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If you're an administrative professional who dreads returning to the office the day after vacation because you expect to be buried in a backlog of paperwork and requests, don't stress. Our expert from OfficeTeam has the solution to make your return to the office environment just as pleasant as your preceding vacation away from it--well, almost.

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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.