Making a Smooth Return From Vacation
by
Diane Domeyer, executive director of Office Team
Nothing dispels that rosy, post-vacation glow faster than returning to a
mountain of unfinished paperwork on your desk, a barrage of messages in your
voice mail and dozens of missives in your e-mail inbox. The state of
relaxation you achieved can quickly disappear if your first day back at the
office is essentially a frantic game of catch-up.
Your return to the work world does not have to be so stressful, however.
Following are some tips to make the transition back to your normal routine
as smooth as possible.
Allow for readjustment.
If possible, avoid returning from vacation the night before you are due back
at work. Instead, come back a day or two early. Use the “buffer” time to run
personal errands, like taking your clothes to the dry cleaner, and check
accumulated voice-mail and e-mail messages from home. If a matter seems
particularly urgent, call coworkers and ask them for any important updates.
When you actually set foot back in the office, you’ll already know what to
expect.
Re-orient slowly.
Unless there is an urgent phone call to make or meeting to attend, spend the
first hour or two at work refreshing your memory about assignments,
deadlines and deliverables. Meet with your team members to catch up on
matters you might have missed while you were away. Getting back up to speed
systematically will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.
Create a prioritized to-do list.
Rather than tackling all outstanding items at once, prioritize your tasks
and focus on the most critical ones first. For example, you would want to
finish the notes for a presentation your manager will give at the end of the
week before starting to plan a company picnic scheduled three months from
now.
Update everyone at once.
Chances are your colleagues will pepper you with seemingly endless questions
about your vacation, especially if you were out of the office for an
extended period of time. To keep your first day back from turning into one
long gabfest, offer to go to lunch with the group and share stories about
your adventures with everyone at once.
Taking time off from work is necessary to keep your motivation high and
productivity at its peak. Use the tips above to craft an effective re-entry
strategy so you won’t dread returning to the office the next time you leave
on vacation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Diane Domeyer is executive
director of OfficeTeam, the nation’s leading staffing service specializing
in the temporary placement of highly skilled administrative and office
support professionals. OfficeTeam has more than 300 locations worldwide and
offers online job search services at
www.officeteam.com.
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