Wednesday August 20th 2025
Local coach, Kate Flory
Written by local coach, Kate Flory
Many of us are familiar with the annual ‘back to school’ photo at the front door or in the playground. For years when our two kids were little enough to attend primary school, we took their photo against the frog numbers in their playground. I loved capturing those moments of progression from P1 to P7. This year as my daughter waits for her first-day-of college photo, it feels even more poignant to capture those fleeting moments in time.
But what about the parents?
Whilst the Lothian schools went back last week, we’ve family in Ayrshire and Aberdeen where today is their first day back. Just as my son had mixed emotions about last week), so did I. I felt a sense of relief that my working diary was now child free, but I was also aware of my little holiday list of ‘home projects’ that I never quite got around to doing, which remain unscored out, and the backlog of work projects that I had every intention of giving dedicated time to – but I simply ran out of time.
Like my children, I know the first half week back to school is a practice run of getting up on time, and being dressed and ready for the day. Unlike them, my daily schedule isn’t already timetabled out for me, so the first week I tend to take time to plan ahead for the coming quarter. In the past, I’ve had to remind myself that these first days back isn’t an intensive catch-up session, but instead can be a slow build up to on-going momentum. Many of us come back from holidays to thousands of emails, requests, and can-you-just notes on our desk.
Whenever we take time away from our desk, we can often feel the need to catch up with all the previous weeks off, all in our first day. It’s simply impossible! The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) suggests that 18% of workers feel more stressed after their holiday than before. With 81% returning to an overflowing inbox.
So to help combat the post-holiday stress and not-done-enough guilt, we should consider pacing ourselves and planning for the coming days and ideally week to. Here are some of the strategies that work for me before and on my return date:
1. Be prepared – make sure that you’ve done the food shopping at least for the next few days and plan an easy tea for your first day back. Remember to KISS – Keep It Super Simple, so keep that three course gourmet dinner idea for another week.
2. Take time to plan – plan your diary for the coming day, week or rest of the month. Remember it’s about pacing yourself not pulling an all-dayer.
3. Prioritise your tasks – consider what process works best for you as you decide what is urgent and important and needs your attention, for who, and by when.
4. Start small – set up small and meaningful tasks that you can tick off with ease, helping you build up that work motivation.
5. (If you can) Avoid any key meetings or deliverables on day one – you might need to block time out to avoid anyone else ‘squeezing’ things in on your first day back. Allowing a transition or buffer day will help you to unpack and unwind.
6. Catch up with colleagues – find ways to connect with others who will get you up to speed, and to reconnect over holiday highlights which reinforces the positive benefits of switching off.
7. Look after yourself – don’t work late and play even later on day one. And remember to take your breaks! Going back to work after time off can feel exhausting, so listen to what your body is telling you.
8. Plan your next holiday – as odd as it sounds, knowing that there will be another holiday or weekend away (even if you don’t know where, yet) will help reduce the returning from holiday blues.
So, if you’re heading back to work after a holiday, remember it’s not about conquering the mountain on day one. Keep it simple, pace yourself, and focus on the small wins that rebuild your energy and motivation. It won’t be long before, you find your work rhythm again – and hopefully with a little of that holiday glow still intact.
You can read more from Kate at https://kapowcoaching.com
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