How to shake off your holiday brain
Many workers are returning to work feeling sluggish and uninspired after the summer break. An RMIT expert explains why and what to do about it.
Dr Melissa Wheeler, psychology and business
“Returning to work after the holidays can be tough, especially when your brain is still on holiday mode.
“What I like to call holiday mode is that sluggish or foggy state, where it seems to take longer to process things or to pay attention.
“This feeling can be caused by the break from our routines and habits over the holidays. Habits eliminate the need to make lots of micro decisions, allowing your brain 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, after freely snacking on holiday, you may find yourself feeling distracted and hungry during your usual routine. 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.
“Here are three easily actionable tips to switch from holiday to productivity mode, for a positive start to 2025:
- Scrutinise your routines – Reflect on your daily work routine, particularly on what worked and what didn’t work for you in 2024. When resetting your routines, one common error is to try to fit as much into one day as humanly possible. 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 state. That is, being ‘in the zone’, where distractions seem to disappear, time flies, you have a sense of progress, and even hard tasks feel effortless. Avoid multitasking and try strategies like time-blocking or completing the most daunting task at the start of your day.
- Get excited – Identify something you’ve been looking forward to and add it to your immediate to do list. You can also make a plan to avoid doing the things you don’t like. For example, if you hate public speaking but have a colleague who loves it, consider which tasks you could swap.”
Dr Melissa Wheeler is a senior lecturer in Business Administration at RMIT University and works at the nexus of business and psychology, with a passion for helping leaders and organisations find and act on their purpose.
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