How to go to work without stress - advice from psychologists. How to return to work after the New Year holidays

- This general concepts, describing this problem. In this article we will talk specifically about the reluctance to work. It is noteworthy that a person can do many useful things during this period, but it is precisely work activity will be difficult for him. What to do in such cases? How to get ready for work? Let's talk about this in more detail.

First What you should do is stop scolding or forcing yourself. In both cases, this will only lead to more negative consequences. You may be able to forget for a short period of time, but in the long term you will feel empty and completely dislike the activity.

Second, calm down and clear your mind. Meditation is ideal for this. I talked about this in previous articles. If you are at your workplace and cannot perform the technique, then simply inhale and exhale deeply 10 times. This is necessary to get rid of emotions. And this applies to both negative and positive ones.

Third, try to determine what your dislike is related to. Perhaps your boss doesn't value your input at all, or your coworker is annoying. Or maybe you are not happy with the atmosphere or your computer is constantly slowing down. In general, assess as objectively as possible why your brain reacts hostilely to the work process.

You had a great rest for a couple of days, ate a lot of delicious food, slept and drank alcohol. After such a rest it is very difficult to force yourself to work again. However, clients don’t wait, reports don’t write themselves, and the boss demands that everything be ready in a couple of hours. Can't you raise your hands at all? No problem! Try it "cheese" method.

In principle, this recommendation is also suitable for those who want to know how to get ready for work after the weekend, since holidays (except New Year's) rarely exceed a couple of days. The essence of the technique is that you define all the steps in a specific task. For example, you need to write an article (I’ll look at what I’m doing now as an example). To achieve this goal it is necessary:

• come up with a title;
• collect as much information as possible;
• to make a plan;
• fill out each item of the plan;
• subtract;
• edit;
• select additional material (pictures, videos, etc.).

Let's say I celebrated the New Year holidays and don't want to write at all. What do I do in this case? I open the list with all the steps necessary for it and look through them carefully, listening to my own feelings. For example, “fill in every item on the plan” looks extremely unattractive and repulsive. But “pick up additional material” suits me quite well.

I start doing everything not in order, but in a way that is psychologically easier for me. What happens next? Our brain tunes in to work and understands that it will no longer be able to deviate from its intended goals and begins to adapt. Once you have done everything that is easy for you, move on to more complex tasks. This build-up will allow you to quickly get ready for work without wasting time.

What if the weekend was more than a few days? In this case, a deeper swing will be needed. It is best to start it 1-2 days before going to work. Then, when you arrive at the office (or wherever you work), it will be much easier for you to get down to business right away. I recommend using a 3-step model:

1. Get up to speed. Many events could have happened during your absence from the company. Moreover, those that are directly related to work and those that are social or psychological in nature. You need to stand firmly in the team, so find out last news and prepare for the possible difficulties that come with them.
2. Discuss upcoming tasks. If you are an employee, do this with your manager, if you are a manager, do this with your subordinates. Discuss where to go next. You probably have a specific plan, but a short re-discussion will allow you to choose the right course of action. Moreover, the very conversations about upcoming tasks allow you to tune in. Highlight specific actions that need to be performed, and also determine your area of ​​responsibilities in them.
3. Reduce the pace to a minimum. This is especially true when considering how to get ready for work after maternity leave. Just start doing your tasks calmly, measuredly and very slowly. Even if it takes you 1-2 days, but you will be able to overcome internal resistance, get to the heart of the matter, avoid many mistakes and avoid stress. Then gradually return to your usual pace to the delight of your superiors.

But these were questions related to how to get ready for work after a long break, but what about everyday tasks? After all, it happens that it is impossible to force yourself to act even if you are waist-deep in urgent matters. Let's look at this issue. But first, I recommend subscribing to blog updates so as not to miss interesting and useful articles.

Oh, it’s a painful feeling when you open your eyes at six o’clock in the morning to get out of bed and go to work, and your brain is trying its best to dissuade you from this activity. This happens to all people, no matter how much they love their work. However, only those people succeed who silence this voice and continue to move forward.

