‘Back to school’ for your business
September means the beginning of a new school year, and all the fresh starts and good intentions that go with it. But if you’ve been ironing school uniforms and filling pencil cases recently, you might be wondering how you can harness some of that new term excitement in your working life.
If you’re feeling stressed about returning to work after a break, we’re here to help. These 5 tips will help make the ‘back to school’ for your business a breeze!
- Get organised the night before
You wouldn’t wait until the first day of school to pack your children’s backpacks and polish their shoes, so don’t do it to yourself either. Do as much as you can the night before – from ironing your outfit to filling your briefcase – to make that first morning as straightforward as possible. If you start the day well prepared, it’ll put you in a good frame of mind for returning to work.
- Schedule admin time
If possible, you should set aside the first morning, or even the first day, to catch up with admin. Things will have built up during your absence, so schedule a good few hours to go through your emails, file any paperwork and get up to speed with everything that’s happened while you were away. This will give you a solid foundation for diving into bigger projects.
- Set your priorities
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you get back to work, especially if your inbox is overflowing, so it’s important to come up with a list of priorities. You simply cannot deal with every new task at once, so step back, look at them critically and make a list. What needs attention right away, what can wait for a few days, and what can you delegate to someone else? You can save yourself a lot of stress by setting your priorities early and sticking to them.
- Arrange something to look forward to
After a long break, you might feel like all the fun, exciting things are in the past and you now have nothing to look forward to – so arrange something. This could be another holiday, a day trip or a weekend away, but if you want to feel excited about work again then make it something business-related. Maybe there’s a project you’ve been keen to start, or a conference you’d like to attend with your business buddies. Whatever it is, get it in the calendar so you can start feeling excited again.
- Maintain that ‘fresh start’ feeling
Are you feeling recharged after your holiday? That’s great, and you can make that feeling last by remembering to make time for yourself all year round. Try to avoid falling into bad habits, such as working long, unsociable hours or taking work home with you. Instead, keep your evenings and weekends as free as you can, and make time to do the things you enjoy. Going back to work doesn’t mean only working – it’s all about maintaining that precious work–life balance.
Next time you go on holiday, why not arrange holiday cover through Get Ahead VA? Our virtual assistants will keep your business running while you’re away, so you can relax, knowing it’s in safe hands. To find out more, please give us a call on 01483 332220 or email us at office@getaheadva.com. We pride ourselves on being the staff you don’t see, but the difference you do.
