Coming back from just a few days outside of your normal routine is tough. But once you’re measuring the time you’ve been out of things in weeks, it can seem absolutely impossible to get back into gear. I think it may even be worse if you used to have a system like GTD in place. I know that I’ve looked at a month’s worth of mail and paperwork before and wondered how the heck I was going to get all of that processed into tasks I could actually get my head around, especially since now that I was back on the job the boss expected me to get some ‘real’ work done. There are a number of approaches you can take, though: There are a few ways to make playing catch up a little easier, at least on your mental health. They can work with any approach you take — and if you think of any more tips, please add them in the comments.
Get back in your routine as soon as possible — even if you barely remember it. If your routine calls for only 30 minutes of processing email, that’s okay. You can get through your email in 30 minute chunks, and you can always schedule an appointment with your email. Touch base on projects before you get into catching up. There may be something that actually needs to be done before you become immersed in your email — and it may not even be mentioned in your email inbox if no one knows you’re back. Let people know that you’re catching up. Ask them to let you know if there’s something actually urgent in your pile of paperwork. Start with what you think is important. I know I just suggested asking people to let you know what they think is important — but you may not agree with their estimation of the situation. Start with something pleasant, and end with something pleasant as well. It’s pretty likely that somebody got irritated about something in your office. Your mother might need her VCR reprogrammed or a client may be unhappy at your absence. Don’t make that unpleasant stuff the first or last thing you handle in a day — or you might not be up to Day 2. Avoid scheduling anything for your first day back. You may not have control over your own calendar, if anyone’s been waiting to see you, but put people off long enough for you to reorient yourself. Depending on the nature of your return, you may be able to get away with telling people that you’ll be back the day after you’ll really return. Decide what it really means for you to catch up. You probably can get away with not reading every newsletter that made it into you inbox — and there may be a few tasks you can ignore equally easily.
Remember, it took time to get behind. It’s definitely going to take time to catch back up.
