The holidays are officially behind you. The decorations are packed away, the out-of-office replies are turned off, and your inbox is... well, let's not talk about that!

For founders and small business owners, the transition from holiday mode back to business mode can feel less like flipping a switch and more like trying to restart an engine that's been sitting idle in the cold. You know you need to get moving, but somehow, the momentum just isn't there yet.

And here's what makes it even harder: unlike employees who might ease back in gradually, you're the one responsible for everything. There's no grace period. The business needs you at full capacity from day one, even when your brain is still processing leftover turkey and wondering where January even came from.

The good news? You don't have to muscle through this transition with sheer willpower alone. There are smarter, more sustainable ways to rebuild your focus and momentum without immediately burning yourself out.

Let's explore how to make this year's return to work your smoothest one yet.

1. Start with a clear workspace

When you walk into your office or sit down at your desk after time away, what do you see? Piles of papers from December projects? Random sticky notes with half-remembered ideas? A coffee mug that's achieved sentience?

Your physical environment has a much bigger impact on your mental state than most people realize.

Research from Princeton University's Neuroscience Institute found that clutter actively competes for your attention. When you're trying to focus on one thing, but your peripheral vision is catching sticky notes, unopened mail, and random objects, your brain has to work significantly harder to concentrate.

And not only that, but other studies have linked cluttered environments to a whole host of problems: poorer mental health and overall well-being, impaired cognitive skills like visual processing and memory, and even less healthy eating habits.

But here's the trap that catches so many founders: decluttering can easily become procrastination in disguise.

You sit down to tackle an important strategic project, but suddenly you're convinced that right now is the perfect time to reorganize your entire filing system, rearrange your desk setup, or finally sort through that drawer you've been meaning to address for six months.

Sound familiar?

How to declutter without it becoming a time sink

The goal isn't perfection or a Pinterest-worthy office. The goal is to remove visual noise so your brain can actually focus on what matters.

• Set a 15-minute timer. Your only goal is to clear surfaces and remove anything that doesn't belong in your immediate workspace. Old papers, empty packaging, random objects—just get them out of your line of sight. Don't reorganize, don't redecorate, don't start a complex filing project. Just clear.
• Do a digital declutter too. Close all unnecessary browser tabs, clear your desktop, and archive or delete old documents and apps you no longer need. A clean digital workspace matters just as much as a physical one.
• Make it a weekly habit. Every Friday afternoon, spend 10 minutes resetting your space for Monday. This prevents the build-up that makes returning from time off so overwhelming.

See: How To Create The Ultimate ADHD-Friendly Work Zone

2. Do what you can the night before (and save your mental energy for what matters)

One of the biggest drains on your productivity isn't even what you do during your workday. It's all the tiny decisions you make before your workday even begins.

What should I wear? What's for breakfast? Should I go to the gym or work out later? Which route should I take? Do I need to stop for coffee?

Each of these seemingly insignificant choices chips away at your mental energy reserves. And as a business owner, you're making hundreds of important decisions every single day. You can't afford to waste your decision-making capacity on things that don't actually move your business forward.

This concept is called 'decision fatigue,' and it was first identified by social psychologist Dr. Roy Baumeister. His research revealed that humans have a limited supply of mental energy for making decisions. The more choices we make—regardless of their importance—the worse we get at making subsequent decisions.

Think about it this way: your brain is like a phone battery. Every decision, no matter how small, drains a little bit of that battery. By the time you sit down to make critical business decisions, you might already be running at 60% capacity because you've spent the morning making dozens of choices about fundamentally unimportant things.

How to preserve your mental energy for what matters

The solution is simple but incredibly effective: eliminate as many morning decisions as possible.

• Prepare the night before. Lay out your clothes. Set up your breakfast ingredients or meal prep for the week. Pack your bag. Prepare your coffee maker. Every decision you make the night before is one less drain on your morning energy.
• Create default routines. Decide once, then repeat. Always eat the same breakfast on weekdays. Always wear a variation of the same outfit style. Always take the same route to your office. These defaults free up massive amounts of mental bandwidth.
• Batch your decisions. Instead of deciding what to eat every single day, plan your meals for the week on Sunday. Instead of choosing your outfit each morning, pick out five outfits on the weekend. Make one decision that covers multiple days.

This might sound overly rigid or even boring, but here's what actually happens: when you remove these small choices from your morning, you suddenly have so much more energy and clarity for the decisions that actually matter to your business.

