Two days left before you go back to your normal work
pattern, have you missed your office yet? Are you ready to catch up with e-mails that may
have piled up during the holiday break?
Very soon you’ll need to put off the street-party-outfit, wear your company uniform and meet with your boss or client; you’ll need to end conversations with your balikbayan friends/relatives and start talking to people in your office; you’ll need to replace the cooking sessions with task management and tackle anything unrelated to kitchen. When that moment comes, are you prepared?
Have you successfully kicked the holiday mode out of your system?
If your answer is anything but a straight YES, chances
are that you’d post #BringBackTheHolidays and whine on SNS about how you miss your bed already or your time away from your desk… You’d probably experience mild to drowning post-holiday blues that may result to you being unproductive at work.
Today, I got back to work. I only had a week-long paid leave. I tried to condition my mind and body for this day… So far the preparation seems a success. As for others (like my mom), they’ve been on a holiday since (I think) 2nd week of December so I assume the transition must be a little more difficult especially for those who had big celebrations…
But I think getting back to work after a long break is the best thing especially when you don’t have paid holiday leaves. But yeah, it ain’t easy to JUST shift from the holiday mode to normal work mode so I’m gonna share some tips.
(If you read Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath, you can learn many things to get back on track in any circumstance of your life. I just remember that it is a good read. Might want to buy it.)
If you want to get back to work and have a productive day at work, here is how you can do it:
1. RESET YOUR SLEEP CYCLE
To start a fresh, motivated Monday morning you better have enough sleep the night before…
Yes, holidays have been notorious for putting more fun in sleepless nights and we’re tricked to celebrate all night long. But again, as
early as tonight, put your sleeping pattern back to normal. Best if you sleep before 11 PM or 12 midnight. Make sure you get enough sleep before the supposed waking time of say 7 am or 8 am… and if you need to wake up 4:30 AM don’t wait past midnight before hitting the bed…
Maybe NOW you don’t feel anything even if you exhaust your body for up to 20 hours (because you are young) but SOON in your older life, the lack of sleep will take toll on your health. I’M JUST SAYING you don’t want that to happen so have enough and quality sleep.
Also, try not to pull an all-nighter tonight. If you do so you’ll be awake till 2 or 4 am then sleep the whole morning and wake up at noon or late noon. The cycle continues until the first day of your work. You might try to squeeze in a 3-hour sleep before work or try to resist sleepiness at work, either way, your body is stressed. So, again, I’m already stating the obvious, reset your normal sleep cycle.
2. PUT YOUR MIND TO ‘IT’
To put your mind to getting back to work is to decide that you are going to make all the preparations for your work, head to your office on Monday and put an effort into making the Monday productive.
In case you lack the motivation, try to keep a positive view. Think of going back to work as a blessing, you know, it is another opportunity to grow and earn. Being grateful for another year of work doesn’t only energize you, it also helps you overcome back-to-work blues.
3. ORGANIZE YOUR TO-DO-LIST
Maybe now you’re thinking about your workload for the coming week. If you’re not organized enough, you may drown in numerous tasks and fail to complete them on time.
THE SOLUTION: ORGANIZE YOUR TO-DO LIST.
List the things you need to complete on Monday. It doesn’t hurt to take a few minutes to jot down the “game plan” for your Monday or the entire week. By doing a to-do list, you can visualize things clearly and be able to prioritize.
In case you intend to go back to work on Monday, I hope the tips I mentioned above would be of help. Good luck! For others (like me) who’ve already gotten back to their “reality”, let’s keep the motivation!
How do you prepare for getting back to work after a long break? Share your tips
below! Thank you! Happy weekend!
Photo Credits to Manuel Moreno, Etu Oletu
