4 tips on how to be productive after a holiday break
Published in
3 min readNov 29, 2022
Are you going to dive back into work right after Thanksgiving break? Do you have trouble concentrating or being productive after a great few days off with your friends and family? Working after holidays is always hard, but here are a few suggestions for during and after your break to ease your transition to reality once again.
During your break:
- Find time to relax, but don’t forget your habits: This is your holiday, which means that it’s time to let go and relax. Obviously, you should spend some quality time with friends and family, and leave your worries about your work behind at least for a few days. However, work and anxiety can pile up. If you wake up early for work every day, instead of not setting an alarm at all, set your alarm for 1–2 hours later than usual. If you go for a run every morning, make it more enjoyable. Run with your friends and family or treat yourself to a nice breakfast afterward. Going on holiday does not mean that you should forget all of your routines, but don’t forget to enjoy yourself either.
- You deserve your holiday, don’t feel guilty: You have probably been working hard and this is finally some time that you can take off. Don’t overboard yourself with work during the holidays. Know that you deserve a break and try to enjoy your time with the people you love. Many people tend to feel guilty when they don’t work for a day, but knowing when you deserve a break and using it efficiently will help you be more productive when you’re actually back at work. It will help you not to wear yourself out.
After your break:
- Slowly readjust to your regular habits: It’s always tough going back to reality. Waking up early, doing hard work, and feeling anxious is never exciting. However, if you didn’t take it to an extreme during your break, and found time to relax but didn’t forget your habits, not to worry — it will be an easy transition back to real life! Set your alarms 1–2 hours earlier, and get back on track by gradually readjusting to your daily habits. This does not have to be overwhelming as it won’t be an extreme shift from what you did on break. If you struggle with this, check out the Insumo app, which can help you track your habits to maximize your productivity once again.
- Work hard and look forward to the next break: Thankfully, there are many holidays to look forward to. As long as you work hard and efficiently, these holidays will be well-deserved breaks for you that you can acknowledge as your reward. Looking forward to something positive and enjoyable will also increase your productivity as you know that your hard work will be rewarded in the end. If you recently came back to work from eating a festive Thanksgiving dinner with all your family and are having difficulty adjusting, don’t worry — 3 weeks of hard work, and you’re done for the year. Christmas and New Year’s are right around the corner. Happy holidays!
