Happy President’s Day, everyone! For those of you who are working today, we hope that your week is off to a great start and that even though you may feel glued to your desk, the sunlight is brightening your day (at least for us Chicagoans)! However, many of us are off today and that brings us back to a topic we love to touch base on every so often… managing your workflow and catching up on work after a long weekend.

Especially as you jump into a short week, and potentially condensed timelines to submissions and due dates, we’re here to get you back on track. Keep reading HERE to learn how to best manage your inbox and catch up on overload from a long weekend below…

Let’s…Catch up after the Holiday (or a Long Weekend)!

• Hydrate: One of the best ways to stay awake and help your body get back into the swing of a healthy week is to keep yourself hydrated. Keep a water bottle by your desk and try to drink the entire thing multiple times throughout the day; and if you’re worried about forgetting, set reminders on your calendar or mobile phone to do so! There are also a variety of water bottles available everywhere that track time stamps on the side to remind you to keep up through the day.
  • Extra Tip: In order to encourage yourself, try forcing yourself to finish a glass of water prior to a morning juice, matcha, or caffeine! That way, your drink of choice will serve as a reward instead of as a starting point for your day.
• Nutrients! As enticing as it may feel to snack on chips, morning sweets, or any junk food, try to jump-start your week with nutrients instead. Starting off the week with healthy meals will rejuvenate your body and ensure that you are feeling energized and prepared for all obligations. On the same note, we also offer you the tip to bring workout clothes to work, as it may be your key to stepping back into the gym (and will also save the time of having to stop back home).
  • Extra Tip: If you feel limited in your ability to dedicate time to meal prepping or creating nutrient-dense meals, check out one of the endless meal kit programs offered online! Not only are these friendly toward a variety of diet focuses and preferences, but are often even more affordable than independently grocery shopping. Planning ahead with a week’s worth of meals is a perfect strategy to ‘set yourself up for success’ and minimize an item on your daily to-do list.
• Stay Organized: Making a to-do list, filling out a daily planner or calendar, or even using a sticky note and writing down what you need to complete is proven to help individuals accomplish their daily tasks and goals. This will also keep you organized and decrease your chance of forgetting a meeting or assignment. Make sure to check out the multiple articles we’ve written in the past to learn about certain scheduling strategies that could assist your organization… we recommend starting with ‘time-blocking’!
• Check-In: With your inbox! Try out a “priority” folder to move all of your most important emails from the weekend into a different space, as we all know how crowded an inbox may become even after a single day off. Make sure to keep your team in the know about where your projects or outstanding requests are on their way to completion – while you’re not expected to finish all of your obligations momentarily, you are expected to inform those who rely on your work when they can expect it!
• Let Yourself Breathe: Finally,… schedule breaks into your day as you would any other obligation! Letting yourself have time to relax is equally as important as completing your work to your mental clarity and ability to maintain motivation.