Returning to Work After the Holidays: Navigating the Transition
The holiday season, while joyous, can be quite hectic, especially for small business owners like yourself.
Regardless of whether you find the holiday rush invigorating or exhausting, all good things eventually come to an end. However, transitioning from the festive season back to our regular routines isn’t always a smooth process.
Even if you’re eager to get back to work, it’s common to struggle with leaving behind the relaxed mindset of vacation and refocusing on work tasks. For many, this adjustment period can take several days, or even weeks, to fully settle into.
Let’s explore some strategies to facilitate your return to work after the holidays.
1. Declutter: Clearing the Clutter
Creating a clear and focused mindset begins with your environment. You’ve likely heard the saying, “A tidy home makes for a tidy mind,” and research supports this idea.
A study conducted by Princeton Neuroscience Institute in 2011 revealed that when there’s too much visual stimuli in your surroundings, it can distract you from concentrating on important tasks. In simpler terms, if your view is cluttered, your brain has to work harder to stay focused.
But the impact of clutter goes beyond mere distraction. Research suggests that cluttered environments can negatively affect mental health and well-being. They can impair cognitive skills such as visual processing and memory, and even influence unhealthy eating habits.
To combat this, start by decluttering your surroundings. Get rid of anything you no longer need, including unnecessary documents and apps on your computer.
However, it’s important to note that decluttering can sometimes become a form of procrastination. If you find yourself using tidying up as an excuse to avoid important tasks, try to stay focused on the goal of clearing out unnecessary items rather than getting sidetracked by rearranging or redecorating.
Consider setting a timer to keep yourself on track and ensure that you’re making productive use of your time.
2. Prep Ahead: Maximize Your Mornings for Productivity
Doing tasks the night before may seem obvious, but there’s solid science behind this strategy. It all comes down to something called decision fatigue.
Back in 1998, social psychologist Dr. Roy Baumeister discovered the concept of decision fatigue. He found that as humans, we have a limited reserve of mental energy. This means that the more decisions we make throughout the day, no matter how small, the harder it becomes to make good choices, solve problems, or think creatively.
As the head of your business, you’re constantly making decisions. Even simple choices like picking out outfits or deciding what to eat for breakfast can drain your mental energy. This leaves you feeling overwhelmed or mentally exhausted, often before the day is even halfway through.
By tackling tasks the night before, you can conserve your mental energy for more important decisions during the day. Simply laying out your clothes and prepping breakfast ingredients in advance can save you time and ensure your mental energy levels remain high when you need them most.
You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to stay focused and motivated when you’ve already taken care of these small decisions ahead of time.
3. Prioritize Rest: Enhancing Your Well-Being for Work
Getting enough rest is crucial for easing back into work after the holidays. Whether you’ve been busy or relaxed during the festive period, starting work again is much easier when you’re not struggling to stay awake.
Despite thinking we can function well with less sleep, skimping on shut-eye can have serious consequences. Sleep deprivation affects our work performance by reducing alertness, concentration, and judgment. It also impairs memory, learning, and mood, making it harder to handle stress.
If you struggle to get enough sleep, here are some effective methods to improve your sleep quality:
– Stick to a Schedule: Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day to regulate your body’s internal clock.
– Limit Screen Time: Avoid using electronic devices before bed, as the blue light they emit can disrupt your sleep cycle by suppressing melatonin production.
– Relax Before Bed: Take a warm bath or shower before bedtime, as studies suggest it can improve sleep quality and increase deep sleep.
– Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment: Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet to promote better sleep.
– Stay Active: Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine, as exercise can help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality.
– Consider Supplements: Certain supplements like melatonin, magnesium, valerian root, or vitamin B12 may help improve sleep quality.
By prioritizing rest and following these tips, you can ensure you’re well-rested and ready to tackle your work with renewed energy and focus.
4. Kickstart Your Day with Small Wins
Creating the perfect morning routine varies for everyone, but according to Paula Davis, founder of The Stress and Resilience Institute and author of “Beating Burnout At Work,” the secret to a successful morning lies in starting with small wins.
Small wins can include tasks like making your bed, eating a nutritious breakfast, or completing a quick morning workout. These seemingly minor accomplishments instill a sense of achievement that sets the tone for the entire day. They generate momentum and motivation, encouraging us to tackle more tasks as the day progresses.
Davis emphasizes the significance of recognizing progress, no matter how small. Even achieving minor goals fuels our motivation and drives us to accomplish more throughout the day.
“Seeing progress, even in small ways, in goals that matter to us, is incredibly motivating,” explains Davis. “This sense of progress serves as a source of motivation, inspiring us to continue pursuing our objectives.”
5.Catching Up: Easing Back into Work
Returning to work after a break can feel like diving back into the deep end, especially when faced with a flood of emails in your inbox.
Arriving at your desk on your first day back to find hundreds of unread messages can be daunting. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to begin.
To ease this transition, consider arriving a bit earlier than your usual start time to catch up and reacquaint yourself with your tasks and projects. This allows you to gradually ease back into your workflow and feel more prepared to tackle the day ahead.
6. Carving Out Time for Deep Work
Think of focus as a muscle—it needs regular exercise to stay strong. If you haven’t used it in a while, it might need a bit of work to get back to its best.
To rebuild your focus and dive back into work effectively, try scheduling periods of deep work. Start by deciding how long each session will last, and stick to it. It’s okay to start with shorter sessions and gradually increase them over time.
Find a workspace that’s free from distractions and use it consistently for your deep work sessions. This helps your brain associate the area with focused work, making it easier to concentrate.
Prepare yourself by grabbing a coffee, setting your phone to “Focus” or “Do Not Disturb” mode, and wearing earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. With these steps, you’ll be ready to unleash your best work.
7. Refresh with Breaks
Returning to work after time off can make you feel like you need to make up for lost time by pushing yourself to do as much as possible. However, this approach can actually be counterproductive.
Research by sleep expert Nathaniel Kleitman shows that humans experience cycles of high to low energy every 90-120 minutes, known as ultradian rhythms. These cycles also affect our ability to focus. Even if you push past these cycles, your work quality may suffer when you lack the energy to concentrate fully.
Taking regular breaks is essential for managing your energy levels consistently throughout the day. If you feel like you don’t have time for a proper break, consider micro-breaks as alternatives. These are short pauses—no more than five minutes—that help break up repetitive work and provide a mental or physical boost.
Micro-breaks can be simple activities like walking to the kitchen for a drink or snack, taking a moment to look out a window, or doing light stretches to relieve muscle tension in your back and neck. These brief moments of rest can rejuvenate your mind and body, allowing you to return to work feeling refreshed and ready to tackle tasks with renewed focus.
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