How to make a strong comeback after a long holiday

Facing the storm after the calm

The saying “when it rains, it pours” seems to be very fitting for times like this week, where we get back to our work routine after logging off for a while.

As you kick off the first week back to work, be sure to:

1. Not overbook yourself. It’s tempting to say yes to all the meetings for both upcoming and ongoing projects. Remember to balance the meetings out with self-organization time, to get even more prepared for the catch-ups and strategizing.
2. Schedule a worry time. According to an?American Psychological Association ?survey, not having enough time is the leading post-holiday stressor. Allocate 15-30 minutes each week to sit on your problems and free up your mind.
3. Set time limits. As you juggle many different tasks at once, set your focus straight by putting time limits for each task. Give stricter time limits for less critical tasks such as checking your inbox or attending unnecessary meetings.
4. Maintain your routine. No matter how packed your schedule gets as you start off the quarter, try to stick with a daily routine. Having a set routine helps to lower stress and anxiety levels, which leads to higher productivity.

Read the full Monday Mavens Holiday Guide edition from our archive here for more.

Pumping up the confidence muscle

A great mindset to have in combating the dreaded first-day-back is to be confident in your own abilities at work.

Contradictory to popular belief, confidence is not innate but rather something you can work on and improve over time. While not everyone is born with self-assurance, you can build it up by trying out the 5 strategies below:

Focus on your strengths.

• Make a list of your professional strengths and achievements, every single one that you can think of.
• Reach out to a trusted friend or colleague if you have trouble recalling your successes.
• Pull it up and reread it anytime you need a confidence boost.

Find confident mentors.

• Find people at work that you see as your role models.
• Approach them and ask them if they would consider mentoring you.
• Observe how they communicate with colleagues and try mirroring their body language.

Build on your skills.

• Avoid feeling stagnant which can erode your self-confidence, by picking up a new skill.
• When you develop a new skill, you can immediately apply it to your job and improve your performance.
• This will create a positive domino’s effect as increased productivity will allow you to take on new tasks more confidently.

Change your inner dialogue.

• Practice self-affirming techniques such as focusing on your recent successes.
• Pat yourself on the back when you exceed your team’s expectations or complete a project ahead of schedule.
• Celebrate small wins to stay motivated.

Practice, a lot.

• Set specific goals like sharing at least one thought or asking a question in every meeting.
• Consciously turn your inner critic into your biggest champion.
• Seek out positive work colleagues and mentors that support your professional development.

Learn more about the ways to boost your confidence at work in the Monday Mavens back-to-work edition here .

Worth-a-try productivity tools

Some will argue that the start of a quarter could be the right time to experiment with new work tools. As you plan out projects and collaborations for the upcoming 3 months, here is a list of productivity tools you should check out (if you haven’t already):

• For smooth asynchronous communication: Twist , Loom , Yac
• For more flexible meetings: Headroom , Otter.ai , CoScreen
• For all-in-one productivity systems: Sunsama , Akiflow , Motion
• For mindmapping: Roam , Obsidian , Miro

Find out more about each tool and how they work in the full Monday Mavens edition here .

Did you find anything novel from this week’s Monday Mavens edition?

More are coming as we scour the internet for more productivity tips with one goal in mind—getting you ahead of your peers.

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