Week one · orientation without heroics
Block two focus mornings before anyone fills them. Use afternoons for reintroductions, tool updates, and reading the decisions that happened while you were away. Decline optional social events if your energy map says evenings are already spoken for at home.
Week two · one visible contribution
Pick a single deliverable that proves you are back without requiring institutional memory you do not yet have. Document questions in a shared note so you are not repeating the same hallway asks.
Weeks three and four · expand with intent
Add meetings only when they have an owner and an outcome. Revisit your hour grid with your manager: what stayed realistic, what quietly failed. In many German workplaces, writing that reflection down makes later Teilzeit or ramp adjustments easier to justify.
A note on inbox archaeology
Do not try to process every archived thread. Ask for a curated brief from a colleague or manager: top five decisions, top three risks, and who owns what now. Your first month is for orientation, not archaeology.