lifeinmycubicle

You just got back from a wonderful vacation and now you dread to go back to work as you know that you’ll be swamped with numerous emails, outstanding issues, etc. Follow these steps to make your return to work as smooth as possible.

1. Finish what you can before you leave. However, there are times you won’t be able to get everything done before going on vacation. If you have unresolved or pending issues, parts scheduled to ship out while you’re gone, ask a co-worker to cover for you. Provide him/her a “To-do” or “Follow-up” list with all the information (e.g. where you left off, how an issue has to be resolved, due dates, contact information) he/she will need. To make it easier for the person who will back you up, copy him/her in all the emails so he/she could just continue the email thread until an item gets resolved.

2. Inform your customers about your leave either by calling them or via email. Let them know that you’ll be out of town. If you’re informing them via email, add the name and contact information of the person who will back you up while you’re on leave.

3. Make sure you set your Out-of-Office (OoO) notification. Inform them of the date when you’ll be gone as well as your return date. Add the contact information of the person who will be helping you while you’re gone.

4. When you go on vacation, try to return a day early before you go back to work. Use this day to run errands, do some house chores, check personal emails, or even relax and get more sleep. If you are curious to know what’s going on at work, you can either check your work emails from home (if you have access) or call your co-worker. That way, you know what to expect when you return to work.

5.  When you are actually back at your work desk, the first thing we usually do is check emails and voicemails. You may either turn the Out-of-Office completely off or modify your message by letting them know that you’re back and you need some time to catch up on things and you will get back to them as soon as possible.

6. Have a mini meeting with your co-worker to refresh you on outstanding issues, deadlines to meet, etc.

7. Browse through your inbox. If you were gone for a long time, you may want to start reading your new emails down to the old ones especially if you are already aware of what’s going on. Flag the ones that need follow up or still outstanding. It’s really up to you how you want to read your emails. Everyone has his own system. I just find this easier as I don’t need to waste my time on things that are already taken care of. I can read those later when I’m finally caught up.

8. You then need to prioritize tasks and focus on the urgent ones first.

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