Here I have highlighted a number of techniques that I use myself and which bring results. Try it, maybe some of this will help you:

• Plan. Make a plan for the day. Of course, it is better to do this in advance in the evening, but some authors consider the morning option to be acceptable. Think about what you have to accomplish during the day. Try to roughly map the tasks to when they need to be completed and how long they will take. Such planning is useful because it saves time and allows you to set up in advance. Besides this, you can do much more with it;
• Motivational videos. Personally, I watch 1-2 motivational videos in the morning on English language. This way I kill two birds with one stone: I train my language skills and raise my morale. You can do this with headphones or, conversely, turn up the volume to full. Today you can find many similar videos on YouTube. Remember those that motivated you the most and review them periodically;
• Challenge yourself. Let's say you need to release 10 materials per day. Bet with yourself that you can release 20. It may seem unrealistic to you, but such a bet creates an inner feeling of struggle and competition. Even if you fail to achieve your goal, you will still be able to take the first step and get to work, and this is the most important thing.
• Drink coffee or strong tea. Sometimes the reluctance to work in the morning has a normal physiological basis. Coffee or strong tea will allow you to wake up and get a little boost of strength. By the way, the authors of articles about how to get yourself in the mood for work very often recommend drinking energy drinks. I am not a supporter of these drinks, although there is probably an effect. In combination with the previous options, this will bring an extremely positive effect. Just don't abuse it.
• Charging and water. Physical activity in the morning is a great incentive to work, and in general is extremely beneficial for health. Washing your face also helps to perk you up in the morning. cold water or contrast shower. Of course, it is necessary to follow certain predisposition measures and rules so as not to harm yourself. I will cover these issues in more detail in future articles, so subscribe to updates so you don’t miss out.

Next, let's look at a situation where you need to start a completely new job. You don’t really know the bosses and you certainly don’t know what kind of people will work in the team. In this case, a couple of psychological tricks will help you.

Firstly, you must present yourself as confident as possible. Even if this is not the case, still imagine the features of a person who is a highly qualified specialist, and generally handsome in life. This technique works in 80% of cases. You can even use visualization. In the evening, before going to bed, imagine how you enter the office and how everyone wants to meet you.

Secondly, To understand how to get into the right mindset for work, try talking more with other people. This could be your boss or colleagues. But here you need to adhere to the rule: talk less - listen more (generally a good rule of life). Ask questions and carefully absorb the information you hear. This will allow:

• feel like you belong;
• the team will begin to get used to you;
• since you talk little about yourself, you will not have a sense of openness and, accordingly, psychological protection;
• You can find out useful information About work;
• in general, you will become more clear about what and how to do, and this is always a plus for your psychological mood.

Third, ask for criticism. Complete a few tasks using half the time, and then ask a more experienced employee to give you recommendations. This will also allow you to become more immersed in the team, put you in a favorable light, and create additional comfort. However, don't be too provocative. It is advisable that a more experienced colleague give recommendations in private, and not in front of everyone.

How to prepare yourself for painstaking and difficult work

In the last part of the post I would like to talk about how to tune in to complex tasks. Often they are the ones that have the strongest demotivating effect. As soon as our brain realizes how much it still has to do and how difficult it is, it turns on the laziness mechanism. We are designed in such a way as to use resources as economically as possible, and since mental activity takes up a lot of energy, reluctance appears.

How to get rid of this? Very simple, close your eyes for a minute. First, imagine what will happen if you do this work. What relief you will experience, what joy and what burden of responsibility you will be able to throw off. Even better if it is associated with some kind of reward. Next, imagine what will happen if you fail to complete the task. What are the negative factors: increased apathy, decreased self-confidence, possibly punishment, and so on. Finally, imagine yourself working hard to achieve your goals. As a rule, this is enough.

If the task is really complex, then to configure it you will have to remove all irritants. Clean your workspace, put your phone on silent if possible, and put on headphones. Distractions can cause irritation that makes you not want to work.

