Getting back to work after the holidays: 5 expert tips

The return to work after the summer holidays is often a mixture of excitement and apprehension. An overflowing inbox, one meeting after another, and a lack of concentration: the infamous «back-to-work blues» affect the vast majority of employees, regardless of their sector. At OSAM Training, every year we support hundreds of professionals in developing their organisational and managerial skills, and the conclusion is always the same: a successful return to work requires preparation; it cannot be improvised. Here are five tips, tried and tested in the field by our trainers, to help you get back into the swing of things without burning yourself out in the very first week.

Beyond mere personal discomfort, a poorly managed return to work comes at a real cost to the company: a decline in the quality of work, tensions within teams, and even sick leave in the most severe cases. Investing a few days in a structured handover is therefore not a luxury; it is a managerial reflex in its own right.

1. Plan a gentle return to training, not a sprint

The most common mistake is trying to catch up on everything in a single day: replying to all emails, catching up on all files, and rescheduling all overdue meetings. The result: immediate exhaustion and motivation plummeting by Tuesday. The best approach is to devote your first day to sorting things out rather than getting things done. Clear out your inbox by category (urgent, to be dealt with this week, to be archived), identify the real priorities with your manager if necessary, and consciously put the rest off until later. This short but structured catch-up phase sets the tone for the whole week ahead and prevents the ‘tunnel vision’ caused by being immediately overwhelmed.

2. Prioritise using a method rather than relying on instinct

When faced with a mounting pile of tasks, our instinct is to tackle the most urgent ones first, often at the expense of what really matters. A simple method such as the urgent/important matrix helps you make quick decisions: what is both important and urgent is dealt with first; what is important but not urgent is scheduled in your diary; what is urgent but not important is delegated; and the rest is eliminated without guilt. This discipline, which we teach in our time management and professional organisation courses, helps you avoid the classic pitfall of the start of the new term: being very busy without actually being effective. A quick 15-minute review at the start of the day is all it takes to apply this framework.

3. Get back into your routines before getting back to work

The body needs to get back into a routine just as much as your work schedule does. Sleep patterns, mealtimes, exercise or walks: the sooner these routines return to normal, the more naturally your concentration and energy levels will follow suit. Ideally, you should start adjusting your routine two to three days before you actually return to work, rather than leaving it until the day itself. This slight head start significantly reduces the feelings of tiredness and irritability that often characterise the first two weeks back at work.

4. Set yourself short-term, achievable goals

The first week is not the time to launch a major project or make major strategic decisions. It is better to set yourself two or three modest but achievable goals each day, and tick them off clearly. Every small victory rebuilds confidence and momentum, far more effectively than an endless to-do list that creates mental overload without any visible results. This step-by-step approach, which we incorporate into our change management programmes, allows you to build momentum without ever feeling overwhelmed.

5. Take proper breaks, not just screen breaks

Returning to a sustained pace without any planned recovery time is a sure-fire way to burn out before the end of the month. Short, regular ‘active breaks’ between two demanding tasks help to maintain a stable energy level over time, rather than alternating between bursts of intensity and bouts of fatigue. Physically stepping away from your desk, even for just five minutes, has a far greater restorative effect than simply scrolling through your phone. This is a central principle in all our training courses on quality of life at work: sustainable performance is built on recovery, never on overwork.

Getting back to work after the holidays isn’t something you simply have to put up with; it’s a transition to be managed just like any other change at work. By following these five tips, you can minimise the post-holiday blues and re-establish a sustainable work rhythm right from the start – for yourself and for your teams. Fancy taking it a step further? OSAM Training offers programmes focused on time management, stress management and professional effectiveness, to turn the start of each new academic year into a real driver of collective performance. Contact our team to design a programme tailored to your staff’s needs.