Major events like school holidays or vacations can derail students’ productivity. Help your teen bounce back quickly by following these tips:

Before the event, plan our your first few days back as best you can. Plan light for the first day (maybe focus on certain types of tasks that are easier for you).

Also, try to work ahead before the major event. For more on planning this out, see my post Working Ahead Before a Vacation.

On your first day back after a major event, triage. Think like an Emergency Room nurse and decide which tasks need to be given emergency priority, and which tasks can wait a little while. Priority tasks may be responding to your teacher’s emails, while emails about social events can wait for your attention when you are finished catching up.

Most importantly, know what your routine is and stick to the basics. Knowing what happens on each day of the week is the first step, but make sure you follow through even if your routine has been disrupted.

For help with creating a routine, check out my course Teach Your Teen Time Management.