Any of us who has had to face going back to work after a long break can relate to this in some way.

For all the late nights barbecues, gaming, all day in my pajamas, the freedom to focus on my hobbies, cozying up to do absolutely nothing if I want to and no time limit for anything through out the day. Last X’mas break was awesome. We over-indulge in everything during the holidays. So the routine changed and we were in our comfort zone!

When it’s time to return to work routine, I am resisting to be of my comfort zone. Why would I want to be out of that zone? It’s called ‘comfort’ for a reason eh? Over the years, I loosely felt the tension and it become overwhelming every first day at work. That’s the post-holiday blues.

Over the years, I aim to beat this feelings or at least help me to have a smooth transition back to work with ease. In all honesty, I read productivity books, watch videos of how others are doing it, experimenting and learned along the way. I found few techniques that help easing myself with this.

#1 Add an extra day to my planned leaves

While planning my offdays during holiday season, any number of days that I plan to take will have an additional day to it. For instance, last X’mas break I took 15 days off which were 14 days for the actual holiday plan and 1 day extra on top of that.

What’s it for, you asked? That brings us to the next technique.

#2 Plan your first day at work on Reset Day

Reset.Day. It’s the day that I’ll slowly easing into my work routine and it’s the day I am resetting and mentally-physically prep for the actual work day!

I don’t want to go back to work feeling grumpy and fatigue on the very first day. I just had a relaxing weeks off! But, it can be overwhelming with mounting of emails, team chat rooms, meetings and pre-assigned deadlines so here’s the list to have during reset day :

• Have coffee and journal. Or you can have tea, whichever you like. It takes 5-10 mins to read a quote from Daily Stoic (I made a video of this on Youtube) and plan my day in a bullet journal.

• Ensure I have everything I need to start work such as laptop, notebook, passwords to log in to company system (Yup, there was time that I was on leave too long I totally forgotten this!), office access card (if you need to go back office) and other related items.

• Prep what am going to wear to work. Although I am working from home, I do have my home wear that I would set aside for the next day. Just shirt and shorts; whatever am comfortable with. Whether you’re going to office, this is one less decision to make tomorrow. The list can goes on for you. Our lives are different, do you. Organise your work bag. Prep your meal. Prep your vehicle by fueling up gas. Prep your kids day care arrangement and loved ones for other kinds of arrangement.

• Organise my workspace to ensure I have all my necessary items for me to work. If you are going to office, this should be one of the first thing you can do when arriving at your workplace. Declutter helps with mental clarity. “Out of side, out of mind” ~

• Check my work diary. Yup, check it the day before I start working to find out how’s my calendar will look like on the very first day. Not my email. Not my Slack messages. Only calendar! With this, I am able to prepare myself mentally, plan my morning better on following day and even decide whether I can move some appointments that’re not urgent.

#3 Create positive mindset

This reset day also still a leisure day, just that I am not going to be engaged with activities that will drain my energy. I’ll make use of it by spending the rest of the day with light activity and hang out with my loved ones and my grumpy old cat, take a walk or exercise, make wholesome meals or doing something I love.

#4 Sleep early

Sleep schedule usually disrupted during the holidays. We know it’s crucial to have enough sleep. So there’s an exam tip I learned from Andrew Ramdayal in helping student to wake up early on an exam day after a disruptive revision weeks and routines. At the start of the exam week, wake up 2-3 hours earlier two nights before exam and naturally you will feel exhausted by end of the day and will fall asleep early during the night before exam. It’d worked for me; or you can start to get back on your sleep schedule few days before (Few days before? We know it’s unlikely for that to happen. We’re on holiday for God sake! Lol) Enough sleep means enough rest to tackle the day at work.

#5 Create a peaceful morning ritual

If you have enough sleep, you will wake up with enough energy and time to have a morning ritual. This can be as simple as opening up the window for a fresh air and do morning prayers and meditation; to taking vitamins, to making breakfast for you and family, or going for a run before getting ready for work. As long as you feel peaceful and not rushing the process.

#6 Have a quiet time before work

This is actually part of and a final step of the morning ritual. Quiet time… It is a space where you end your morning ritual and before stepping into the working mode. After getting ready. I’ll arrive an hour earlier in my homeoffice, taking the time and set up for the day. For me, instead of being on my social media (too early to deal with the world!), I’ll review my plan on bujo, grab a book to read or just enjoy my coffee in silent. This is usually most peaceful one hour before work day starts.

When I used to have to commute to work, I usually come out earlier to arrive an hour earlier at least. I’ll make a stop at a coffee shop (or just Mamak Stall ~~for Teh Ais Kaw!) to take my second cup of coffee. If you have other commitments, don’t sweat it, it can be as short as just 5-10 mins to yourself after all the ritual and morning runs you had to do. Find what works for you, really!

Quiet time helps me to feel at ease and manage first day at work scaries!

Breathe, take breaks when it’s needed and take one step at a time. I take slightly slower approach to my first day at work usually. I will make use of the gap between urgent meetings to take breaks, even if it’s just for 5 mins. Used to feel compelled to reply to every messages and worked at full steam, that caused me to feel fatigue.

Hope some of the tips shared can inspire you to beat post-holiday blues and feel motivated to start the year!

Welcome back and happy working!

And, just remember friends, “Everything is workable”