Returning from holiday without losing your energy. How to use your holiday reset to further your career.

Summer reset doesn’t have to mean just recharging your batteries. It can also be a moment when we shift our perspective: instead of asking how to do more, we start to consider what is actually worth doing and what skills we need to do it better.

A step back that helps us see more clearly.

In the day-to-day grind of work, it’s easy to confuse busyness with development. A succession of tasks, projects and meetings fill up the calendar, but they don’t always bring us closer to our professional goals. A holiday allows us to step out of this pattern for a while.

It’s worth using this time for a simple professional ‘year in review’. What have we managed to achieve? Which tasks were rewarding, and which drained our energy without delivering results? In what situations were we able to make the most of our strengths? And most importantly: what skills and knowledge are we currently lacking to take the next step?

Such questions can lead to very specific conclusions. Perhaps we need skills that will increase our independence. Perhaps we want to prepare for a managerial role. Or perhaps, on the contrary, we discover that further development should mean targeted specialisation.

- A holiday can be a good time to change your perspective. When we step back from our day-to-day tasks for a moment, it’s easier to see which skills will actually matter for our future career. However, it is worth remembering that development should not be a reaction to trends. The best decisions regarding professional development stem from a combination of one’s own ambitions, the organisation’s needs and changes taking place in the labour market – says Kamila Izdebska, Head of BPP Professional Education in Poland.

Not a career plan, but the next move.

One of the mistakes people make after a holiday is trying to plan their entire professional future. The market changes too quickly, and we are not always able to predict today precisely what skills will be needed in a few years’ time.

It can be far more useful to define your next career move. What role do I want to take on in a year’s time? What project would I like to lead? What area would I like to be responsible for? What would I like to learn?

It is only from these answers that a list of skills should emerge.

If the aim is to take on a managerial role, skills related to delegating, giving feedback or handling difficult conversations may be needed. If we want to increase our value as an expert, deepening specialist knowledge, data analysis or the ability to use AI tools may be more important.

This is an important shift in mindset: we don’t develop ourselves simply to acquire more skills. We develop specific skills so that we can achieve more.

Turn a holiday idea into a professional experiment.

During holidays, ideas often pop into our heads that we previously hadn’t had the space to consider. A new area of interest, a desire to learn something, an idea for changing the way we work. Not every one of them has to mean major changes straight away.

It’s worth treating them as an experiment.

Let’s start with a small project. If we’re interested in AI, let’s apply it to a specific process and see the results. If we’re thinking about management, let’s ask for the chance to lead a small project. If we want to develop our presentation skills, let’s consciously take on the next presentation for the team or a client.

This approach allows you to verify whether the chosen direction truly meets your needs. Importantly, your development begins to show not only on your CV, but above all in your day-to-day work.

The most valuable outcome of a holiday? New questions.

A holiday reset doesn’t have to result in a ready-made career strategy. Sometimes its greatest value lies in a few thought-provoking questions.

Am I still learning things that will be important to me in 2–3 years’ time? Does my way of working allow me to make the most of my strengths? Am I investing time in skills that matter to the organisation and the market? And is my career path the result of conscious decisions, or rather a series of random steps?

The answers can lead to both major changes and minor adjustments. A single new task, a new skill, a mentor, a project or a way of using technology can mark the start of a bigger transformation.

That’s why, after a holiday, it’s worth bringing back more than just photos and memories. It’s worth bringing back a sense of perspective that allows you to make better decisions about where to invest your time, attention and skills.

Because a real holiday reset isn’t just about returning to work with more energy. It’s about returning with a greater awareness of where we want to channel that energy.