This week's issue is going out on Labor Day, which is a federal holiday in the United States and Canada. Most of my audience is based in the U.S., so I generally send holiday issues late in the day. This means you'll likely be getting this issue after Labor Day Weekend has completed, and potentially mid-Tuesday for those in other parts of the world.

And this got me thinking: When you return to work after a holiday weekend, what is your general mind set when it comes to getting stuff done? Here are some things I notice for myself after time off:

• Emails have piled up, so that will take time to sort out.
• Issues, tickets, and bug reports have remained stagnant.
• If I was in a flow state or doing some productive deep work prior to the time off, it will take some time to get back into that mindset again.
• Similarly, if I've left a code-related task in mid-flow, it may take me some time to review the code and figure out where I left off.
• If it's a writing project, it might similarly be tough to pick up where I left off without reviewing what I've already written.

For all the above challenges, it always helps to be prepared for these before taking any time off. Some things that can help:

• Have a good email client or some kind of inbox-related tools that can help you quickly sort through the most important stuff first.
• Know your bugs/issues software well that you can similarly blaze through stuff smoothly.
• Comment your code well.
• Keep a good outline of any writing-related tasks. In most cases it's best to have a skeleton of your completed writing project done first, so you're not wondering "How did I intend to finish this?"