April is an odd time of year in any office. Four months in, and you might finally feel like you are comfortably in the rhythm of the year. Just as you might be feeling settled, however, and a slew of public holidays emerge – the Easter long weekend and ANZAC Day. Forward thinking employees might have already timed annual leave to fill the days between, leaving you unexpectedly understaffed. Here are four ways you can maintain your mid-year momentum during the April holidays.
Set your out of office message to end a day after the public holiday
Even if you not taking leave around the April public holidays, it is very likely team members might be. For you, this means an increased workload while they are away. One simple way to get on top of the extra work is to create an out of office message for days before or after the public holiday(s). This provides a buffer period when people may not expect you to reply, giving you time to work through urgent tasks and prioritise others as they arise.
If you are taking leave, setting your out of office for a day later than your scheduled leave cushions you against the ‘first day back’ shock of unanswered emails.
“Sure, the people next to you know you’re there, but there’s no need for the world to figure that out. An extra day gives you space to get things sorted out without new expectations piling on,” time management expert Laura Vanderkamp told rescuetime.com.
Cut non-essential meetings
With more people on leave than normal, April is an ideal time to trim down your meeting schedule. Set aside time – even half an hour – to review your meeting schedule and target anything non-essential. Recurring meetings are often the easiest item to cull; many recurring meetings are essentially progress updates. Given the high likelihood of staff leave during the April holidays, a progress update may be best delivered via email.
This is even more important if you did not organise the meeting. After all, just because you were invited does not mean you need to be there. If it’s seen as important that you were kept aware of what happened in the meeting, request minutes and flag in advance any issues you need considered in the meeting.
Identify mission critical work
“At least once a quarter, assess the urgency of your current projects and decide which ones are most mission-critical,” Renee Cullinan and Shani Harmon, cofounders of ‘Stop Meeting Like This’, told Fast Company. “Even when you are this disciplined, it’s easy for the urgent to take over, while the important, longer-term tasks linger on the sidelines.”
Once you have identified the top mission critical tasks, push your team to complete those before the holiday break. Gaining momentum for a big push will help to smooth the transition back to work.
One way to sift the important work from low-value ‘busywork’ is to assess tasks against clear outcomes. Most likely, these will align with high-value, long-term clients.
Communicate team deadlines clearly
With time at a premium, it is essential to keep teams on task. Be vigilant about follow-up actions. At the conclusion of each meeting, finish with a quick recap of action items for each team member. Lock these in with an email, set to clear deadlines. Check in throughout the day to make sure that one person is not left waiting for research they need or drafting to review, especially if it has already been completed by another team member.
This kind of vigilance allows lawyers to focus on high-value tasks, working harder and smarter over fewer days. Strong team communication ensures that momentum can be maintained despite the slew of April public holidays.
