Six Simple Tools to Efficiently Manage

Post Vacation Overwhelm

Getting back into the office routine after vacation can be a real challenge but it can be accomplished efficiently. The best way to do it is to shake away the procrastination temptation and jump right into the day-to-day routine. Below are six simple tools that can help do that.

1. Make a plan. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by emails, projects and tasks that demand your attention as soon as you get in the office. Beat overwhelm by creating a plan of things to do and by prioritising work realistically. An efficient way of doing this is to use the Eisenhower Productivity Matrix and organize work in 4 quadrants:

  • Do the Urgent and Important

  • Plan the Important but Not Urgent

  • Delegate (ask someone to help) the Urgent but Not Important

  • Delete the Not important and Not Urgent

Devoting time to plan will help maintain a calm attitude and control the work that needs to be done. Focusing your energy on the urgent and important tasks ensures better quality of output and actual time saving.

2. Stay hydrated. Chances are that after vacation your body is dehydrated because of random food, caffeine and alcohol consumption, being out in the warm weather, not to mention sunbathing. Dehydration may make you feel tired and undermine your efforts to get things done in the office. Drink lots of water to keep your body energetic and your brain alert. Keep a big bottle of water on your desk and drink regularly (one glass every hour). It is amazing how having the bottle right on your desk serves as a reminder plus you don’t have to visit the kitchen all the time.

3. Eat healthy. Invariably, vacation carries with it a slack in healthy dietary habits. It is important to go back to healthy eating as soon as possible. Consuming lots of green vegetables keeps the body hydrated and contributes to an overall energetic mood of getting things done. We feel light and healthy and this boosts our confidence.

4. Exercise! It should come to no surprise that body movement helps shake off post vacation sluggishness. A simple walk in the park, jogging, yoga or going to the gym will work wonders in building up energy levels and confidence.

5. Sleep well. Normalising your sleep after vacation can be challenging but a good night’s sleep is key to waking up feeling rested and ready to tackle the day ahead. Make sleeping well a priority by:

  • going to bed at a regular time,

  • allowing for at least 7 hours of night sleep, and

  • keeping the bedroom cool and dark.

6. Oxygenate your brain. Brain thrives on oxygen. Taking deep, diaphragmatic breaths with elongated exhales increases oxygen supply and turns on the parasympathetic nervous system or “relaxation response” mode and turns off the “stress response” or the overactive sympathetic nervous system (known as fight or flight). Being able to choose the relaxation response over the stress response, calms post vacation anxiety and lowers the risk of stress-related conditions in general. A good way to insert this into the daily office routine is to set alerts on your mobile phone to be reminded to take frequent breathing breaks throughout the day.

Following these simple tools will help getting through the first days of returning to the office post vacation. Keep using them in order to feel energized and be productive until the next vacation.

Make the best of the new normal in three steps

In these unprecedented times of the coronavirus pandemic, we all share similar feelings: anxiety, worry, confusion, and even panic. These feelings are completely normal because, as we already know from living our previously “normal”, everyday life, there is one thing...

Managing a beyond-our-power event

Event X Response = Outcome This formula is a widely used #coaching tool. It teaches us that when we cannot influence (read alter) certain events in our life then we can influence the outcome or consequences by our response to the event; that is our behavior and...

Easy Plan Your Week

The importance of having a good plan in place cannot be sufficiently highlighted. Whatever you do make sure you have a plan in place broken down to adequate detail so that you never find yourself in a position wondering what to do today or tomorrow. Yes, it is...

Uncertain Journey

Sometimes the journey we are on is not a simple or an easy one. It can be fraught with uncertainty about the future, physical demands, emotional rollercoasters, and financial investments. In fact, it may be acknowledged that this journey is not likely one that you...

The need for new leadership

"It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change." Applying this liberally adapted version of Darwin’s natural selection theory (attributed to have been said by Louisiana State University business professor Leon C....

A New Year’s Resolution

As we are fast approaching the end of the current year, it is a good idea to pause and reflect on our performance so far. Having studied and listened many high-performance coaches and gurus, from Jim Rohn to Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard and others, the single most...

5 Keys to Goal Setting

1. Set Goals that Motivate You - Motivation is key to achieving goals. It’s all about YOU and what makes you tick. If a goal is important to you and you believe that there is value in achieving it then there is a bigger chance, actually the best chance, to achieve it....

How do you create the winning psychology that you need to succeed?

Speaking from personal experience and also from experiences shared by clients, I am confident to say that the ability to achieve one’s aims and goals is directly correlated to our daily habits. This is the real challenge: how to transcribe the three keys to success to...

Don’t wait for the rain to clear your mind!

Sitting here in rainy Edinburgh I have little choice but to connect with my thoughts. I am reminded of a quote I came across recently by Venus Williams, Professional Tennis Player. She said:“Rain is good for me. I feel like I achieve clarity actually when it rains....

Play the Glad Game today! Create a Feeling of Gratitude!

Creating a feeling of gratitude as a prerequisite and a driver for creating a positive psychology requires more than just saying thank you. For some of us more than others, gratitude is a complex feeling and we have difficulty grasping its meaning, let alone genuinely...