The holidays are all about family gatherings, catching up with friends, and year-end vacation from work. The emotional warmth you feel and experience with your family, friends, and travel helps heal your mind and body. Unfortunately, it all has to end. You have to go back home and return to work.
While you’ve done everything to organize your holidays, you didn’t prepare for your come-back. And now, your mind and body seem they’re not yet in touch with reality.
Why Coming Back From a Vacation Is Difficult
The emotional warmth from your vacation isn’t the only reason why getting back to your old life becomes difficult. According to an NBC News report, experts at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas explained that the difficulty you’re feeling stems from the gloom caused by the shift from vacation to work mode.
The report further explained that this could also occur at any point in one’s life when there’s a major transition like retirement or unemployment. It’s because you lose control over something that you used to have.
Added to this, reward centers in the brain light up when a person experiences new things, which naturally happens when you’re on vacation, according to the report. When these reward centers stop lighting up, you start to feel sad and unmotivated.
Don’t worry, though. You can still get back to your feet with a little step here and there. The NBC report has stated that vacations allow people to do what they want to do, allowing one to feel good more. Your everyday life doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad to go back to. You just have to get a little creative and allow yourself to do the things that you’ve always wanted to do.
Here are some steps to help you return to work and get organized again.
Prioritize Sleep
Vacation is about time off from work. It’s about getting the rest you deserve.
Vacations are also full of activities, and that can leave you tired. Thankfully, you still have lots of time to rest and sleep.
What’s tiresome about vacations is the trip itself, especially if you’ve traveled from another country or from a place with a different time zone. That can leave you with jet lag.
When you get back, the first thing you should do is get some sleep. Make sure you get enough rest, so you can handle all the chores and important matters that you need to take care of. You’ll need the energy to face the challenges returning home will have.
Unpack What Needs to Be Unpacked
When you’ve gotten the sleep that your body needs to recover from all the travels and activities, now you can start taking care of what needs to be done. One of the first things you need to do when you get back is to take everything out of your suitcase.
Unpack all your stuff and put away your suitcase where it should be. Make sure that you’ll neatly store it, so it still looks nice when you use it again on your next travel.
Put back all your stuff where they belong. Having your stuff in its original place will help your transition to your usual routine. It’ll be easier to find them when you need them if they’re in the right place.
Do the Laundry
Laundry is a bit heavy of a chore compared to unpacking your stuff. You need a lot of energy to finish it, and that’s why it’s further down your to-do list.
Pick a day or schedule when you can do all the laundry you have from your vacation. Your laundry could accumulate if you prolong this chore. Plus, if you do this right away, you’ll have a sense of accomplishment that can help you get back to your routine.
Consider a laundry pickup and delivery service if you think you can’t handle all the load. Your laundry may have accumulated more than you can take care of, which is especially true if you have kids.
Catch Up With Family and Friends
According to Mind Tools, a popular career and management learning solutions provider, returning from a vacation can negatively affect a person’s emotions. They explained that one of the most effective ways of adjusting your feelings is by catching up with family and friends.
Make sure to call family and friends and know what you’ve missed while you’re away. Check your email and mailbox. Some of your friends and family may have sent you something you haven’t checked out yet for the holidays.
Be Ready to Face Work
You’re now ready to return to work. Taking care of the essentials first can help you return to work with peace of mind. On your next travel though, make sure to plan out your vacation and the time when you return. Consider the tips above for a start.
