Is there life after vacation?

Even a vacation you’ve been waiting for the longest comes to an end sooner or later. And then, inevitably, you are back to the daily routine of travelling between work and home… For many, post-vacation stress is soon replaced by post-vacation depression. How to get back to work with minimum discomfort? Let’s talk about it down below.

The first post-vacation week must be planned in advance

Before you even get down to your long-awaited vacation, try planning your first days back to work. Make sure you come back to a light load and a clear schedule. This way you will be able to avoid getting overloaded in the first days back to work, securing a comfortable come-back to your normal tempo. It’s critical not to succumb to the temptation of saddling yourself with plenty of tasks on the very first day. It’s even more dangerous when you just had a really great vacation and are feeling energized, well-rested, strong and capable of moving mountains.

Leave the last day of your vacation for moral preparation

Coming back on the last day of your vacation is not the best idea. Make sure you plan at least 24 hours to rest after the trip and unpack your suitcases. In no way does that mean you are to start checking your work e-mail on Sunday; instead use this time to collect your thoughts. Getting in the right mindset for resuming work will make your return to the office less stressful.

Do not be in a hurry to disable the voicemail

Once you are back at the office, there is no need to jump in at the deep end. Do not be in too much hurry to notify each and every client of your return on the very first day. After all, you will probably have a pile of letters and memos from the management in addition to the truckload of other small random tasks – all of them requiring your immediate attention. Another day with your voicemail enabled will help you sort out the most urgent tasks and keep your sanity.

Reward yourself for the hard work

Having just wrapped up an enjoyable vacation, your first day back to work is bound to be stressful. For this stress not to turn into depression, we recommend rewarding yourself. What is it you like the most? Is it bowling, pool, karaoke or just a stroll in the park? Make yourself a gift to compensate for the first-day-back-at-work tension. Of course, a couple hours of rest do not even begin to compare to a week at the seaside, but still… The most important thing here is not to overdo it by going on a relaxation binge.

Meditation is the best way to self-tune

We said more than once that meditation is great to help with stress, organize your thoughts and learn to get pleasure from life. Even in cases when most of your life is dedicated to work. Come up with your own “meditation rule” that you will follow religiously every day no matter your mood, weather and workload. You might find our meditations useful, too.

And now a couple of tips that will not work for everyone

For those working independently, a vacation can mark the beginning of a rather stressful patch having to do with things piling up. To avoid this, you can allocate a minimum amount of time in your vacation schedule to resolve urgent issues that come up. For instance, check your mailbox once every 3 days and allow yourself to work on the tasks at hand for 1 hour.

There are brave people not afraid to delete all the unread messages accumulated over their vacation with one mighty click, having picked a few that look the most important. Obviously, that saves a great deal of time, and the thinking is clear: whoever really needs something will be sure to write again. But we’ll go ahead and repeat that this approach is good for only the most decisive few.

As you can see, recommendations for you to get back into your work routine are quite simple. But if you try following them, the first days back will not feel like a cold shower.