The bank holiday weekend offers a much-needed fun and relaxing break from the everyday work grind. However, getting back into the full swing of the 9-5 working week can feel seriously daunting after the extra long weekend. Particularly if you’ve spent it in the classically British fashion of beer gardens, trips to the seaside, or attempts at back garden BBQs.
It isn’t always easy re-adjusting to work life after any holiday, especially a spring or summer bank holiday. At Honchō, our team loves a good sunny day off, but we know it can be tricky to beat the back-to-work blues after a bank holiday.
To help the workers of the nation with a seamless transition from bank holiday happiness to a productive week at work, our Digital PR team spoke to Honcho’s people and company culture expert, Lily Court to find out her 5-top tips for tackling a work week after a bank holiday weekend:
1. Catch up with colleagues to debrief
Have a chat! There’s nothing better after a bank holiday break than catching up with colleagues about their weekend to help ease you back into your working stride.
Take 30 minutes out of your day and chat through what you got up to. This is also the perfect time to go over any work priorities for that week. If you, like many others, missed the normal Monday team Stand Up - make sure to schedule this in for the Tuesday, so you don’t miss that team interaction.
Chatting through what you have to do that week with others will help you prioritise your tasks in the shorter time you have available. Not only is it practical for ensuring you’re utilising the 3 or 4-day week, but it’s also a great way to improve your mood and know that you’re not the only one feeling a bit groggy.
2. Spend the morning planning - and plan before you go off next time
Allow yourself a couple of minutes to catch up on your messages and emails to organise your shorter week ahead. Doing this will allow you to set out your priorities for the week, so you know exactly how to utilise your time without getting overwhelmed.
You could even try scheduling your next workday in advance of the bank holiday. This will allow you to come back with one less thing to stress about, knowing that your upcoming week has already been organised.
Your future self will thank you for it, and it’ll also help with peace of mind if you’re feeling anxious about going back to work after the bank holiday.
3. Prioritise your to-do list into bite-sized manageable tasks
Don’t tackle everything at once!
You might already be feeling a little deflated after your time off during the bank holiday. However, managing your workload to the time you have available to you that week is imperative to avoiding burnout.
If there’s a task you know you don’t particularly enjoy doing, then it’s best to get it out of the way first. From there, sit down and divide your week up into manageable tasks in a way that works best for you, while allowing you to keep on top of any deadlines.
4. Focus on the small wins
Ease yourself back in. The bank holiday weekend has a way of convincing you to let your hair down, sometimes a little too much…
When the work week starts back up again, try not to focus too much on the larger tasks you have. Rather, start the week with small wins to ease you back into your routine.
Psychological research shows that celebrating ‘small wins’ in your life and work helps you build resilience and cope with setbacks, allowing you to focus more on your progress than your failures. So, even if you managed to reply to a tricky email, ensure you give yourself a pat on the back for it.
Celebrating small wins can even trigger the release of ‘happy hormones’ like dopamine in our brains, which can help motivate us with our productivity in tackling other small, but tricky tasks.
5. Make time for things you enjoy before or after work
Just because it's the working week doesn’t mean the bank holiday fun can’t continue. In fact, research shows that after-work activities help promote a happier and better-balanced lifestyle.
Whether it's an evening catch-up with your friends, a midweek movie with your family, or even a new hobby you want to try, keep things interesting and have activities to look forward to after your work day ends.
Starting your day with something you enjoy can also improve your concentration for the day ahead, be it a morning stroll around the local park or grabbing a coffee from your local coffee shop. Do something for yourself before you sit down at your desk to tackle those to-do lists.
Resuming work after a fun bank holiday weekend may be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be!
You can get back to your working routine with ease if you set realistic goals, celebrate small victories, check in with coworkers, and make time for enjoyment.
As always, the secret is to strike a balance that works for you.
Use these tips to quickly get back into the swing of things and be prepared to take on the workweek with a fresh outlook and enthusiasm.
Here at Honchō, we’re always on the lookout for the best talent in digital. If you’re interested in working for us, whether in the PPC, SEO, Digital PR, or Content teams, or even if you think you can offer us something different - check out our current vacancies or get in touch!