Some more rules for going back to work…
Plan ahead – assuming that you know when you’re going to be away from work for a while (apart from sickness etc), plan your diary for your return. How you approach this will depend on the type of work you do. I try to keep the first day back as clear as possible. This allows me to make a dent in the backlog and – importantly – to wander round and have a chat with my colleagues and staff group. I also like to keep a couple of half days clear later in the week, to allow for further catching up and to provide space for meetings to deal with anything important that has cropped up while I’ve been away.
Having said this, I must confess that planning ahead isn’t always successful - in which case…
Count the days properly – If your diary is packed with meetings, or attending conferences etc as soon as you return to work, then you can’t expect to catch up during that time. I draw a distinction between ‘calendar day 1’ – the first day that I’m officially back at work - and ‘virtual day 1’ – the first day that I have control over my diary. I then plot my progress in eliminating the backlog from virtual day 1.
Keep up! – earlier in my career I would try to prioritise the backlog and then add in new work as it came in. I found this to be very frustrating and it seemed that I never managed to catch up with the backlog. Nowadays, I endeavour to keep up with the incoming stuff, rather than adding it to my backlog. This might be a bit idiosyncratic, but it works for me!!
Final batch of rules to follow…
Plan ahead – assuming that you know when you’re going to be away from work for a while (apart from sickness etc), plan your diary for your return. How you approach this will depend on the type of work you do. I try to keep the first day back as clear as possible. This allows me to make a dent in the backlog and – importantly – to wander round and have a chat with my colleagues and staff group. I also like to keep a couple of half days clear later in the week, to allow for further catching up and to provide space for meetings to deal with anything important that has cropped up while I’ve been away.
Having said this, I must confess that planning ahead isn’t always successful - in which case…
Count the days properly – If your diary is packed with meetings, or attending conferences etc as soon as you return to work, then you can’t expect to catch up during that time. I draw a distinction between ‘calendar day 1’ – the first day that I’m officially back at work - and ‘virtual day 1’ – the first day that I have control over my diary. I then plot my progress in eliminating the backlog from virtual day 1.
Keep up! – earlier in my career I would try to prioritise the backlog and then add in new work as it came in. I found this to be very frustrating and it seemed that I never managed to catch up with the backlog. Nowadays, I endeavour to keep up with the incoming stuff, rather than adding it to my backlog. This might be a bit idiosyncratic, but it works for me!!
Final batch of rules to follow…
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