Returning to work after the holidays can be tough, especially when your brain is still on vacation mode. Whether you spent the break recharging your batteries, enjoying time with friends and family, or stressing without any relaxation at all, many of us are struggling with the switch.

Vacation Mode

Since returning to work, most of my conversations with colleagues have started with “give me a minute, my brain isn’t fully back to normal” or “I’m just not fully here”.

Vacation mode is that sluggish or foggy state, where it seems to take longer to process things or to pay attention. Have you found yourself staring out of the window or procrastinating?

You may have returned to work from vacation, but your brain didn’t get the memo. Why does it feel so hard to pick up where we left off in 2024?

Broken Routines

A break in our pre-vacation routines can be partially blamed for the difficulty in resetting.

Healthy routines are helpful because, once repeated enough, they become habits. Habits eliminate the need to make lots of micro decisions, allowing you to smoothly ‘go with the flow’. Without your habits in place, you’re making more decisions and working your brain harder during the day – which may account for the sluggish feeling.

For instance, you may be feeling distracted and hungry due to snacking whenever you felt like it during holiday-mode. Whereas in your usual routine, your mind and body expect to break for lunch and finish before dinner, leaving you less distracted by intrusive thoughts of donuts.

If you think of the brain like a muscle, it might also be out of shape after taking time off from the daily exercise of working long hours and concentrating. But muscles can be rebuilt and, as stated by neuroscientist Professor Lisa Feldman Barrett, “your brain is wired for resilience ”.

Switching Vocation Mode Off

To switch from vacation to productivity mode, here are 3 easily actionable tips for a positive start to 2025.

Scrutinize Your Routines

Reflect on your daily work routine, particularly on what worked for you in 2024 and what was a source of distraction or frustration.

When resetting your routines, one common error is to try to fit as much into one day as humanly possible: to max out at full capacity. Leaving a little room to breathe, to think, and to explore will cushion you from potential burnout and allow for greater creativity with a routine that is more sustainable in the long term.

Find Your Flow State

If you’re feeling bored and distracted, you need to find your flow. The flow state is that feeling of being in the zone, where distractions seem to disappear, time flies, you have a sense of progress, and even hard tasks feel effortless.

When people talk about the joy they get from work, sometimes this can be attributed to doing meaningful work that is rewarding and helps others. But on a more mechanical level, deep engagement and flourishing at work are related to the positive feeling of spending time in the flow state . With flow, we feel internally motivated to make progress, and satisfaction that comes from that progress contributes to joy and fulfillment in a job well done.

If the flow state seems evasive, you can master it with practice or using productivity and time management strategies. Strategies like time-blocking or starting with the most daunting task can help to set aside distractions and introduce some control over your day. Beware: multitasking is a flow-blocker.

Get Excited

Identify something you have been looking forward to and add it to your immediate to do list. This could be pitching a new idea to your team, starting a new collaboration, or requesting changes to your role. Make an effort to dedicate time to the things that fill your cup instead of draining it. Sit down and map out the things that you loved doing in 2024 and the things you hated.

Make a plan to do more of the things you loved and less of the things you hated. Sounds simple and perhaps idealistic, but, as a leader or in conversations with your leader, you can try to optimize how you and your team members get work done. If you hate public speaking but have a colleague who loves it, what can you take off their plate so that you do more of what you love while helping a team member to do the same?

Hello Productivity

With a little creativity and proactivity, you can say goodbye to vacation mode and make the most of work in 2025.

By Melissa A. Wheeler, Contributor