How (not) to get back to work after a holiday…
One of my coaches who I supervise said to me in a session this week… “as a coach I am so good at supporting my patients with what they should be doing to feel better but I’m terrible at doing it myself”. This really resonated with me particularly this week.
I went away on holiday last week, and started back at work after the bank holiday weekend. I can soundly say that I have not followed my own advice about how to look after yourself and do good self-care in practice. So here are my top ten tips of how NOT to get back to work after a holiday… then read on for 5 suggestions of what I will be doing next time…
10 ways NOT to start back at work after a break…
- Have a disturbed night sleep the night before work and wake at 5am
- Get back to sleep eventually but then sleep through the alarm clock and wake up 45 min late
- Leave the house without your computer smart card and have to dash back in to get it (but be very grateful for remembering before setting off)
- Get 5min away from home and realise you can’t remember which hospital you are supposed to be going to this morning
- Survive morning clinic, but then dash between sites and only just make it in time for next clinic because you agreed to squeeze in an extra patient or two
- Panic at the 357 emails that have landed in your inbox(es) in the last 7 days and stare hopelessly at them for nearly an hour whilst failing to actually deal with any of them effectively.
- Overdose on coffee at 3pm to keep you going through afternoon clinic.
- Try and catch up with the dozens of urgent tasks that have waited for you all before leaving for the night.
- Load yourself up on sugar and refined carbs in the form of chocolate and biscuits at 4.30pm because you missed lunch whilst rushing between clinics and you can’t cope any longer because you’re exhausted from not having slept well. And wash them down with another coffee.
- Be so totally wired from the day and the afternoon caffeine hit that you cannot get to sleep…
And 11… repeat this every day until the weekend whilst you try to do a whole week’s worth of work in 4 days.
5 ways to self-care when starting back at work after a break
- Breathe. Or use a grounding technique. It’s ok to be a bit overwhelmed by going back to work after some time off, even if it’s just a short break. Check in with your body and if you notice any signs of stress, stop, pause, and take a breath to allow your system to calm.
- Schedule something positive to do after work, whatever it is that makes you feel like you have had some ‘you’ time. It might be reading, watching TV, doing some exercise.
- Take your breaks. Even if there’s a backlog of work waiting, it won’t make you more effective to be hungry and tired.
- Hydrate. Always have a bottle of water available. Even mild dehydration reduces concentration.
- Plan, prioritise and pace dealing with any backlog of work that is waiting for you. Remember that no-one expects you to have done work whilst you were off, stuff will just have to wait. If it’s not CPR it’s not urgent.
How do you manage your first day or week back at work after a break?
