Happy Monday! Does anyone else struggle to get back into their groove after a holiday week/weekend? I know I can’t be the only one. I hope you had a wonderful post-Thanksgiving weekend. Aaron and I flew back in from California on Friday night, and we were met with a rainy weekend.
Post-Thanksgiving weekend recap
I slept in on Saturday morning and decided it was the perfect day to decorate our new house for Christmas. Before I got all of my decorations out, I went to do a grocery pick up at H-E-B (because grocery shopping is the last thing anyone wants to do after a holiday). I was so proud of myself for scheduling a grocery pickup for Saturday. Aaron worked for a bit, and I turned on the Hallmark Christmas channel to get me in Christmas spirit (I put on Elf, which is one of my faves).
I had so much fun deciding where to put some of my treasured decorations I’ve collected over the years.
I’ll show you some of my favorites a bit later this week. It was a pretty perfect day if you ask me.
Sunday morning we woke up to ride our bikes. It was about 55 degrees and super windy. That’s cold for me. We did about 20 miles, which felt like 40 in the wind (not kidding). I love these fleece-lined leggings.
And I,ordered our 2020 Christmas card from Shutterfly (if you haven’t ordered yours yet, they are doing 50% off everything, plus an extra 25% today). I went with these stamps.
I wasn’t planning on doing Christmas cards this year…. because 2020….., but I love sending personalized little notes on my cards, and I figured it would be a good way to spread some cheer.
After that, I worked on my Christmas decorating some more and watched the finale of The Undoing (it’s 6 episodes on HBO, and if you haven’t watched yet – it’s worth it). That brings us to Monday morning.
Monday
I’ve watched my inbox spiral while I’ve been off these last couple of days. It’s not completely out of control, but it’s got a lot of action going on. I always have a hard time getting back into my work zone after a holiday. It can be difficult to tackle an out-of-control inbox when it feels like you will never get through all of those emails. I always make a to-do list before I am out for a couple of days to remind myself of the things that are most important to complete when I return. Here are three ways that help me maximize my productivity following a holiday:
- Make your workspace cozy. Dig in with a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. This morning, I decided to treat myself to a toasted white chocolate mocha from Starbucks. It makes getting through those emails/to-do lists much more enjoyable.
- Plan out your day. Here is what my day looks like:
- 7-7:30 a.m. – Starbucks
- 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. – Blog
- 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – Emails
- 9:30 – 11 a.m. – Edit an upcoming project
- 11 a.m. – noon – Lunch/walk outside/thaw out my shrimp for a dinner recipe
- Noon – 2:30 p.m. – Work on an upcoming presentation
- 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Attend a virtual retirement celebration for someone on my team
- 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. – Work on a seminar series and get started on an article that is due Dec. 14.
- 5:30 p.m. – Shut down my computer for the day
- 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. – Feed the dogs, go on a walk around the neighborhood with the dogs and make dinner
- 6:30 – 7 p.m. – Dinner
- 7 – 8 p.m. – Work out
- Go through all of your emails (quickly). Respond to any urgent requests that require immediate attention. Prioritize the other items that need to be completed today, tomorrow or before the end of the week. Tackle those tasks accordingly.
