your return.
This way you keep time clear to catch up with colleagues, emails and your priorities at your own pace.
#5. Make the most of your relaxed, post-vacation state
Research shows that a fresh mind is better able to solve complex problems and think creatively.
The distance and positive frame of mind your vacation has given you can free up your mental field of vision – making your return from vacation a great time to tackle creative and long-term planning tasks.
Before you leave, schedule your diary to make the most of this.
#6. Book the next one!
Research also tells us that daydreaming about a future vacation can boost your sense of well-being and contentment. So why not book your next vacation on your return – a sure-fire way to continue your feel-good vacation factor.
It’s easy to see how a bit of proactive planning and diary management can help to minimize your stress levels when you get back to work after your vacation – so this vacation season makes sure you make time to ease your return before you go.
