PRODUCTIVITY ROAD TEST
There's only one thing wrong with extended leave, be it maternity leave, study leave, long-service leave or simply "I had to get away from that place" leave. It's that, inevitably, coming back to work is hard.
But come back we must. For most of us, the smartest strategy is to bounce back into the office with a spring in your step. After all, there's nothing a boss wants less than someone whinging (or not producing results) after they've just been let loose for two, six or 12 months. What most people want to hear is that the time off was great, and you're keen to be back: let's face it, would it kill you to say that?
Happily, I love my job, and I AM happy to be back. (But I would say that, right?) Still, that's only half of the story. Despite these facts (gratitude for an income, delight about a flexible career, and so on), if money were no object there's no doubt I'd spend my time flitting away each day as I chose, rather than buckling down and tackling deadlines. If you're not the same, my guess is that you're either a workaholic, or you're lying.
This month, easing myself back into work has required a few strategies to encourage my mind to participate where my body must go. The first is to accept that going back to work doesn't mean it's time to stop questioning what makes you happy. Ask yourself questions: "Did I make the most of my time off?" "Is the job I left still the job I want?" and "Is what comes next more of the same?" While you can't do much if the answer to the first question is "no', you can start tackling the latter two. Try to put some mental time aside for thinking big picture career solutions — a daily commute is perfect for this.
Remember too, there's plenty of time to conquer the world when you're back on the job. Start with the basics (checking in with key players and crafting a basic plan for the first few months back) and then, give yourself some time to adapt to the renewed busy-ness that comes with being back at work. Chipping away slowly at small tasks is a good way to start switching your work brain back into gear — for better or worse, this will all feel normal again soon.
Lastly, it's good to come to terms with the fact that your days are — unsurprisingly — now not your own.
Seems logical, but anyone who has taken extended leave knows that one of the curiosities of time off is the way the days mysteriously fill up. Most people who start out wondering, "What will I do all day?" ending up saying, "Where do the days go?" Now that the days are fuller, it's worth trying to hang on to a semblance of the things that nurtured you while on leave: it could be a beach walk early in the mornings, or making more effort to see friends. After all, keep your mind and body healthy and you'll have less need to take extended leave again anytime soon.
Sue White is a freelance writer who knows exactly where her time off went; he's now six months old. Follow @suewhitewriter.
