How to Recover from a Holiday and Get Back in the Groove

(Illustration by Victo Ngai)

I don’t know about you, but a holiday, long weekend, or visit from family or friends can derail me from any momentum I might have built up in my day-to-day business tasks, and this past weekend is no exception.

Don’t get me wrong, breaks and vacations are vitally important when it comes to keeping your sanity.

However, it can be challenging to get back in the groove of your workflow after putting it all away and taking it easy for any length of time.

Do you struggle with this as well?

Here are some tricks that help me to recover from a holiday and keep my momentum:

1.  Hit the ground running

After a long weekend, it can be tempting to drag your feet as you reluctantly return to your “work” life. This can be seen as a form of denial, where you are clinging to the relaxation and fun that you had during the past days or weeks and dreading the responsibilities that face you ahead.

This will only make matters worse.

Instead, I suggest changing your attitude to one of excitement and determination. Visualize yourself “hitting the ground running” and your body will follow, allowing you to dive right back in to your business with a highly productive mindset and the momentum you had before you took a break.

2.  Avoid your inbox

Chances are, you’ve built up a backlog of emails and social networking messages while you were away. This means you could easily spend your entire first day back at work reading and answering the queries and comments of others, rather than focusing on your own responsibilities.

I recommend avoiding the “reactive” state that this can put you in, and instead try to avoid your inbox for a while, at least until you get some things done.

3.  Stick to a list

Making lists is a great way to manage your time in any situation, but it can be especially helpful after a holiday or vacation, when your mind might be otherwise occupied or distracted.

Try making a list of just a few of the most critical tasks that demand your attention as you return to work. This will help you to focus your energy and get back into the rhythm of your business.

4.  Look ahead

When you’re “in the groove” of your business, you are likely to spend a lot of your mental energy looking to the days ahead and making plans for the future. As mentioned earlier, your vision can easily be diverted to the past as you resist the return of the work week.

If you do your best to refocus on the present and future, you might find it easier to commit your energy and attention to your business.

Moving Forward

Getting back to work doesn’t have to be so painful.

It may be easier than you think to make the transition back from a holiday to the obligations of your business. Try some of the tricks from the list above and let me know if it helps.

Do you have some tricks of your own? Please share them with your fellow artists in the comments section of this post.

Special thanks to Victo Ngai for providing the artwork for this post.
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About Victo Ngai: Victo Ngai is a freelance illustrator born in Hong Kong and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. Victo is Victoria and is actually Chuen Ching. But she gave up trying to teach the British to say “Chuen Ching” and the Chinese to say “Victoria.”

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Related Posts:

• 7 Time Management Strategies That Work
• 9 Ways to Run a Smart Creative Business
• Delegating Tasks to Get Things Done
• How to Work from Home Part 3 – Getting Out
• Stop Consuming, Start Producing

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