What’s the worst thing to do after taking a break?
This morning I’m returning from nine days on the road preceded by nine days of sick. It’s been a perfect storm of discombobulation.
What’s the worst thing I can do this morning?
Jump into my inbox.
Oh, I know. It’s cozy in there. It feels all safe and pinky-blanket-warm in there.
But you’re not doing what needs to be done in there.
The night before you get back to work, you make a list of the first four things you need to do your first day back. Cleaning up your email won’t be one of them.
Then, work the list, dummy.
(Me… not you. Sorry, I forgot you were reading this as well.)
1. Turn off the out-of-office rule on email. (I always forget this until around noon on the first day back. Sigh.)