Work Hard, Play Hard

We’ve officially entered Q3 and that means July 4th is just around the corner, giving most professionals a day off mid-week. We’re in the heat of summer and it feels good, and even though it’s still in the 60s in San Francisco, we can definitely feel the July energy.

In honor of summer celebrations, we’re sharing how our HQ team is spending their day off this week. You'll catch some of us:

1. Running a 5K race and wearing red, white, and blue.

2. Traveling to San Diego and kayaking off the shores of La Jolla.

3. Spending time with family and having a BBQ.

4. Visiting family and friends in Washington DC.

5. Going to Dolores Park with friends while its sunny!

6. Playing video games.

7. Hanging with my new cat, Obi Wan Catnobi, and going to a BBQ in the evening.

8. Reading books and watching Yappie (Wong Fu Productions).

9. Chillaxing.

10. Grilling ribs and hamburgers and eating potato salad. We call this a cookout in the Southeast. BBQing is specifically only for cooking pigs. Spending the fourth on water (ocean or lake) is also a great tradition!

While mid-week holidays are marked to be a celebration, they do however come with a lot of unnecessary stress, especially for service professionals who lose one day in their week to get pending work done.

But don't worry, we've got some helpful ways to recover from a day off in the sun:

1. Get an early start

   1. This might mean going to bed early on the 4th, but you’ll thank yourself when you wake up clear-eyed and ready to go on Thursday. Start your day with something that makes you happy, whether it’s buying a latte rather than a regular coffee, listening to your favorite podcast before work, or writing down a short gratitude list (10 things you’re grateful for). This will put you in the right mindset to enjoy the day. Just because there was a holiday doesn’t mean you need to jump in and cause yourself unnecessary stress.

2. Take time to refocus.

   1. Carve out 15 to 20 minutes of unscheduled work to allow yourself to get back into the mindset of getting things done. This is the time to refresh, refocus, and prioritize your day to stay on task.

3. Come up with a plan.

   1. What needs to be done first? Be strategic and create a realistic schedule for how you will spend your day. This way, you can move through your task list with ease and even re-assign any work you don't have time for to someone on your team who does. With a client work management platform like Accelo, you can even set-up automatic alerts that will notify you when (and if) things are going off-track.

4. Keep at it.

   1. If you need to schedule breaks, do it! I like the Tomato Timer, where you set a timer for 25 minutes of work and then take a 5-minute rest. If that doesn’t sound up your alley then try to take a walk to the water cooler every couple of hours. Stretch the legs, don’t burn out.

Accelo has a busy quarter ahead, but we’re happy to pause and take advantage of our days off, and so should you. Let us know how you recover from a 4-day week, or start a free trial of Accelo that keeps you connected to your team and clients - in real-time - no matter where you are in the world.