Well here we are folks, right smack dab in the middle of the biggest holiday season of the year. Christmas is upon us, then the following week we’ll be ushering in the new year.
Anyone in business for themselves understands the chaos when returning to work after a vacation, holiday, or break of any kind. There’s generally an enormous number of emails needing responses, social media, quotes to prepare, and tons of revenue generating tasks to resume in the midst of it all.
This is the time of year when many business owners take time off and head out to visit friends and family, so there’s also the issue of that harried week before, when you’re trying to get everything finished before you hit the road. During the holidays, there’s the added challenge of shopping, wrapping, baking, visiting, and fa la la’ing. How are we supposed to do it all?
With many of us preparing to be out and about this holiday season, here are some tips to help prevent being buried under a landslide of work when we’re back in the office. As counter-intuitive as it sounds to add more work to your plate right now, it could save you a lot of stress when you return.
Tell your clients you’ll be out. It’s good to give your clients plenty of notice before you take a holiday so you can set everyone’s minds at ease while you’re enjoying your time off. Make sure they have enough time to get last minute projects done, and on your schedule so your vacation isn’t interrupted, and your clients are still looked after.
Empty your inbox. When you go back to work after a break, the last thing you want to deal with is an overabundance of email. If you take time to empty your inbox BEFORE you go, you’ll be in a much calmer state of mind when you return.
To-do your heart out. Make several detailed lists to keep yourself on track leading up to your vacation, to help you stay focused and get back on track when you return. Sometimes our return to work can be quite jarring, and we spend the first couple of days back trying to refocus our attention on what we should be doing. Make your return-to-work to do list before you leave so you can get right back into the swing of things.
Anticipate client needs. Check with clients to see if there’s anything that might prompt them to contact you while you’re away. For instance, if you have a client with a book launch coming up, a seminar, or some sort of deadline, touch base with them regarding priorities BEFORE you leave. This will set everyone at ease and avoid having your vacation interrupted.
Make sure everyone knows what’s up! Leave your vacation dates in your voicemail, set an email autoresponder, let your clients know the dates you’ll be gone. Resist the urge to tell them how to reach you in an emergency. Set up a contingency plan so they’ll be taken care of while you’re gone! Maybe even hire an online business manager or virtual marketing team to help while you’re away.
Taking time now to plan for your return after your holiday should make your reentry into the real world, where there’s far less eggnog and far more work, a bit gentler.