You can also use a simple technique. Set the timer for 1 minute. Watch carefully as it approaches the zero mark. During this time, you can think about anything, but as soon as the timer gives a signal, put everything aside and immediately get to work. At least for 5 minutes. After this, you will notice how much easier it is for you to continue making efforts. You will no longer have to wonder how to set yourself up for work.

I hope the recommendations I gave in this article helped you. If you have any of your own techniques and techniques, be sure to write them in the comments. There you can ask your questions. If you didn’t know, I have new posts on my blog every week. However, they are easy to miss if you don't subscribe to updates. Think about the future - subscribe now. Who knows, maybe this knowledge can really help you. Bye!

The salads have been eaten, the champagne has been drunk, you don’t want to look at the tangerines anymore... In a word, the holidays are over - everyday life has come again. A new working year is ahead. It would seem that working people who have rested during the holidays should get down to business with renewed energy. But it was not there! It turns out that jumping into the production process right away after a long period of “relaxation” is not at all easy. On the morning of the first working day, exactly one thought fits in my cast-iron head: “I don’t want to get up and go to work.”

Gathering their will into a fist, the workers deliver their rest-weary bodies to their workplaces, but are no longer capable of more. My mood is at zero, I have no strength, my appetite is gone. Popularly this condition is called post-holiday depression; experts call it work maladaptation syndrome.

The main signs of this scourge are lethargy, fatigue, irritability, and blues. In fact, there are more than enough reasons to mope: the weather is not sunny, the state of health after overeating and libations also leaves much to be desired, late parties, staying up until the morning in front of the TV and sleeping in the afternoon have managed to throw off the biological clock, the wallet is empty, and the January salary is still far…

Don't rush to quit

Many people at this time experience the peak of dissatisfaction with their work, especially if it did not bring much joy before. Particularly sensitive people even begin to look at job advertisements. It is no coincidence that most resignation letters are written after holidays and vacations. But it’s better to wait a bit with fateful decisions.

According to statistics, every second employee has a painful time going back to work after a long rest, and among office workers in big cities this figure is up to 80%. And what more active person walked and had fun, the more difficult it is for him to return to the working rhythm. Some bosses and workaholics, however, consider such complaints to be an excuse for the lazy and careless. However, there is an indisputable fact: every year companies suffer real losses due to the low performance of their employees in the post-New Year period. We were not very lucky in the coming year: the first working day of 2017 fell on Monday, and a whole working week at once was a severe test. How to get yourself ready for work after a long weekend?

Do without labor feats

In such a state, the most important thing is not to rush headlong into the pool, but to give yourself a few days to “unwind.” The increase in production load should occur gradually. Otherwise, you risk a decrease in immunity, which is fraught with colds and infectious diseases. Start the new working year by arranging your workspace: throw away everything unnecessary (if you didn’t get around to it in the pre-holiday bustle), hang up a fresh calendar, update the wallpaper on your computer desktop. And don’t forget to discuss past holidays with your colleagues! Despite the “non-work” nature of these activities, they, according to psychologists, significantly facilitate the process of returning to work. And to get involved in your work, experts advise... playing computer games, requiring concentration and speed of reaction. This will “wake up” the brain, which, during periods of forced idleness, reduces the speed of its work by almost 25%.

Now is the time to make a plan (or even a schedule) for the coming week: the goals you set will help you mobilize and focus on work. In the first days, try to do mostly routine things. Firstly, you will be less likely to fail an important task (40% more mistakes are made on post-holiday days than on regular days), and, secondly, performing everyday duties will allow you to get involved in the process faster. When getting started, start with the simplest things - checking mail, sorting documents. This way you will slowly “accelerate” and prepare yourself for more serious achievements. Every hour and a half, take 5-10 minute breaks for something pleasant, for example, looking at photos from the holidays or chatting with colleagues. Also, during the adaptation period, you should not stay in the office in the evenings (no matter how much the backlog of work requires) and take work home.

On this topic

On the American portal Reddit, one of the users shared a story about a friend of hers who, on the eve of her own wedding, decided to put all her friends on a diet and wanted to refuse an invitation to the celebration of a girl who, in her opinion, was too fat.

