The Post-Summer Blues and How to Beat Them

My name is Samantha Walters and I am what you would consider a “millennial executive” over here at Colocation America. Every Monday (get it, get it, Samantha on Mondays – the S.O.M column) I will write a little something on whatever is on my mind from business practices to current events and everything else in between.

This week’s topic – post summer blues 

Samantha’s Post-Summer Conversation [Repeat x400]:

Hi there. How are you doing this fine day?

I know, it’s been a while but I’m back.

Yes, it was a great trip – thank you for asking.

Sorry, I didn’t take a look at that just yet…

Yes, I will be happy to reach out when I have looked into it.

No thank you and have a great day!

Welcome back everyone! Congratulations, you have made it through another summer!

I know, I know, Labor Day is the unofficial ending of summer but let’s just be real—kids are back in school and every “professional” is back in the office. Summer is over.

So now what?

Here is a hint: get to work.

Photo Credit: collective-evolution.com

Sorry, was that a little blunt? I mean, you never stopped working so keep working, right… You are not fooling anyone, you did the minimal amount of work over the last 8+ weeks and that is ok. For the people that I just offended, I apologize—I know you have worked nonstop over the summer and I am sure you are ready for a break. You people, the five of you, can stop reading now.

To everyone else, let’s skip the trickery and be honest: we are all behind. Yep, summer was fun and filled with memories we will never forget. (I will give you the next 5 seconds to reminiscence about all the good times. Done?) Now that you got that out of your system, think “work.”

As you may recall, work is that thing you do nearly every day. It pays your bills. It pays for your fun. It can be done in an office. It can be done in a car. It helps others. It helps you. To sum it up, work is that thing you do.

Now that we have established what work is, get to it. This is your after summer wake-up call—stop sitting around and get to work.

Photo Credit: tripadvisor.com

If you are anything like me, this “work” thing sounds hard. Personally, I just got back from spending the last 8+ weeks playing outdoors and now I am back in my office behind a computer. I can legit feel my great tan and sun-kissed hair fading.

As for work, I know, I see the number of unread emails rising up too. Yep, I see my calendar, it is getting full. No, I didn’t forget about the people I have to follow up with.

So now that we all know I have work to do, what do I do? Well, I snap back into it! Here is how I do it:

Step 1: Make a Plan

After summer comes a plan. Assuming I have read all my emails and dabbled on LinkedIn for a bit, I make a plan. This plan includes creating and assessing daily tasks, weekly tasks, and “undone” tasks. As the perfect worker bee, I am sure you have all of this figured out. However, it’s not a bad idea to just revisit these tasks to see if you can get rid of some tasks or discover a more efficient way of handling them. This is your moment to delegate all those tasks you shouldn’t be doing and do those pending tasks that you have put off for the last year.

Step 2: Brainstorm

Once you have figured out your GIFD (aka get it f**king done) list of tasks, start brainstorming. With summer comes a sense of freedom. Use this feeling to brainstorm the next best thing for your company.

Photo Credit: pixabay.com

Whatever your job entails, use that refreshed mind of yours to trigger the best ideas you have had since, well, last summer. If you are missing the sun on your skin, go take a walk and brainstorm while you stroll.

Step 3: Get Food

Now that you have figured out what you have to do and what you want to do, go get food. Conversely, this could be your first step but, nah, I like it as step 3. Yes, food is great fuel to get you going but its better with others. Go get food with people you work with. You know, those people you see on a regular basis, go get food with them. Once you are out, talk to them. Ask about their summer and what is new in their life and at work. This is your time to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of, I guess, working again.

Step 4: Work

Yay for procrastination! If you do the first three steps in one day, you have successfully procrastinated on doing actual work for nearly an entire day! If you have extended these three steps into three days, you deserve a medal.

Photo Credit: pinterest.com

Either way, you now have a game plan, you have brainstormed (while walking), and caught up with your co-workers (while eating). Sadly, the only thing left to do is actually work. So go work—yes, now—go work!

Optional Step 5: Read Informative Articles

Ok, let’s be real, you are not ready to work and nor am I. One of my favorite things to do when motivation is a little hard to find is read. There are billions of articles out there, find one that interests you and read that. And then find another one, read that. Then watch the clock strike 5PM (or whatever time work is over). Thanks to the “informational” aspects of every article, you are, technically, working.

Look at that, you have just started working and all it took was this one article.

Featured image credit: theodysseyonline.com