See: Why Complexity Is Killing Your Chances Of Success In Business

3. Be well-rested (because exhaustion makes everything harder)

As cliché as it is, the transition back to work is infinitely more manageable when you're not fighting to keep your eyes open.

The effects of sleep deprivation on business performance are extensive and well-documented. Poor sleep reduces your alertness, impairs your judgment, weakens your memory, diminishes your problem-solving abilities, affects your mood, and reduces your ability to manage stress. All the things you need most as a founder.

But despite how important sleep is, it's one of the first things business owners sacrifice when they feel overwhelmed or behind.

How to actually get the sleep you need

If you're only going to implement one strategy from this entire article, make it this one! It's one of the most strategic investments you can make in your productivity and your business.

• Stick to consistent sleep and wake times. Yes, even on weekends. Your body has an internal clock, and consistency helps regulate it. When you go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day, falling asleep and waking up become significantly easier.
• Create a device-free wind-down period. At least 30 minutes before bed, put away all screens. The blue light from phones, tablets, and computers signals to your brain that it's daytime, which suppresses melatonin production and makes falling asleep harder.
• Use temperature to your advantage. Keep your bedroom cool (around 65 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit). Studies show that a cooler room significantly improves sleep quality and helps you achieve deeper sleep.
• Move your body during the day. Regular physical activity improves sleep quality and reduces the time it takes to fall asleep. Just avoid intense exercise close to bedtime.
• Consider your sleep environment. Your bedroom should be dark, quiet, and associated primarily with sleep. If possible, don't work in your bedroom. Your brain should link that space with rest, not spreadsheets.

See: How To Get More Sleep: The CEO's Guide To Reclaiming Your Rest

4. Build momentum with small wins

There's something psychologically powerful about accomplishing things, even small things, early in your day. When you complete a task—any task—your brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel good and motivates you to keep going.

Paula Davis, founder of The Stress and Resilience Institute and author of Beating Burnout At Work, has researched this extensively. Her findings show that starting your day with small, achievable wins creates a sense of forward momentum that carries through the rest of your day. These early accomplishments signal to your brain that today is a productive day, which makes you more likely to stay productive.

This is especially important when you're coming back from time off and your motivation might not be at its peak. You need something to kickstart that momentum, and small wins are the answer.

How to create meaningful small wins

The specific tasks matter less than the pattern you're creating. When you start your day by completing things, you build psychological momentum that makes tackling bigger challenges feel more achievable.

• Make your bed. This one might sound too simple to matter, but research backs it up. It's a concrete accomplishment that takes less than two minutes and immediately makes your environment feel more ordered.
• Complete a quick workout. Even just 10 minutes of movement counts. You're signaling to yourself that you're taking action and following through on commitments.
• Clear your email inbox to zero. Or at least get it down to a manageable number. Starting the day with inbox zero creates a surprising sense of control and accomplishment.
• Tackle one small task you've been avoiding. That quick phone call, that brief reply, that simple update. Getting it done first thing removes the mental weight of carrying it around all day.

5. Schedule deep work blocks to rebuild your focus

Think of your ability to focus like a muscle. If you haven't had to sustain deep concentration for a while, it needs some conditioning before it's back at full strength.

During the holidays, your brain has been in a different mode: more relaxed, more social, more varied. Now you need to retrain it to sustain attention on complex tasks for extended periods.

Deep work—a term popularized by Cal Newport—refers to the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks. It's the kind of work that creates real value, moves projects forward, and leverages your unique skills as a founder.

But here's the problem: deep work requires not just time, but uninterrupted time. And if you don't intentionally protect that time, it simply won't happen. Your day will fill up with meetings, messages, "quick questions," and reactive tasks.

How to protect time for focused work

The goal isn't to spend your entire day in deep work mode. Even 2 to 3 hours of genuinely focused work per day will dramatically outperform 8 hours of distracted, fragmented attention.

• Block specific time slots for deep work. Literally put them on your calendar as if they were client meetings. Start with shorter sessions—maybe 60 to 90 minutes—and gradually increase as your focus stamina rebuilds.
• Create environmental cues. Use the same workspace consistently for deep work sessions. Your brain will start associating that location with focused concentration, making it easier to enter the zone.
• Eliminate distractions ruthlessly. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb mode or in another room. Close all browser tabs except what you need. Use noise-canceling headphones or earplugs. Turn off all notifications.
• Communicate your availability. Let your team know when you're in deep work mode and shouldn't be interrupted except for genuine emergencies. Set that expectation clearly.
• Start with your most important work. Don't schedule deep work for later in the day when you're tired. Protect your peak energy hours for your most valuable work.

