As Wimbledon fever grips the capital once again, the office summer exodus is close at hand.  If you’re jetting off in the coming weeks, you may soon find that your final working week turns out to be the most stressful of the year. Project glitches, last-minute requests and long-suffering looks from colleagues left in the lurch, are just a few of the challenges to overcome. To ensure a stress and guilt-free start to the holiday season, read on for my top five tips. Happy holidays everyone!

Robert Banh Stress Ball attack

Keep Calm and Carry On With the clock ticking, the angst-ridden last few days can quickly descend into a corporate version of supermarket sweep. Resist the temptation to plunge in and tackle everything at once. To summon maximum efficiency, take a step back and breathe deeply for one minute.  Once you’ve re-gained some inner Zen, devise a list of all the tasks, activities and processes to be slotted into the days ahead.

Prioritise, prioritise, prioritise When time is of the essence, prioritising the most wildly important tasks will help you to focus on the vital things that absolutely have to be achieved. You can then decide what tasks can be delegated to others and those that could wait until you’re back. Share the love as much as possible across the whole team rather than burdening one individual. Remember in the corporate world, what goes around comes around.

banspy Help

Provide advance warning: Like impending road works, a little advance notice can work wonders in pacifying clients, customers and colleagues alike. E-mailing contacts and colleagues a week before departure will help everyone prepare for your absence and will avoid much gnashing of teeth when your unexpected “out-of-office” e-mail receipt pops into their inbox.

Don’t over commit: Only commit to what you know you can realistically achieve in your last couple of weeks. Setting achievable deadlines with suppliers and clients will help to create some contingency in case of last-minute glitches and relieve you of untold stress in delivering to deadline in the days immediately before your break.  Remember to also factor in time for handovers and check-lists for colleagues to reduce stress further.

Ease back in gently: If you’ve ever experienced the horrific culture shock of arriving back at your desk the morning after a late night flight, you’ll understand the wisdom of adding on an extra day before your return to work. Being able to fit in the washing, a supermarket forage and an early night will help you to feel back in control before your return to work.  In the case of two-week holidays, try to arrange a mid-week return to allow you to adjust more gradually back into the rigors of the working week.

Do you have any tips on how to reduce stress levels the week before your holiday?  Share your advice here.