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1. Ready: Who are you at your best? Before you listen to that first voicemail, sit quietly for a minute, and think about what you most liked about yourself on vacation. Was it the relaxed way you listened to the people you were with? Maybe it was the time you allowed your mind to wander? Perhaps it was the way you immersed yourself in each moment because you weren't distracted by constantly checking email on your phone? Maybe it was your patience, your generosity, or the ease with which you slipped into laughter?
Write down a few of your observations and keep the list close. The busier we get, the less we cultivate the aspects of ourselves we value so deeply because they aren't necessarily efficient.
But they are us — possibly some of the most important parts — and leaving them back on the sandbar diminishes who we are. Which weakens us, reducing our energy, creativity, and effectiveness. Not to mention our pleasure.
The solution? Become less efficient. Which means you will get less done. Which, ironically, will make you more productive, as long as you choose the right things to get done.
2. Set: What Is your focus for the year?
In order to get the right things done, we need a filter to help us decide what not to get done. Identify the most important things you want to focus on for the year. Every year I choose five major things on which I want to spend 95% of my time.My five things form a lens through which I focus on the world. Without them, everything would be a blur. With them, I can distinguish what's important — and worth my time and attention — from what's not.
Before touching a post-vacation email, look at your list of five and connect with the priorities that will make this year productive, meaningful, and fulfilling for you. Remind yourself what's important.
3. Go: What are you going to do? It's a good idea to block out your first morning back from vacation — or the first day if you can — to go through what's waiting for you. Don't rush this — it's the most strategic thing you can do.
It will be hard to resist the temptation to try to get it all done. But if something doesn't fit into one of your five areas of focus, defer it to someone more appropriate, politely decline it, or, if you can, simply ignore it. This goes for items of personal interest as well as business. (I know Banana Republic is having a 40% off sale, but still, do you really need to browse their site?)
Your first day back will set the tone for the new post-vacation you, so build yourself into your schedule. Look at your "Who are you at your best?" list and bring that person back to work with you. Block an hour for lunch with colleagues. Take a ten-minute walk in the morning and one in the afternoon to allow your mind to wander. Listen to someone else's story with attentiveness. You'll have the time to do those things if you haven't over-scheduled that first day.
