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Christmas is Over

It’s Time to Get Back to Work

Returning to work after Christmas can be difficult to say the least. No more days spent lounging in your pyjamas, surrounded by half-eaten boxes of chocolate, and no more alarm-free mornings.

It’s time to get back to work.

I know, it’s a horrible thought after a week and a half of sleeping as long as you like, eating an unmentionable amount of food and watching far too much day-time television. But unfortunately, Christmas is finished, and, unlike Santa, you work the rest of the year.

The first time your alarm goes off, it will strike terror into you as you wonder why your alarm is beeping in the middle of the night. Needless to say, this rude awakening will come as a shock.

So, now what?

Get Yourself into a Good Routine

Researchers have found that a week of irregular sleep and unsavoury eating habits can induce what has been dubbed as ‘social jet lag’. It’s time for a reality check. Going to bed at 2am and waking up for work isn’t going to cut it. You will spend most of the day forcing your eyes to stay open, consuming far too much coffee and barking angrily at your colleagues. It’s time to force yourself back into that grown-up, responsible bedtime routine. I know, it’s not overly appealing but it will help you adjust back to your work-life balance sooner.

Listen to a Great Soundtrack

One of the most effective ways of beating the post-Christmas-blues is by listening to a great soundtrack. The night before you head back to work, get out that iTunes voucher you got from grandma for Christmas and download some of your favourite artists to help you through.

Organise Your Inbox

As you settle back at your desk for another year, you open your laptop and emails stream into your inbox. Suddenly the realisation dawns that leaving all those important projects for your return was a terrible idea. Instead of letting the dread fill you and your mind fabricate multiple lies that could allow you to leave early, it’s time to get organised. Set aside an hour to sort through your emails and prioritise them in order of importance. Organising your inbox on your first day back is a great way to get back into the groove of employment and familiarise yourself with all your latest projects.

Make Fun Plans for Lunch

Your first day back at work after the Christmas holidays is always a drag. The clock seems to stop and even lunchtime seems to roll around slower than your grandma walking to the shops. But when lunch does finally arrive, make sure you have something fun planned to help break up the day. Make lunch plans with your friends or work colleagues to catch up. Taking your lunch break is important, not just to get away from the screen and get some fresh air, but also to help you have a great first day back at work.

List After List

On your first day back in the office, take it slowly. Coming back to the office after Christmas can be a shock to the system. So, ease yourself in gently. An effective way to successfully conquer your first day back in the office is to make a to-do list of tasks you need to achieve in the first couple of days back at your desk. This list should include all long-term projects you need to manage. Writing a to-do list is a helpful way to focus your week and get you back on track for the new year.

Make Healthy Food Choices

Christmas is famous for it’s many indulgences from presents to food, it can lead you feeling a little worse for wear. Aim to start consuming healthy food and drink upon your return to work. Eating well can be effective in boosting your health, alertness, mood and fitness. Eating well can work wonders. So, don’t simply write it down on your list of New Year’s resolutions. Act on it.

Plan an End-of-Day Treat

Once you’ve made it to the end of your first day back at work, it is a good idea to treat yourself. Whether it’s a nice meal or a movie with friends, having an end-of-day treat planned is a great motivation to help you get through the day. Perhaps go home, get back into those pyjamas and demolish the last of your chocolates. After all, it’s surely possible to drag out the Christmas celebrations a little longer. And as for New Year’s resolutions, there’s always next year.

Next Year, Take an Extra Day Off

Next year, rather than heading back into the office straight after Christmas, why not take an extra day off? Take an extra day’s leave for personal admin, organisation and self-care. This will help you recover from the festivities and ease you back into work. Although, it’s probably likely you will just spend your extra day off as you’ve spent the rest of your holiday, sprawled out on the sofa, in front of the television, eating whatever is left in your cupboards.

Leave Us a Comment

I hope you have found my outlined suggestions to keep those post-holiday-blues at bay. Do you have any tips you think I have missed? Get sharing and leave a comment below, I would love to hear your suggestions.