The holidays always remind me that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. My kids start the winter holidays excited: new toys to play with, days at home, permission to eat. But by the time the new year rolls around, they’re eager to get back to school, eager to show off their favorite holiday gifts and get back into their routine.
It got me thinking: why don’t we as adults go back to work with the same positive energy after a holiday?
More often than not, the return of time off brings back feelings of anxiety. For some, it reaches the point where any lingering benefits of the break are negated. Others overcompensate by overworking themselves upon their return.
Just as kids return to school after winter break with renewed energy and a few shiny new accessories, we can return to the office with a sense of anticipation rather than dread – and without immediately burning out. It all comes down to planning ahead and making smart use of the AI tools in your toolbox.
Here are some of the strategies I use and share with Jotform employees to make it easier to return to work after a while.
Automate administration so you can focus on what’s important
After spending the holidays with my family in the Turkish countryside, one of my favorite parts of going back to work is catching up with colleagues: exchanging stories and photos of our OOO adventures. But I wouldn’t have the time or energy to do that if I got buried in the tedious, busy work of trying to get back into work mode.
That’s why I use, and encourage our employees to use, AI to automate as many manual administrative tasks as possible. It starts with an audit of your typical back-to-work routine, ideally before you leave the office so you’re prepared in advance. Make a list of every task in a typical day and all your responsibilities. You’ll likely come across some that can be partially or fully automated with AI, such as scheduling status meetings with Motion or Clockwise; take notes (and send follow-up emails) with Fireflies.ai or Otter.ai; and manage your inbox with Superhuman, Shortwave or Microsoft Copilot.
When you let AI do the busy work, you create space to dive back into activities you enjoy, like more meaningful creative work and reconnecting with your team.
Use AI to zoom out and see the big picture
Research shows that almost half of American workers do not take all their paid vacation days. One of the main reasons is that they are afraid of falling behind. That concern is not entirely misplaced; Stepping out of the daily grind does mean that you step out of the daily grind for a while. But it’s important to zoom out and keep your break in perspective.
Instead of focusing on the week-to-week, imagine that time off in the broader context of your year. Viewed this way, your vacation is not a setback, but rather an investment in your long-term productivity. Studies consistently show that professionals who take regular breaks enjoy better sleep, higher job satisfaction, greater engagement and better performance.
Putting together quarterly summaries is a great way to maintain that overview and track progress toward annual goals. AI can do it for you. Tools like Notion AI, ClickUp Brain or ChatGPT can use your business data and summarize project updates, mark milestones and visualize your progress, without having to manually compile the reports.
By seeing your progress and achievements explicitly, you can keep OOO time in perspective and eliminate the stress of ‘falling behind’ when you return.
Renew your curiosity and your momentum
One of the biggest challenges to getting back on track after a while is momentum. When you’re in the rhythm of work, collaborating with colleagues or monitoring project progress, productivity and ideas feel almost natural. But after some much-needed rest and relaxation, regaining that momentum can feel like pushing a boulder uphill.
This is where AI can act as a creative partner. Tools like ChatGPT can spark new ideas during brainstorming sessions, or analyze data (such as marketing reports or customer feedback) to generate insights and actionable insights. By taking on some of the initial heavy lifting, AI can help reignite the curiosity and creative energy that make returning to work fun.
Finally, this may sound obvious, but give yourself time to get back into work mode. Schedule some rest time, especially during the first week. Spread out your meetings and resist the urge to burn the midnight oil right away. This can help prevent “return shock“—that disorienting jolt from relaxation to chaos. With a little thoughtfulness and some helpful AI tools, leaders and their teams can get back to work painlessly.
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