The presents have been opened, the countdown has been done and it’s officially time to go back to work. Getting back into the work mind-set after days of vacation and holidays can be difficult. Finding motivation at work during the winter can be hard, but your post-holiday work days may be buzzing with new opportunities and work.
When you get back to work after a long break, there’s always that inbox waiting for you stuffed with dozens or even hundreds of emails. It’s a daunting and time-consuming task. As Freelance Switch states, instead of burying yourself in your inbox for the better part of your first day back to work, look through and mark which ones are important. Attend to those first and then leave the rest for later. It’s important to start your first day back to work ready to get things done, so work on other work that needs to be done before going back to your emails.
One of the first things you may want to do is catch up with your coworkers on how their holidays went. If you have a lot of work to do your first day back, it may be wise to save the small-talk for your break, but sharing stories from the holidays is a great way to catch up with coworkers and prepare yourself for the work ahead. Knowing when to take part in office chat or not is solely up to you and where you think you are with your work that day.
Usually a new year means new career goals. If you haven’t done so already, create a list of major career goals you would like to accomplish this year. It could be that you would like a promotion or a raise. Other career goals could be becoming more of a team leader at work or catching up with the latest advances in your industry. Whatever your career goals may be, they’ll serve as the perfect motivation to help you get over your post-holiday slump. Write down your goals and put them up on your desk to help motivate you throughout the day.
Think of the steps you’ll need to take in order to reach your career goals this year. If, for example, you’re looking to get promoted, think of what you can do on a daily or weekly basis to get that done. This could mean that you will become a more vocal person at meetings by bringing your own ideas to the conversation, or looking at ways to improve upon projects that are currently done. Writing down a list of what you need to do to reach your goals will help motivate you on a daily basis.
Even though the end of the holidays means an end to the fun festivities with family and friends, getting back to work doesn’t have to be so rough! Take note of these tips and get back to work with motivation and enthusiasm.
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by Shardayyy
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