today i’m starting a new weekly “column:” work talk wednesday.  each wednesday, i’ll write about an aspect of work from work-life balance, managing up, and interviewing skills to dream jobs, productivity, and office perks. today’s topic is being back at work after vacation.

this topic came to mind after a long weekend at the beach.  as we said goodbye to mike’s family and drove away from the beach, i felt sad and nostalgic.  i wish we had one more day at the beach, one more day of sun and relaxation. i also felt a little bit anxious about getting back into my normal routine.

going back to work after a vacation, even a short one, is not fun.  there are lots of things to catch up on, tons of emails to read, and you have to remind yourself of where you left off before you set your out-of-office reply.  it’s also difficult to be back at a desk in a chilly, beige office in front of a computer all day when you just spent days laying on the beach in the warm sun and a cool breeze with a juicy novel or your favorite magazine in your lap. so how do we make the best out of the first few days after a vacation?  how can we make “back to the grind” a little more tolerable?

one thing that i have going for me is that i have a wonderful team at work and i always look forward to catching up with my coworkers upon my return. we’ll spend some time chatting about the trip or long weekend as our computers boot up (and sometimes a little beyond that).

here are some other ideas to make the transition from vacation to normal life a little bit more enjoyable:

• treat yourself to coffee on your way to the office
• plan to grab lunch from your favorite sandwich shop near your job
• send an email to your travel buddy with your favorite moments from the trip
• post pictures from your getaway on facebook or share them with friends and family
• make fun plans for the following weekend so that you have something to look forward to
• go shopping while you’re on vacation and wear a new outfit on your first day back