Three. Day. Weekend. Three of my favorite words personally. Professionally, not so much. Not because I don’t like being off work, it’s because I dread the return. Undoubtedly, Tuesday will be rough. Several people in my office are doubling down and taking a few vacation days before and after the Labor Day holiday.  They will surely be punished, or at least feel like they are.

Here are three tips to help you avoid post vacation/holiday stress so you can actually rest and enjoy your time off.

1. Make a list. I’ve learned that sometimes the to-do list in my head seems to be much longer than the one on paper. Write down every single thing you have to get done. Doing so will also help you avoid that “I feel like I forgot something” feeling. Now prioritize your list by pre-holiday, post-holiday, and delegate.

2. Grind + Delegate.  Make it your business to get through that pre-holiday list so that may mean working through lunch, working late, whatever it takes to get it done. You will be exhausted and so ready for your time off but you will be able to relax knowing you’ve left nothing undone at work. Communicate the tasks on the delegate list, ensuring your team has a clear understanding of what needs to be done and when.

3.  Conquer the Email Monster. The absolute worst part of being out of the office is coming back to email hell. Of course we can’t control how many emails we receive, but we can control how we receive them. Try setting up folders and forwarding rules for specific people and keywords so you can easily identify the most important emails to tackle when you return and ignore the ‘reply all’ emails about what time everyone is going to lunch.