See: 5 Tips To Reset Your Attention Span In A World Full Of Distractions

6. Build in recovery time throughout your day

When you're coming back from time off and feeling behind, there's a strong temptation to just power through. To skip breaks, work through lunch, stay glued to your desk from morning until night.

But here's what actually happens when you do this: your productivity plummets, your decision-making suffers, and you end up accomplishing less while feeling more exhausted.

Research on ultradian rhythms—pioneered by sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman—shows that humans naturally cycle through periods of high and low energy every 90 to 120 minutes. These cycles affect everything from physical energy to cognitive function to our ability to concentrate.

When you push past these natural rhythms and try to maintain constant focus for hours without a break, you're working against your biology. The quality of your output decreases significantly when you're in a low-energy phase of your cycle.

How to work with your energy, not against it

• Take actual breaks. Not "check email while eating at your desk" breaks. Real breaks where you step away from your work entirely.
• Use micro-breaks throughout the day. Even 3 to 5 minutes away from your desk can help. Walk to get water, look out a window, do some light stretching. These tiny resets help maintain your energy and focus.
• Pay attention to your energy patterns. Notice when you naturally have high energy and when you start to fade. Schedule your most important work during your peak times and save routine tasks for your low-energy periods.
• Don't skip lunch. Eating a proper meal away from your desk gives your brain a genuine break and replenishes the energy you need for the afternoon.
• End your workday at a reasonable time. Working 12-hour days might feel productive, but it's not sustainable and it's not actually effective. Protect your evening time for rest and recovery so you can show up strong the next day.

The counterintuitive truth is this: taking breaks makes you more productive, not less. When you honor your body's natural rhythms and build in recovery time, you accomplish more with less strain.

See: How Business Owners Can Take More Breaks And Still Get Everything Done

What's the bottom line?

Going back to work after the holidays shouldn't have to be a brutal slog. The struggle isn't inevitable; it's often the result of expecting too much from ourselves too quickly while ignoring the basic needs our brains and bodies have.

The productivity tips in this article can absolutely help you transition back to work more smoothly. But they're treating the symptoms, not the cause.

Because, if we're truly honest with ourselves, the struggle to refocus after the holidays might actually point to a bigger issue: carrying too much on our shoulders every single day.

Think about it. Why is it so hard to get back into your routine? Why does the thought of returning to your to-do list fill you with dread? Why do you need so many strategies and techniques just to manage the basics of getting work done?

It's not because you're disorganized or lacking in discipline. It's because you're trying to do everything yourself: strategy, sales, operations, marketing, customer service, admin, and everything in between. The weight of juggling all these responsibilities is exhausting, even on a good day. After a holiday break, when you've finally had a moment to breathe, coming back to that weight feels even heavier.

So, the real solution isn't learning more techniques to manage an unsustainable workload. It's recognizing that you need support with the work that's draining your time and energy away from what you do best.

Ready to start your year with more focus and less stress?

Time etc is here for you.

You know what makes getting back to work after the holidays genuinely easier? Knowing that while you were away, someone reliable kept things running smoothly. Knowing that when you return, you're not drowning in admin tasks and operational details. Knowing that you can focus your fresh energy and renewed focus on the strategic work that actually moves your business forward.

That's the difference that quality support makes. And that's why we're here.

Since 2007, we’ve helped over 22,000 founders, business owners, and high-level executives get back to what matters most by pairing them with reliable, experienced virtual assistants (VAs) for all the tasks that get in their way.

Here's a glimpse of what you get when you partner with Time etc:

• Access to our talent pool of 7,00+ screened and vetted assistants.
• Your own skilled assistant matched to your needs and ready to start in days, not weeks.
• Top-tier security and data protection across our platform.
• Huge cost savings with no need for full-time salaries, office space, benefits, or equipment.
• No daily hassle of managing your assistant—we do it all for you.
• Add extra assistants at no extra cost when you need more hands.
• Total flexibility—scale your support up or down anytime.
• Our lifetime happiness guarantee—because your success is our success.

Just speak to our expert team to tell us what you need, and we'll take it from there.

P.S. Want $150 off your first month of virtual assistant support? Answer a few quick questions to get personalized task recommendations and unlock your welcome discount!