There is nothing more exciting than taking off from work, driving or flying to your favorite destination, and enjoying a great vacation. However, the idea of returning to your regular life and routine can be downright depressing. It can be hard to imagine getting back to your responsibilities immediately after returning from a trip, so it is important to take the necessary steps to set yourself up for success.
To help you out, we have created this guide to help you to ease back into your regular routine post-vacation, so the transition isn’t so jarring.
Shake Your Jet Lag
A typical reason why many of us feel so out of sorts during our return from vacation is often that we are still experiencing the feelings of jet lag. If you do not take the proper precautions to avoid feeling sick, then your return to your regular routine will be that much more difficult.
One of the most common symptoms of jet lag is extreme tiredness, so to minimize the effects, you want to get back into your regular sleep routine and reset your circadian rhythm. If your vacation is in a different time zone, then in the final days of your trip, do your best to try and go to sleep at the same time there that you will when you are back at home. That way, it will be easier to fall asleep once you are back in your own bed.
Another reason that we feel jet lag is because we are dehydrated. When you’re traveling by plane, there are not always a lot of opportunities for hydration, so get over jet lag by drinking water whenever you are thirsty. While water is the priority, you can also drink a soda to get the caffeine you need to stay alert when necessary. Just don’t drink coffee or caffeine if you plan to nap or sleep within the next hour.
Don’t Return Immediately To Work
If you have the extra time off available from work, then it is a good idea to schedule your vacation so that you will get back in town a couple of days before you need to return to your job. If you fly back and arrive home on Sunday night and immediately start work on Monday, then you won’t have the time to adjust and you may be on edge. The idea of going on vacation is to give our minds a mental reset, so if you return to work angry, then you aren’t doing anyone any good.
You should use these in-between days to your advantage. You may be tempted to sit in front of the TV and veg out for those couple of days, but you must manage that screen time, or else you are really just extending your vacation, and you’ll be in the same predicament. Plus, if you have kids, you don’t really want them sitting all day watching TV either. Instead, you can take a day to relax and go for a nature hike or another easygoing activity that will help to calm your post-vacation nerves.
Better yet, use this time as a chance to run errands and go shopping for the weekly groceries. This way, you won’t have to rush to complete these tasks or worry about doing them once you have returned to work.
Reflect And Plan
It can be hard for some of us to realize that the vacation is over, especially because it may seem like an eternity until our next trip and much-needed break from the grind of everyday life.
That’s why you should take some time once you return home to reflect and relive your trip through photos so you can remember the good times and how lucky you are to have friends and family to spend time with. You can even make a fun collage of those pictures in a photo book or a digital slide show that you can watch on any of your digital gadgets whenever you are feeling down.
You can also use those images as an inspiration to plan your next trip a few months down the road. Pick out a destination and mark the dates on the calendar. Not only will you have fun making your new plans, but you’ll also feel better overall knowing that you have another amazing vacation on the horizon.
In the end, it is never fun to return home from vacation, but by following these tips, you can create a smoother transition as you return to normal life.
Image Source: Unsplash
