How to Prepare for Work After Vacation

Work week preparation after a long vacation

As our vacation is wrapping up, I’m thankful for the memories and know I will have to transition back into work mode soon. Striving for balance in life involves recognizing when the proverbial pendulum needs to swing in different directions. Our family vacation was a much-needed time of adventure, magical moments, and some relaxation. Soon it will be time for me to prepare for the work week after our vacation.

In today’s post, I am sharing a few ways I prepare for work after vacation. Honestly, I do wish our vacation was a little longer. I’m grateful for the week that we have been able to spend in Orlando, FL but a few additional days to just rest would have been excellent. Perhaps, this only means that I need to take a “momcation” really soon.

Creating Balance

One way that I create balance in life as a working mother and entrepreneur is recognizing when to take time away from work and my business. I have shared in a previous post that I am not someone who has a “hustle” mentality. I firmly believe that rest is as equally productive as completing tasks.

It is also important to take time away from work to create memories with my children. Their giggles smiles and laughs this week were absolutely priceless. I believe this week helped to reinforce that they’re worth all of my time and energy and more!

Transitioning Back to the Work After Vacation

Here are some ways to transition smoothly from vacation in this post, Returning from Summer Vacation: How Working Mothers Can Transition Smoothly – Career Mom Community.

Here are some ways to prepare prior to the start of the week:

• Rest and/or enjoy a self-care moment
• Plan for the week
• Check-in with others

Rest prior to the start of the week

As stated above, rest is productive. Thankfully, I will not be transitioning immediately from vacation mode to work mode. We have a day and a half to prepare for my work week. This gives me time to rest my mind, reflect through journaling, and de-stress from traveling.

Plan for the week

The best way to plan for the work week after a vacation is to plan. Planning helps with organization, time management, and so much more. I enjoy the leveraging a brain dump technique when I have been off of my routine. A brain dump is a great way to jumpstart the planning process. It is also very simple. Brain dumping is when you free write around a specific topic. In this instance, the brain dump will consist of the activities, appointments, and commitments for the work week ahead.

Once the brain dump is complete allocate the specific task to a time on the calendar. I also find it helpful for me to defer and delegate. To avoid burnout, I believe, it would be helpful to defer and delegate more tasks after a long vacation.

You can learn more about the Brain Dump Technique in this quick video.

Check in with others

Prior to the start of the week check in with family, friends, and perhaps colleagues you are close with. I’m not suggesting you log back into work but if you have a colleague who is also a close friend reach out to see what the latest breaking news is if any. Companies change rapidly these days and who knows what major announcements dropped while you were away.

To Wrap it Up

Transitioning from vacation to the work week does not have to be a daunting task. If you prepare and transition well you can effectively and efficiently ease back into the swing of work.

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