However, you shouldn’t relax too much and work carelessly, otherwise you will then have to literally force yourself to fulfill your direct responsibilities. If after three to five working days nothing has changed and you still don’t want to work, it’s time to pull yourself together so that your “relaxation” does not become the norm.

Restore your daily routine and move more

To help yourself return to your usual rhythm, you need to restore your previous daily routine. During the holidays, many people get used to going to bed after midnight and getting up after noon. It is not surprising that after a week and a half of this regime, the body rebels against getting up at 7 am and refuses to fall asleep at 10–11 pm. As a result, we suffer from insomnia, walk around the office with a sore head, and get tired quickly. The best way wake up in the morning cheerful and rested - go to bed on time. Don’t sit too long watching TV or on social networks, give up a heavy dinner, take a warm bath, adding 5-7 drops to the water essential oil lavender (none of the citrus scents are suitable, otherwise you will get the opposite effect). And you yourself will not notice how you will plunge into the arms of Morpheus. Decoctions of chronobiotic plants - valerian, peppermint, hops, oregano - will also help cope with insomnia.

Moderate physical activity will also be useful, especially if you spent the holidays mostly at the table. Doctors advise starting with regular walks after work: fresh air calms you down and sets you up for healthy sleep, restoring physical and mental strength. The New Year is a good reason to introduce at least a small morning exercises or contrast shower. Such disciplinary rituals will help you get into a working mood from the very morning. If in Everyday life you went to the pool or gym, but because of the holidays you abandoned this activity, do not start exercising with the same intensity. This is fraught with health problems, including a heart attack. You need to increase your sports loads very slowly.

Don't starve, but eat right

A proper diet will also speed up the transition to the everyday rhythm of life. Don't skip your lunch break: a timely supply of energy and vitamins will support the body during forced restructuring. IN New Year holidays We usually switch to single meals: we eat once a day - from morning to evening. After such a test, the body requires rest and unloading. But not a new stress. Even if you have gained a couple of extra pounds over the holidays, under no circumstances should you go on a strict diet immediately after overeating. Fasting is even more dangerous. Such sudden changes can disrupt the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and then you will need to not only lose weight, but also undergo treatment. So just exclude from your diet everything that formed its basis during the holidays: fatty, spicy, smoked and salty foods. Give preference to porridges with water, salads made from fresh vegetables (of course, without mayonnaise), fruits, lean meat and fish, and fermented milk products. Alcohol and soda dehydrate the body, so everyone knows the daily 2 liters clean water after a series of feasts they will come in handy. Other drinks include herbal and green tea, rosehip decoction, homemade sour juice and dried fruit compote.

FACT

To determine the most depressing day of the year, British psychologist Cliff Arnal derived the formula (W+(D-d))xTQ/MxNA, where W is the weather, D is debts, d is monthly salary, T is time since Christmas, Q is time, elapsed time since the unsuccessful attempt to refuse bad habits, M – level of motivation, NA – need to act. Calculations have shown that the peak of despondency occurs on the third Monday of January, when cold weather post-holiday blues and a difficult financial situation after New Year's shopping are superimposed, as well as a lack of enthusiasm and remorse due to unfulfilled plans. Although the formula is not very scientific, practice and suicide statistics have confirmed it for several years.

And further

Be positive

In contrast to the joyful holidays, workdays seem even more gray and joyless than usual. And if you managed to go somewhere to relax, then upon your return your affairs will be completely bad. By the way, scientists have found that after the New Year holidays, many actively celebrating experience so-called endorphin starvation: a stable injection of pleasure hormones into the body is replaced by “severe withdrawal syndrome.” Oddly enough, psychologists recommend getting rid of holiday “addiction” using a method denounced modern medicine: treat like with like. Namely, arrange another holiday at the workplace. For example, for therapeutic purposes, celebrate the old New Year. And the most important thing is to set yourself up to expect something positive: spring, vacation, the next holidays...

