Whether you planned a road trip with the kids across the province, or scored a sweet deal across the ocean and saved thousands, you’re still going to pay – through emails, voicemails, and exhausted males and females who covered for you. So, if you scheduled one last getaway before the September hiring spree, follow these strategies to discourage yourself from skipping your next vacation:
Arrive Early
The first day back is the Thanos of post-long weekend Tuesdays and your corpse resembles Neymar on the Russian soccer pitch. Keeping your job isn’t enough to drag you out – you need a poltergeist to fly you from mattress to office. It’s tempting to model snooze slams after Tinder swipes – fast and frequent – but don’t! If you arrive at your desk early, it’s probable you’ll receive quiet time to slowly drain that flood of correspondence.
Make Organized Lists
It’s more than shunning Laurel and picking Yanny – you have decisions to make. You can’t answer every email and return every missed call in a day. Before you start replying, scan through your inbox and voicemails, and assign priority levels with a coding system to determine an order for responding.
Stagger Your Workload
You’re not the Golden State Warriors shooting coach, but nor are you Mark Zuckerberg visiting Congress (try explaining to early baby boomers how a website makes money), so don’t overwork yourself. Set realistic target dates for your responsibilities and rank those tasks. Take your full lunch break and share those exhilarating vacation stories with your favourite co-workers.
Ask Questions and Listen
You’ll have as many questions for your co-workers as a reporter attending a Sarah Huckabee Sanders press conference – but the difference is your interview subjects are forthright. To bring yourself back up to date, ask them about every latest detail you missed. There’s nothing worse than believing you’ve completed everything necessary and feeling relief, only to learn you didn’t.
…Since You Arrived Early, Maybe Leave Early?
The quiet morning time allowed you to drain that flood of correspondence, so why not leave early? By arriving home sooner, you can unpack thoroughly if you haven’t, assign spots for your souvenirs, or meet a friend for dinner, drinks, and another round of stories. If you prefer remaining at home, make up for lost time with your pup, grab a blanket, and film a disappearance video. Also, many recent vacation returners already start researching and planning their next vacation to have something to look forward to.
Jumana Baker, our well-travelled marketing design specialist, recently returned from a three-week stint in Jordan. She shares her most effective post-vacation strategy: “Sleeeeep. With all the traveling and jet lag and possible time difference, what your body needs is sleep. So, don’t worry too much if you want to go to bed by 8 or 9.”
Before you leave, remember to disconnect. That’s one of the top regrets returning travellers carry alongside their luggage. To truly enjoy your escape, minimize your electronic device use and email monitoring. Also, don’t mix drinking with driving (or tweeting if you ask a certain former ABC network star).