Samantha McDonald

Now that we’re back from the break, here are some tips to help ease yourself back into work.

Back from the break?

So, Christmas and new year have come and gone, and my hope for you is that you had a lovely time with family and friends, and hopefully a little rest for yourself thrown in for good measure.

But now it’s time to get back into it, and my guess is that there are more than a few people out there who are not exactly jumping out of bed in the mornings to hurry off to work, after seeing what a good couple of days or weeks off feels like!

Here are my tips for you, if you’re feeling a little less than enthused about being back in the swing of things:

Ease yourself back in. If you spent a lazy week on a beach in Bali, jumped on a plane, and were at work bright and early the next morning, no wonder you’re feeling a little worse for wear! Or, if you just had to go to every late night party on offer over the Christmas break, and then expected to be able to turn your body clock around in the blink of an eye, I’m sure you had another think coming! Recognise that you over-indulged and lived completely differently from normal – hey, it’s called a holiday! – and take your time getting back into your everyday life. Perhaps try to keep your working hours shorter for the first week.

Engage yourself. Find a project that you can get into straight away. Something a little bit exciting or different from your normal work routine. If you have something to work on, and an end result to look forward to, it can make taking your mind off other things a lot easier.

Take a lesson from it all. So, you actually enjoyed taking time off and spending it with those you love? Funny, that! Let this be a lesson for you. In your first spare five minutes, sit down with your diary and work out when you’re going to take your next real break. Let’s face it – if you wait too long before planning your next holiday, you’ll lose interest and just not do it at all!

And, most of all, remember that being at work is what enables you to afford to take holidays in the first place! So, get set for a fabulous 2008, put everything into your projects, and keep the old saying “work to live” top of mind.

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