After holidays It’s so difficult to return to normal responsibilities, especially when it comes to work. Do you want the transition to be painless? Then refuse the things presented on our list.

Isolate yourself from business

During the holidays, no one wants to think about work, no one wants to sort business correspondence and answer calls. If you are completely isolated from work during the holidays, you will feel great, but this will cool you down and play a cruel joke when you go back to work. To avoid feeling exhausted on the first day, give yourself a little head start. During the holidays, set aside 30 minutes every day to check Email. This way you will keep the situation under control.

Returning to work without a plan

A week off can put you in panic mode when you return to workplace, you will find yourself in a rush. Therefore, we recommend that you make a small list in advance, including three important aspects that need to be covered in the morning on your first day. If you know how to make your return as easy as possible, why not take advantage of that knowledge?

Ignore global changes

Returning from vacation seems like an excellent chance to start activities with clean slate. At the same time, during the entire period of fruitful rest, you have regained your strength and now, with renewed energy, you can begin to solve previous problems. Make the most of this break. At a distance many things related to professional activity, are perceived differently. You get a chance to look at problem solving from different perspectives. We are used to starting any global changes with the beginning of a new calendar year. This means that already in March your work can give the first results.

Introduce resolutions that are doomed to fail

January is a great time to start new activity, however, your desires do not always coincide with your capabilities. If you fear you won't be able to stick to your commitments, develop strategies to ensure results. For example, outline specific steps that will help you ensure increased productivity. People get frustrated if they are trying to achieve a long-term goal, but halfway there they realize that the task is too overwhelming. Therefore, it is much more important to identify potential obstacles and develop measures to eliminate them. For example, if you want to be more productive but know that email is a constant distraction, turn off notifications and set a routine for checking your email inbox.

Get discouraged

You can’t return to everyday work after a vacation in a bad mood. The sad mood after 10 days of rest is not like a normal Monday morning. You've experienced one of the most joyful moments of the year with your family and friends, and now you feel like you'll barely make it to summer vacation. Unfortunately, returning to work in the summer and winter are two different things. When it's cold and dark outside, you lose motivation and let apathy enter your head. Overcoming winter depression is not easy, and in order to forget about the blues, psychologists advise avoiding downtime at work. Try to take on more projects, then time will fly by. You can also resort to reward tactics. If you have completed all your assigned tasks, you can treat yourself to a cake and hot chocolate or a trip to the spa.

Set high expectations

There is no doubt that during the days of your absence many unresolved tasks have accumulated. Be smart and have no illusions about your first day at work. Problems will not disappear with the wave of a magic wand. So be prepared for pressure and don't get mad at yourself if you can't get everything done in one sitting. No one is stopping you from devoting one weekend to communicating with clients, answering calls, or sorting email. This strategy is used as the optimal way to relieve the feeling of post-New Year's rush. Just one extra day spent in the office will provide an optimal transition from idle and relaxed pastime to a rigid work schedule.

Assume that all colleagues are ready to take on new heights

The holidays have clearly done you good. You feel energized and ready to scale new heights. However, if you are ready for decisive action, this does not mean that your colleagues are not tired over the holidays from endless cooking or receiving guests. For some of us, the New Year holidays are extremely stressful, after which we experience a loss of energy and a desire to be alone. If you feel that your colleagues are reluctant to talk about their holidays, do not pressure them with your vivid impressions. Don't forget that together you represent one team - a single cohesive mechanism. So if someone is experiencing a lack of interest in work, find out how you can help.

Avoid preparing for the first morning of work

The last thing you want to think about during the holidays is work. But if you don’t take care of getting ready the night before, the morning of your first day of work can be a hellish ordeal for you. You don't want to be late, wake up with a headache, or hastily search for clothes. It is unlikely that you want to go to work without lunch and in a completely dejected state. It will take you some time to transition from rest mode to everyday work.

It is in your power to make this path smoother and more painless. Prepare your clothes in the evening, take care of lunch in advance and try to get a good night's sleep. Set yourself up in a positive mood, start the morning of your first working day with gymnastics or a cool shower.

