Coming back from a long holiday or break can feel a bit daunting, exciting and overwhelming all at once. Let’s not even talk about our inbox. As much as the first few weeks may feel a bit scattered-brained, there are a few tips I am sharing with you to help you ease into the new year and work schedule… without feeling exhausted before you even crack open your laptop.

Welcome back.

Now that you’re done scrolling through your holiday photos to create a yearly recap for your socials, it’s that time of year when we turn our alarms back on and turn on our computers for the first time.

It’s also the time after our computer powers on and we open our inboxes to a barrage of emails.

And overwhelm floods our brains. No joke, I started my first day back at work this year with 600 new emails.

But I did something I believe is crucial to retaining as much sanity as possible. I stayed out of my inbox.

And it made all the difference.

Here’s what I recommend focusing on when you come back to work from an extended break:

Start with half days.

Getting back into the habit of working takes time. Do half days for a week (if you have the opportunity and flexibility) because your brain won’t be fully powered on yet. And that’s ok.

Give yourself some grace. Ramp up your hours over a week and build your brain power. I remember the first day I got back after three weeks off and I didn’t even remember what I was doing for a job!

Action step: Write out a half-day workweek BEFORE you go on holiday. The less you have to think and strategize your first week back, the easier it will be to get back into the swing of things.

Set intentions and goals.

If you’re coming back from a Christmas or New Year’s break, it’s a natural transition into setting goals and intentions for the year. But if you’re coming back to work from a holiday mid-way through the year, you can set intentions and goals for the next month.

Ask yourself:

What do I want to feel by the end of the (insert timeframe)?
What are my biggest priorities for the rest of (insert timeframe)?
What intentions do I want to commit to for the rest of (insert timeframe)?

When I came back from Christmas break this year, I didn’t just write my intentions and goals down in a dream journal. I invested time to make sure my environment, habits/systems and lifestyle made it easy for me to get the necessary work done.

Hot tip: Take yourself out for a coffee or nice lunch and set your intentions and goals away from any familiar distractions.

Set clear priorities.

After you have set your intentions and goals, they will help you bring clarity to your priorities moving forward.

For example, when I came back from my break, I told myself that I’m not subscribing to overwhelm, reactivity or unaligned work. I had a huge quarter with an exciting launch and I wanted to be as clear as possible on my priorities and work. No second-guessing here!

My priorities were to commit to setting boundaries and work that was aligned with the launch of my course. I felt in control of my time and knew exactly what I needed to get done.

In short, the inbox can wait. Setting up your environment to progress forward intentionally is more important.

I’d love to know - How would you set up your first week back after a break? (Come chat with me in the DMs on Instagram here)

Next steps.

If you’ve come back after a break and you’re looking for a way to organize your time better across your business + life, download my free guide below; Create Your Own Perfect workweek.