Success in Sweatpants

I hope your Easter weekend was good for you, whether Easter is your thing or not. I screwed up my courage and took the entire weekend off. Didn’t even turn on the computer (which brought about withdrawal symptoms).  And while I admit that it was a much-needed couple of days off, when Monday dawned I perceived a flaw in the “take some days off completely” idea. I had unwound.  To the point where I had a hard time winding back up again.

At first I thought this was a bad thing. After all, if I don’t completely unwind (i.e., continue to do at least some work every day even on weekends), then I won’t have to go through the winding up process I went through on Monday.  But then I realized that the world would not stop spinning and my clients would not desert me if I start out the week at half speed and take some time to rev up to 100%. There is no rule, no signed contract, stating that I have to come out of the gate on Monday morning at full tilt. The only issue is if I have a “full tilt” schedule; in that case, my focus and concentration is likely to fall short of need.

So here is my take away from the “full weekend off” experience. It’s definitely a good thing. Something to do more than less. I might even make it a policy to “only” work five days a week (and even strive for less if I can!). Whether I go that far or not, here is a policy I am definitely putting into place:

Whenever I take two or more days completely off in a row, I will include the “winding up” process in the schedule for the day or two after returning to work. That means consciously setting up a light post-off schedule in terms of big deadlines, meetings, or commitments. 

Interestingly, I’m betting that doing the “wind down-wind up” process on a regular basis, I will actually be MORE productive than less.   

I’m wondering: How do you manage time off? Do you find that you need a “wind up” period when you get back? How do you manage it?