As you may have noticed, the blog has been quiet for over a month. Don’t worry, I are still here – I’ve just been spending more time on the beach than inside the house with the laptop. I bet many of you took some well-deserved time off, too, and getting back to your routines after a vacation can feel hard! Check out my top 3 tips to get back to the grind after a holiday:
1) Set Your Priorities
The first day back at the workplace can be stressful: so many unread emails, people asking you for an update on projects, clients calling in… And you can hardly remember your password to log in to your work computer, let alone the status of different projects!
Reserve the first hours of your day for going through your inbox and getting up-to-date with your projects and things that may have happened while you were sipping a margarita under that palm tree. Get organized with your tasks and set your priorities for the first days back at the office.
And if people do call you asking for updates and other “urgent” things, tell them that you will look into it and get back to them by the end of the day. After all, if it could wait while you were gone, it can probably wait a few more hours. Most certainly, it is not worth getting yourself stressed before you have even had time to finish your first morning coffee. Ultimately, your priority number one should be you, only then you can be useful to others.
2) Plan Fun Little Things to Do
Plan something fun to do for the first weeks after your vacation. Maybe a nice lunch out or a happy hour with your coworkers. Or if you are lucky enough to live by the sea or lake, go to the beach after your workday. Or grab a good book and find a park.
Continuing to do vacationey things even after getting back to your 9-to-5, can help you to enjoy your day-to-day more and have something to look forward to. And once you start it, why not keep up with the habit of treating yourself on a normal workday, instead of just waiting for the next vacation or the weekend?
3) Enjoy the Routine
Vacations are fun, but there is something comforting about getting back to your daily routine, too. Getting your morning coffee from the coffee shop where the barista knows your name (and keeps misspelling it), seeing your coworkers or clients again, and getting involved in new projects can, and should, feel enjoyable.
Some post-vacation blues after a successful holiday is normal. However, if it’s been weeks since you got back to work and you are still feeling miserable, you might need to reassess your situation and consider if it is time for you to look for new challenges.
What are your top tips to get back to the grind after a vacation? Let us know in the comment section below!
Photo by Link Hoang on Unsplash
