13 Ways to Manage a Post-Holiday Work Backlog Without Losing Personal Time

End-of-year holidays can be a welcome break from the grind until January arrives and it’s time to get back in gear. Between celebrations and holidays, many professionals jump into January with the aim of tackling lingering work and starting new initiatives, but doing so without a solid plan of action can result in family and personal time being put on the back burner.

To help professionals find balance after the holidays, 13 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one method they use to set boundaries and catch up on their work backlog without falling behind on family time and personal chores.

1. Identify Personal and Professional Priorities

When returning from the holiday break and launching into the new calendar year, it is critical to identify priorities for both home and work. Once those are set, time on your calendar should be allocated to those priorities. If time is not specifically set aside to address those priorities, other things will take their place. – Donna Marie Cozine, Consult DMC

2. Set a Realistic Schedule

Establish a realistic schedule post-holidays. Prioritize tasks, and allocate dedicated time for work, family and chores. Use tools like task lists and timers to enhance productivity. Communicate boundaries transparently to manage expectations, ensuring a balanced post-holiday transition that doesn’t sacrifice family and personal time. – Cynthia Salarizadeh, House of Saka, Inc.

3. Work Backward

An ounce of prevention (and preparation) is worth a ton of hassles later on. Imagine it’s January 31, 2024. You are looking back over the month and thinking, “Wow! That went much more smoothly than I ever would have imagined in both my work and personal life.” Determine what you would see looking back from that date that would make it happen—and then make it happen. – Mark Goulston, Mark Goulston, M.D., Inc.

4. Make Plans in Advance

The perception that work is piling up while you’re away is problematic. I treat catching up as a project I schedule in advance. I plan for what I can anticipate, set a reasonable schedule and the work begins the day I return. With time dedicated to this project already on my calendar, “catching up” isn’t in addition to my “regular” work; it’s a scheduled project that kicks off when I return. – Frank Cania, HR Compliance Experts LLC

5. Set Hard Limits on Hours Worked

The boundary I set for working on backlogged items while not sacrificing family time and personal obligations is to set a time to go home or stop working if working remotely. I allow for one or two extra hours a day to help catch up but leave when the time is done. Typically, I go in earlier so I can get home around the same time or just a little later. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure

6. Fully Plan Out Your Day or Week at Work

Managing your time and workload is essential to ensure that you can work productively without overworking and getting burnt out. It is necessary to plan out your workday or workweek and set limits on the number of hours you work. By doing so, you can avoid overworking yourself and ensure that you have adequate rest and time for other activities. – Tammy Sons, Tn Nursery

7. Pinpoint Your Most Productive Times

Set realistic expectations by identifying your most productive times and strategically using them to tackle your backlog. Appreciate the break you’ve had without fixating on missed opportunities. Resist the pressure of urgency, maintain flexibility and recognize that transitioning back to your routine after family time, drama or a much-needed break may require an adjustment period. – Leah Marone, Corporate Wellness Consultant

8. Establish Time Blocks

In order to get fully caught up on things after the holiday break, it’s important to set time blocks on your calendar and to not respond to nonurgent requests during that time. This will help you accomplish what you need to during the workday so that your workday doesn’t bleed into the evening when you’re trying to catch up on things at home. – Will Erlandson, Relevance.com

9. Prioritize Tasks and Communication

Balancing work catch-up and family time post-holidays involves proactive planning and a realistic schedule. I prioritize tasks and communicate boundaries to work colleagues and my family. I also leverage tech for efficiency and practice self-compassion to ensure I have a healthy transition into the new year. – Adi Segal, Hapi

10. Sort Your Emails by Priority

To effectively catch up on a work backlog after the holidays without compromising family time and personal chores, prioritize and triage your inbox to focus on the most important emails. Set realistic goals for each day and schedule breaks to maintain productivity. These steps will help manage your workload efficiently while also allowing time for personal commitments. – Joseph Soares, IBPROM Corp.

11. Prohibit Meetings

Ban all meetings for the first two days after the holidays. This will clear up schedules for email replies and catch-up without constant distractions. The two-day meeting ban is a welcome break for most employees and clients. – Krista Neher, Boot Camp Digital

12. Prioritize Deep Work Initially

Reserve the first four hours of your first day back to focus on deep work or the high-value deliverables that sat stale while you were away. And, as practical and as pragmatic as it sounds, plan and prep dinner ahead of time for the first week of your return. Since it’s January, you will likely be cutting calories, too! Make it easier to stick to your diet and your boundaries by planning ahead. – Karen Mangia, The Engineered Innovation Group

13. Give Each Task Your Undivided Attention

One method to use to set boundaries to catch up on your work backlog without falling behind on family time and personal chores is to intentionally dedicate the allocated or scheduled time to the assigned activity. In essence, be present in the moment. – Raquel Olivier, The Olivier Incorporate