Q. You can help me coming back to work after a summer break by ...
It's back to school (or work) and this week's suggested entry helps you explore and communicate how you can get back into the swing of September.
Summer is over! School is back in session! The inbox is overflowing!
Routines are messed up and we stare in to the middle distance at the kettle wondering how to get stuck back into the flow of work for September.
In this Manual of Me entry, reflect upon your experiences of returning to work after a summer break, and the things you find useful or supportive when trying to get back into the swing of things. Perhaps you want to share a technique you use, perhaps you want to explain what you find difficult so that others could support you better, perhaps you just want to suggest a siesta, as the National Trust have started doing.
Use this entry not only to answer how others can help you, but also to reflect upon your own needs and challenges when struggling with focus or motivation after the longer summer break.
How to find your answer:
1/ Consider first where you struggle after returning from a vacation - is it the inbox, is it adjusting back to schedules, is it trying to catch up on status? List out for yourself the areas you find overwhelming or tasks you know you need to get done.
2/ Next, consider previous holidays - what have you done that helped, what would you have improved to make the return to work a little easier, and what have you seen others do that made sense?
3/ Finally, consider what you do to help others, when then return from time off, are there things you do for your colleagues which you’d benefit from yourself?
4/ Summarise your answer, and add the entry to your Manual, and then share it around with the rest of your team - comparing answers, and consider writing up a collective view on how to support each other returning to work.
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