When you get back from a fun holiday, it’s hard to just drop everything and go back to your daily life without feeling a little down. However, you can use your trip as motivation to get back into a productive routine that you enjoy. Here’s how to return to daily life and keep your travel buzz going.
Main image from NOBUHIRO ASADA and Vadim Georgiev. Other images from juggernautco and Dzhingarova.
Get Back Into The Swing Of Things
Depending on how long you were away, jumping back into your sleep, exercise and work routines won’t be easy. When planning your trip, book an extra day at the end so you can recover and prepare yourself for the adjustment period you’ll have upon returning. For example, employ these tips to fight jet lag and get back to your sleep routine faster by gearing them towards your home rather than destination:
You’ll also probably want to get back into other health-related habits like working out or eating right. Set yourself up for success by planning your first week back as a reboot week for your fitness and other routines. Make a list of what you want to complete and focus on getting through that list — it will help you work up to where you were before your trip.
As U.S. News points out, connecting again with friends is also important to easing back into your daily life. Go beyond checking social media to see what they were up to while you were gone and make plans to see them face to face. You’ll get the chance to relive your trip through sharing with them and also make your transition back easier by engaging with those close to you.
When it comes to your work routine, you can help yourself by taking some proactive measures before taking off. Cut down on the emails you’ll need to sift through, shift the responsibility to others to follow up . Make it clear in your out-of-office message that they should follow up with you when you’re back in the office on X date. Since they’re the ones who need something from you, it reminds them to come see you when you’re back instead of waiting for you to get to an email that could be weeks old.
You’ll probably have a mountain of email, messages, and meetings the day you get back, and it can be tempting to just jump in and try to do it all at once (or worse, just ignore it all). Set aside a portion of your first day back just for prioritising everything (or, if you’re feeling particularly anxious, do it the night before or on your plane ride home so you can hit the ground running).
Get the momentum ball rolling by picking one thing (even if it is a smaller task) that you know you can finish that day and focus your energy on it. You’ll feel accomplished and like you’re already back to your work routine since you’re getting things done. Remember the difference between urgent and important :
You don’t want to waste too much time preparing to work without working at all, but a little preparation can make that first day back much easier.
Remind Yourself of Your Trip and Plan for the Next One
Just because you’re back home doesn’t mean you should just forget about your trip. Reminisce over your holiday by displaying photos from it. Print out photos and put them up in your home and office. Set your photos as backgrounds on your phone, computer, tablet, or social media profiles. While you’re travelling, buy souvenirs that you’ll use in daily life — things like spices or utensils for cooking, art that you’ll display where you’ll see it, or clothing you’ll actually wear.
You can also continue habits you took on during your trip. Often the freedom of travel encourages you to try new things. If you tried something new, like learning to surf or meditate, keep it going once you get home. You can also apply this to cultural experiences. If you learned how to make something delicious, try to replicate it at home. If you learned about philosophies on your trip that you like, put those into practice in your daily life.
You can also stave off the post-trip blues by planning your next adventure! While going on several big trips each year isn’t feasible for most of us, planning next year’s trip can help. Focusing on just your next destination — rather than your entire bucket list — gives you motivation to start saving while gathering specific details for a certain locale.
Finally, you can fight the post-trip blues by exploring your own community. Lonely Planet recommends opening your eyes to the discoveries you can make in your own backyard. After going on a recent solo trip , I realised there were so many events and activities I could go to in my own city — I had just let the fear of going alone stop me. You can also share your trip with those who weren’t able to join you or who have also travelled to the same place. Talking about your trip is a great way to re-live the rush of travel — just make sure the other party is actually interested.
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