Long weekends can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, well, who doesn’t like one more day to sleep in? But a shortened work week can also throw timelines, schedules, and planning out of wack at work. The key to enjoying a long weekend and having a productive short work week is to have a plan. Read below for our five tips on making the most out of your upcoming long weekends!
1. Shift Your Schedule Ahead of Time
If the holiday occurs on a day where you have standing meetings, reach out to those people and either reschedule or condense the meeting into an email update. Let clients and partners know ahead of time that you will be logged off from work, and offer up times for the following week. For other housekeeping tasks or internal items, set blocks of time on your calendar throughout the week to accomplish them. Treating them like a meeting ensures that you won’t forget.
2. Build Out Timelines
Long weekend schedules are typically set at the beginning of the year. Build out timelines for projects to accommodate a shortened week. Move all deliverables to before or after the holiday- and realize that many people extend long weekends, so build in a one day buffer. Planning for days off in advance prevents week-of panic and shifting deadlines at the last minute.
3. Prep Yourself and the Office
Often, it is the little details that make us feel prepared to leave work. Set up out of office email responses, water plants, clean out the fridge, and tidy up your desk. Plus, in a shared workspace, you never have to worry about stolen packages or lost mail- meaning you can head out worry-free.
4. Plan the Extra Day
Plan your extra day of relaxation. Even if it’s just one activity, you’ll be less inclined to check work emails. Got to a yoga class, catch up with a friend, do a household project- anything that typically gets put on the back burner during a regular weekend.
5. Fully Disconnect
Turn off Slack, mute work emails, and put your phone on “do not disturb”. Long weekends are here to help us recharge, and if you spend it worrying about work, you’ll come to back to the office stressed. Take the time to refresh your soul- you, your coworkers, and business will all be thankful!
For every long weekend, preparation is key to three (or more) days of blissful relaxation. A shared workspace that has call answering, live reception, and mail services is paramount to helping you squeeze five days of work into four. At AdvantEdge Workspaces, we are here to assist you with any business needs, and we work to keep your business on track even when that “out of office” message is on. Click below to learn more about our services!