Vacations are a much-needed balm to weary souls. A few days of sun, friends and rest can help banish the stress of urgent requests, crabby colleagues and unreasonable deadlines. <\/p>\n
But you don\u2019t want your post-vacation high to become a post-vacation crash when you see the pile of work that awaits you. To keep your restorative mood intact, you want to make the transition back to work as smooth as possible. <\/p>\n
Here are some of the best tips productivity experts shared on what they do when they come back to work from vacation<\/a> to avoid feeling stressed by the grind. Their answers were lightly edited for clarity and length.<\/p>\n 1. They admit they can\u2019t respond to everyone at once.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most important things that I do before I go on vacation to keep me from being overwhelmed after is I put up an autoresponder that is a little bit more detailed than \u2018Hey, I\u2019m out of the office from this day to this day.\u2019<\/p>\n Instead, I have a really detailed out-of-office message that lets people know when I will be unavailable, whether I will be checking email intermittently or if I am not going to be available at all. And then, based on who you are, I let you know when to expect a response.<\/p>\n I find that creating that autoresponder with all of those details helps set expectations from when people can expect to hear from you. Then you don\u2019t return to five messages from the same person wondering why they haven\u2019t heard from you yet. The sooner that you recognize that you can\u2019t respond to everyone at once, the easier it\u2019s going to be to prioritize based on importance and urgency.\u201d \u2013\u2013 Anna Dearmon Kornick<\/a>, time management coach and host of the \u201cIt\u2019s About Time<\/a>\u201d podcast<\/p>\n 2. They take an extra day of vacation just to switch their mindset. <\/p>\n \u201cOrganization for me starts before I even get back to the office. Typically, I take an extra day of vacation to get used to the fact that I have to return to work!<\/p>\n Once I\u2019m there, I begin to make a list of tasks and I\u2019m not overwhelming myself with everything that undoubtedly needs to get handled.<\/p>\n Next, I prioritize that list. Is this task past due? Does this task need to get done today? Can this particular task wait until another day? Now I have everything organized in my brain, it is written down, and I can finally start conquering the tasks at hand.\u201d \u2014 Pamela A. Reed, time management coach and author of \u201cUnfinished Business: How to Finish What You Start … Faster!<\/a>\u201d <\/p>\n 3. They tackle a to-do list they created before vacation.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore I leave for vacation, I make my to-do list<\/a> for the week that I\u2019m coming back. It can be overwhelming walking back into work and not knowing what\u2019s on your plate. Making your to-do list ahead of time will allow your mind to truly rest when you are out of the office, knowing that you have a game plan for your return.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a good idea to run the list by your supervisor or teammates so that you are on the same page about your post-vacation priorities.\u201d \u2014 Katie Wussow, business coach for creatives and host of \u201cThe Game Changer\u201d<\/a> podcast<\/p>\n \u201cIt took me several days to unwind and relax; similarly, it\u2019s going to take several days for me to get back to my regular routine.\u201d<\/p>\n – Rashelle Isip, productivity consultant<\/p>\n 4. They first do tasks that only take a few minutes. <\/p>\n \u201cMy first day or two at work would go mostly to collecting, organizing and prioritizing the pile-up of work. I\u2019d write down all of the tasks and use the Eisenhower Matrix<\/a> to organize and prioritize them. As I process the tasks, I\u2019d do only tasks that take less than five minutes. For tasks that take longer than that, I\u2019d block time for them on Google<\/a> calendar. Tasks that others can do better than me would get delegated or outsourced, and distractions would just get eliminated altogether. <\/p>\n These practices help get me back in control in just a few days. The key is to put your organization skills to use. You should have the courage to be realistic about whether you can take on more tasks or negotiate a reasonable deadline.\u201d \u2014 Samphy Y<\/a>, productivity coach<\/p>\n 5. They remind themselves it\u2019s OK to have a slow start. <\/p>\n \u201cI give myself a pep talk. I tell myself I just returned from vacation. It took me several days to unwind and relax; similarly, it\u2019s going to take several days for me to get back to my regular routine. This helps me keep my vacation and work in perspective. I then work on tasks one at a time.<\/p>\n I write my thoughts down on paper. I find the process relaxing and calming. Often, things don\u2019t look as bad on paper; you can clearly see things in black and white versus turning over things in your mind. <\/p>\n I quickly review my emails in reverse chronologic order. This may be counterintuitive, but it works for me. I start with current emails and work backwards, simply reading them and not taking any action. This way, I get a big picture view of things. When I come to the end of messages, nothing is a huge surprise because I\u2019ve already reviewed everything. I then prioritize my work requests as needed.\u201d \u2014 Rashelle Isip<\/a>, productivity consultant<\/p>\n 6. They mark everything as \u2018read\u2019 to eliminate stress.<\/p>\n \u201cI have really tried to let go of the idea that I have to spend my first day back after a vacation frantically \u2018making up\u2019 for the time I was off, which feels antithetical to the point of the vacation. Instead, I tell myself, \u2018Today is going to be a slow day. Obviously. I\u2019m just getting caught up.\u2019 <\/p>\n If I\u2019m in an all-team meeting that first morning back and everyone has to say what they are working on for the day, again, I\u2019ll say out loud, \u2018Today I\u2019m getting caught up.\u2019 I think this helps reinforce the idea that of course people need a day to catch up on emails and Slack messages and tend to the most urgent items. I think the more people who can reinforce that attitude, the better it is for everyone in a workplace. <\/p>\n 20 Years OfFreeJournalism<\/p>\n Your SupportFuelsOur Mission<\/p>\n Your SupportFuelsOur Mission<\/p>\n For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 \u2014 we can’t do this without you.<\/p>\n We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n Thank you again for your support along the way. 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