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4 Things Successful People Do After a Long Weekend

  • Publish Date: Posted over 6 years ago
  • Author: Taylor Varco

A long weekend means three blissful days without emails, meetings and business calls, making snapping out of weekend mode that much harder. There’s a lot to be said about how you should plan out the days that follow a long weekend. When you’re coming back from some time off and you have a shorter week to get everything done, it usually helps to hit the ground running. Here are 4 things successful people do after a long weekend.

Follow these items to kick-start your productivity like a pro.

Prepare the night before and get into work early.

Set 15-20 minutes at the end of the weekend to lay out what you want to accomplish that first week back. A little bit of pre-planning can drive how you spend your time most productively during the week.

Most everyone has time off during national holidays, so you won’t be falling behind by showing up at your usual time, but coming in early is a good idea if you want to be as productive as possible. It will give you a chance to get a head start without much distraction.

Organize your inbox (delete unnecessary emails)

Returning to an overflowing inbox is enough alone to induce anxiety. Instead of spending too much time responding to every email that you missed, consider if it’s the best use of your time on your first day back. As a first step, delete anything unnecessary, and evaluate the rest. It’s easy to confuse email activity with productive work, so be strategic and only respond to email that is time sensitive.

Scrutinize your to-do list and focus on what’s most important

It’s likely you’ll be dealing with a shortened work week; productive people know its unrealistic to deal with an unwieldy to-do lists. Don’t cram too many items into your weekly schedule. Upon returning, pinpoint the most important task of the day and have at least 2 more business development items scheduled for the remainder of the week. By having these meetings already scheduled, you’ll be forced to get excited and step up your game immediately.

Check in with people

Upon returning from a national holiday, odds are most of your team and clients are in the same boat as you, but it’s not a bad idea to check-in. Be sure to take some time to connect with a few of your clients to let them know they’re top of mind and that you’re back if they need anything. It’s a simple customer service touch that can make a significant impact. Additionally, it might be a good idea to schedule time for your team and direct reports to meet, even just for a few minutes, to be sure everyone is on the same back now that you’re all back in the office.