Get back to work without making it harder than it needs to be
After a long break, easing into work can set you up for a good first quarter
If you are in New Zealand or maybe elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, you might just be on the way back to work after a long summer holiday. Even if you’ve already been back for a few weeks, you might be feeling like you’d rather still be on holiday!
At this time of year, your attention span might be a bit uneven, routines aren’t quite back in place and you might be finding it takes you a bit longer to do normal tasks.
That’s normal.
A few practical choices early on can make the early period of back to work easier, and set you up for a good year.
1. Don’t restart everything at once
The instinct is to pick up every project, meeting and responsibility where you left off before Christmas.
But you might not need to. Instead list what genuinely needs attention in the next couple of weeks and focus on that.
If something can wait until February without real consequences, let it. Spreading yourself too thin early is what creates the feeling of being behind before the year has properly started.
2. Limit how quickly your calendar fills
January calendars tend to get busy. Before saying yes to commitments see if you can:
combine meetings where possible
shorten them
make them different — try a walking meeting or a lunch meeting
push non-essential ones out a few weeks
3. Start with contained work
Early in the year is a good time for work that has clear edges: tasks you can start and finish without too many dependencies.
Leave the messier, more ambiguous projects until you’ve got some rhythm back.
4. Assume your energy is lower than usual
Most planning assumes ideal energy. January rarely offers that.
Work as if your capacity is slightly reduced:
fewer big decisions per day
more space between demanding tasks
less stacking of meetings
If you end up with more energy than expected, that’s a bonus. Planning for less tends to work better than constantly compensating for too much.
5. Pick one thing to make workdays easier
Skip the full reset. Choose one practical adjustment that reduces daily friction.
For example:
clearer start and finish times
turning off one notification channel
batching email or admin
giving yourself a treat, like a Monday morning coffee run
If you start a little slower, limit what you take on, and plan around the energy you actually have, you’re less likely to hit that familiar wall a few months in.