Pressing the reset button

How I've got back into work after some time off

Sep 03, 2025

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Sat here at the start of September, I don’t quite know how to explain how busy, exhausted and brain-fogged I was last month before I went on holiday. I know I should be able to describe this given my job as a journalist, but it’s very hard to put into words what a period of intense working does to you. I think I had just reached my limit.

Throughout the summer I had been juggling a couple of large projects and childcare and had got to the point where I couldn’t make decisions and even talking seemed too much like hard work. That last week I worked very long days, hit all the deadlines before turning my laptop off and disappearing off to France with a strong vow to pay no attention to anything work related.

Just the thought of looking at my email was making me feel anxious so I didn’t. I was so successful at ignoring anything to do with work when I was away that I completely missed a massive investigation I’d done finally being published.

I am very grateful I was able to completely switch off and other than the odd social media post related to the Ultra Women book and one email in the second week about a legal issue that had to be resolved, I was true to my word. We swam, hiked, went for runs, climbed through trees, did some sight-seeing, canoed down a river, ate lovely food and had a generally good time. My mind became clear and after a fortnight away from my desk and I was almost excited about getting back to it.

Not hard to relax with views like these!

And here we are at the other side. The kids have gone back to school today. So I thought I’d share with you all how it’s going getting back into the swing of things.

The first thing to say is it’s not quiet. I already had things in the diary for September so I was immediately into the thick of things once more. Before I could do anything else I needed to get my diary in order so on Sunday evening I sat down and made sure that all my appointments and commitments (and the kids stuff) were written down. It took time as I had no headspace to do this before I went and so things I'd agreed to had made it no further than a brief email.

I’ve always been a paper-based person, it really helps me to remember what I’m doing and I need to see it laid out. September is new stationery time. I’m institutionalised by years of school, university and teaching, and I’d already bought that nice new week-to-view academic planner. It was a good job I had, because by the time I came back, I only had vague memories of what I had on. My mind had wiped the slate clean.

On Monday I had a couple of hours of meetings first thing in my role as a school governor. On the way back I bought food to feed us all and the rest of the day was spent juggling emails and making lists. The kids were still off and I kept having to break off to deal with their issues/questions/meltdowns.

I also had to call the GP, sort out some online banking, book a child into after school club sessions and admit all the new members to our Facebook group who had been ignored while I was away. I also chased some overdue invoices. Getting these admin tasks out of the way did help me feel productive even if the day felt a bit all over the place.

Tuesday probably counts as my first ‘proper’ day back at work and I was doing a news shift at 9am. I started at 8am though to do an interview for a profile piece for a different publication that had been arranged before I left. I had also written a long list of small tasks that could be done at lunchtime in and amongst other work. My shift involved a news meeting then writing up three news stories for the day. All quite straightforward and people were quick to respond to requests for comment which made things easier.

At FFJ we’re still trying to get the last two podcast records for the next series in the diary so I was attempting to organise that and deal with some other queries that had come in. Before I started my shift I also made a schedule of work for the rest of the week. It includes another interview, some edits, a write up of aforementioned profile piece and a meeting with Lily to discuss the next step on awards entries and a Zoom chat with a new work experience person. I also have a Medical Journalists’ Association meeting and am doing some social media promotion in the run up to their awards in a couple of weeks. I tried to spread out these tasks as much as possible to avoid overloading any one day.

I’m not yet at a place to do any pitching as I’m still settling into things and trying to give myself breathing room. Really this is a half week as school isn’t open until Wednesday. And I have another news shift on Thursday. My goal for September is to be very mindful of the fact I do not want to get myself as exhausted as I was last month. My holiday gave me a much-needed reset and I don’t want the effects to wear off too quickly. Next week will be much more like ‘normal’.

As you get this newsletter I will be having a (hopefully) much quieter day of tasks which are all planned out ready for me to steadily work through. Lily and I are still busy promoting the book and I have some to send out to competition winners as well as some upcoming events to plan for. We’re also preparing for a 24h running event in a couple of weeks that seemed like a good idea at the time….

On Friday I’ve scheduled an early finish with the hope I can keep things on a more even keel until the next holiday (no idea when that will be). Watch this space.

How do you get into the swing of things after some time away? Do holidays relax you or make you more anxious about what you have left behind? Comment below or email freelancingforjournalists@gmail.com

We just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered our awards. This is the third year they’ve run and we’re very grateful to you all for your support. We’ve had a record number of entries. And of course a huge thanks to our sponsors, Literature and Latte - Makers of Scrivener and Scapple, PayDesk, the NUJ London Freelance Branch and Women in Journalism.

It is always a very hard job to whittle down the shortlist so bear with us and all will be revealed in a few weeks!