5 Tips for Going Back to Work after Holiday (Work from Home Edition)

The holiday season is an ideal time to travel, relax on the beach, unwind, reconnect with family and friends, finish those DIY projects, sleep in, and catch up on all your favorite movies. People often get off the work train during vacation time and adopt a less fast-paced and regimented routine. The challenge comes when it’s time to go back to work after holiday festivities.  

Getting back into the work mood and demands of a normal work schedule can feel like an arduous task. It is commonplace to feel apprehensive about returning to the office.  It is even more difficult to get into the swing of things when you are working from home. It can feel like an uphill battle to switch to a more focused and professional frame of mind when you are working from home, and nothing around you gives you a feeling of that corporate edge.

Purchase Work and Home Supplies

The vacation can leave a lingering feeling of nostalgia that can make going back to work after holiday festivities difficult. Feelings of uneasiness and anxiety can be further compounded because your place of work is that very same home. You can still see reminders of your holiday around your home.

The best thing to do is to redirect your mind to the goals and tasks ahead to energize yourself for work. You can start by purchasing all the necessary home and work supplies. There’s nothing as disruptive to the flow of work as running out of essential home supplies such as cleaning products or office provisions like stationery or paper for your printer. You can also service any electronic office equipment requiring attention.

Buying supplies can prepare you for the work ahead and refocus your thoughts on the tasks and goals you need to achieve. Make a list of all the work and home supplies you may need to return to work. You also can make for yourself a home workstation with some homemade desk designs and ideas.

Create a Dedicated Work Space at Home

Many people recently found themselves working from home without any previous plans or intentions to do so. There was a lot of improvisation when selecting a home working area, as there was no time to set up an ideal working area that is both functional and appropriate. You can utilize the vacation time before going back to work after the Christmas break as the perfect time to finally set up that much-needed home workspace. Creating a workspace that is separate from your living area can be a great motivator and reduce distractions when working.

Before coming back to work after the holiday, clear an area in your house or apartment for your dedicated home office. Select a few functional office furniture pieces such as an office desk, storage space, electronic equipment and the ideal office chair. There is a wide range of office furniture available. Look for furniture designed to support your posture, especially if you spend long hours sitting at a desk.

Having a dedicated workspace with all your work files and equipment organized systematically can increase your focus and productivity and take away the stress of constantly setting up your work materials daily.

Get the Chores and Spring Cleaning Done

During the Christmas holiday, people spend a lot of time visiting, entertaining, going out, or traveling.  This leaves little time for heavy cleaning, with laundry also tending to accumulate. A cluttered and disorganized house is a major distraction and source of frustration for anyone trying to carry out remote work.

You can temper your mood away from the relaxed and less demanding vacation pace by conditioning your mind towards going back to work after the holiday. Create a to-do-list of all the chores and jobs that need to be done around the house. Prepare yourself for the beginning of the work season by decluttering, spring cleaning, reorganizing the house, and packing away all the Christmas decorations and trinkets.

Commit Yourself to a Schedule

This famous Chinese proverb says it all when it comes to the importance of explicitly creating a clear and comprehensive plan of the work you intend to do: “the faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory.” The last thing on anyone's mind during vacation time is work. The thought of returning back to work after the holiday puts most people in a panic. There can be many tasks to juggle, like current and new work assignments, outstanding work, ongoing projects, and unresolved issues.

The best way to get into the work spirit and eliminate unnecessary feelings of anxiety is to organize your thoughts into a plan.  Set aside a day or two to collect your thoughts and write a road map of what you want to achieve, how you intend to accomplish those goals, and what you need to get the job done. Thinking through your work vision and goals can inspire you to return to work and remind you of your contribution to society and those around you.

Work Regular Hours

It isn't easy to get into the rhythm of a daily work routine while working at home because you can practically wake up at any hour and sleep at any time. Allocating time for work, breaks, personal activities, and just being at home is vital to maintaining a normal and healthy work culture when working remotely and effectively with some desk stools in your home office.

People who go to a physical place of work have an inbuilt system that allows them to separate home from work. Decide on your working hours and stick them before coming back to work after the holiday break. This can help you sustain your physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.

Timetabling your work commitments and personal activities in advance before returning back to work after Christmas break is one simple way of reducing feelings of being inundated. Prescheduling future tasks enables you to balance out the need to perform and the demands of your home life.

Conclusion

It is generally difficult to maintain a high work productivity level when working from home because the separation between home and work can become increasingly blurred. We see a home as a place of safety, where we can be ourselves, find comfort, love, and support.

It is not easy to switch back to a work mode, especially after the festive season. When working from home, you can follow several suggestions and tips to refocus your mind towards the work ahead. Changing your outlook towards your job can put you in a better mood when you go back to work after holiday celebrations.