The holidays are over, quickly rushing past, everything delicious snacks eaten, gifts received and a whole year ahead, which in many ways will be similar to the past. Post-holiday blues are a very common phenomenon. Is it possible to avoid a sudden transition from the festive mode of life to the everyday? How to get ready for work?

Told about this psychologist, head of the psychological center “SoDeistvie”, Anna Khnykina.

AiF.ru, Maya Milich: How to avoid a post-holiday hangover?

Anna Khnykina: A lot of things affect a person’s morale, including the transition from the “rest” mode to the “work” state. But the holidays should, in theory, only have a positive effect on our mood, because their essence is to let us unwind, relax, and forget about daily worries. It is during the holidays that we can spend time somehow differently than usual. To avoid a “post-holiday hangover,” the most important thing is to have time to have a good rest during the holidays. After all, the blues after the holidays are not due to the fact that the daily routine has gone wrong.

Rather, the point here is to maintain a balance between relaxation and entertainment, to experience vivid emotions, but not to get tired of a series of fireworks and parties.

Please pay attention Special attention to spend time varied and differently than usual: for relaxation, the most important thing is a change in usual activities.

Sometimes a person feels sad because of high expectations. Perhaps you expected something more from the holidays, but they came to an end, but what you expected did not happen. This is a very common phenomenon. In order not to be disappointed, do not build special expectations from the holiday: yes, miracles happen, and the New Year is just about this, but instead of expecting a miracle, it is better to prepare it yourself for your loved ones. Then you will certainly “all your plans will come true,” and at the same time there will be no disappointment from something that did not happen.

At the same time, if an unexpected miracle happens for you, it will be a pleasant surprise and a great surprise precisely because of the surprise...

Usually, when thinking about gray everyday life, sadness overcomes. How to get rid of the sad expectation that the routine is about to begin again, you will have to get up early and work hard?

First, figure out why your everyday life is gray and why does your life cause such emotions in you?

For a person who has found his place in life, any day is equally interesting, both a weekend and a weekday. Even a very difficult day will be a joy if it concerns something you love.

Think about your everyday life so that it is colorful. New Year is not only a holiday, it is, in fact, itself, in fact, New Year, which has 365 days. And you can add a sense of novelty to it - let it be a new coat, new notebook, new interior details in the house, new perfume.

Besides, getting up early and working hard is good! This means that you are healthy, successful and in demand.

- Is the state of despondency after the holidays a reason to think that something is wrong in life?

The reason to think about your life will most likely be a state of despondency during the holiday. And the end of the fun in itself is a sad story. The same feeling happens after returning from vacation.

Transition of a person from one emotional state in others it requires time, during which the soul experiences some kind of crisis. Give yourself this time. Usually this is just good point to look around, think and focus on what awaits you in the near future. No more.

- Should you “encourage” yourself with many plans for the coming week, month or year?

- This is very good idea. You should always encourage yourself, no matter what happens. Believing in yourself is necessary. Helping yourself, supporting yourself, forgiving yourself is not only possible, but absolutely necessary.

- What life attitudes will help get rid of apathy?

Remember that, unfortunately or fortunately, everything passes. Both good and bad. Time spares nothing.

Negative feelings, as a rule, tell us that we are somewhere in the wrong place, that we are doing something wrong, or that we are doing something wrong. If such a feeling appears inside, then sit so that nothing interferes, so as not to be pinched or twisted, lower your shoulders, exhale, smile and look around... And life will not seem so boring and difficult!

Adviсe:

• a day or two before going to work, try to normalize your routine, start going to bed on time again and switch to proper nutrition;
• V last days walk in the fresh air as much as possible;
• Get a good night's sleep before your first day at work;
• make a list of household and work tasks in advance that you can do in the first two weeks after the holidays;
• on your first working day, pay attention to those tasks that do not require much effort, concentration of strength and skills;
• do not plan serious meetings on the first morning of work;
• start planning your next vacation;
• The first time after the holidays, do not stay late at work.