All work and no play is no life at all. Taking a vacation is a great way to de-stress. Imagine 1 to 3 days or more of no emails and voicemails, phonecalls in the middle of the night, deadlines to think of, and heady client meet-ups to attend to. Pure bliss! It helps revive the system and get your creative juices going. But while vacation is proven to do just that, the avalanche of work-related issues can also be sweeping once you go back. So, before you go all depressed upon going back, here are some tips to keep that awesome post-vacay vibe going:
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Try to ease down on work commitments. The moment you get back, you may want to have a day or two with no meetings or client meal meet-ups. Focus on answering emails, voicemail’s, and other queries needing immediate attention. This is also a good time to reorganize your calendar and check on work or presentation deadlines. It is best to also review back-to-work priorities set prior to the vacation should something more urgent came up. Address the most urgent ones and leave some of the pleasantries at a later time.
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Time to give your office desk a face-lift. By the time you’ll be back, request papers, invoices, and folders of reports may occupy a vast amount of your work space. Sign them up. Send them out. There is nothing more satisfying than having a de-cluttered desk at the end of the day.
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While de-cluttering may be foremost on your mind, bring also that sunshine with you. Fresh flowers on a vase will add more warmth to a seemingly dreary office space. If there’s no space for flowers, bring anything colorful like a calendar posted on your cubicle wall. A framed picture of yourself immersed in the sea or sand can also maintain that positive vibe egging you to move forward.
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Accept the expected but do it in a stride. It is normal to be stressed with the avalanche of work load greeting you back. Learning how to control such stress levels depend largely on your mindset. Address immediate concerns for 20 to 30 minutes and then, take a break for 5 to 10 minutes. This will bring back a more relaxed system while staying productive all the time.
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When work concerns simply swamp you to no end, bring out the iPod out and listen to your choice of music. Reggae and tropical beats add more positive vibe as you go chasing deadlines. Others prefer classical songs to sooth the mind when solving gargantuan task.
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Bring more than positive vibe with you by picking up one good habit. It may be to do yoga as the sun rises or to meditate during sunset. Some also made a realization on spending at least a couple of hours outdoors or unplugging from technology will add more positive vibe to a full work week. In most cases, vacations also bring about a sense of clarity on how to bring about work-life balance.
There are 101 optimistic ways of retaining post-vacation vibe. The key is to always look forward to coming back. Work is, after all, your bread and butter—and without it, planning your next getaway will be virtually impossible.