7 ways to shift back into work mode after summer

Whether you’ve enjoyed sun, sand and sangria on a family holiday, spent a week at home being lazy or bolted a couple of days on to a Bank Holiday to make a long weekend, returning back to work after a summer break can be difficult and a tad deflating.

Swapping swimwear for suits can be made less stressful if you follow Bond William’s tried and tested advice. Here’s our seven favourite ways of slipping back into work mode come September:-

1. Make your first day an early start – it’s perhaps not what you want to hear after late nights and lie ins but buying yourself some extra time in the office will stop you feeling overwhelmed on your return. Get to your desk an hour before everyone else on your first day back so you can plough through your inbox in peace. You’ll feel more on top of things when colleagues arrive and relaxed enough to chat about your holiday.

2. Tweak your email settings – have you ever felt your inbox filling up faster than you can delete emails? Try keeping your out of office on for the first couple of hours when you’re back at your desk to stop people expecting a response while you re-acclimatize. You can also quell rising panic by turning off your desktop and smartphone email notifications, allowing you to focus on what’s already in your inbox.

3. Delete spam & useless emails first – it can be demoralizing to sit down to hundreds of unread emails but whittling them down to the most important is a good digital decluttering exercise. Pressing delete will lift the spirits and allow you to tackle the most urgent tasks.

4. Make a ‘to do’ list – once you know what tasks lie ahead, make a list with the most pressing at the top. Don’t just rely on email requests, however. Personally check in with the colleague who sent the email to establish if the task still needs completing (you may find it was so urgent someone else did it in your absence) and how quickly it needs to be done. You’ll get a good mood boost as you cross jobs off your list.

5. Plan something fun for the first weekend back – the sense of dread that your next block of leave is a whole year away can cloud your return to work, so set yourself some short-term treats that you don’t have to wait too long for. Plan a day trip or book a meal at your favourite restaurant for that first weekend back – the thought will see you through the working hours.

6. Book another holiday – it’s an obvious suggestion but knowing another break is in the diary will make coming back to work that bit easier. If another week or two is a stretch on your annual leave, aim for a long weekend. Utilise any Bank Holidays but be sure to check in with HR with regards to your holiday allowance, and clear any new holiday with your line manager before you book a flight.

7. Be smarter with return to work days – here’s an idea for the future. If you usually time your holidays so they run weekend to weekend, you’ll always return to work on a Monday. As a result, your first week back will always be a full one and it will feel like a marathon. Next time, try booking your holiday so you return on a Wednesday or Thursday, so you have minimal days in the office before it’s the weekend again.

If you’d like September to also be a fresh start career wise, contact Bond Williams today about our current vacancies.