There comes a time in everyone’s career where you need time off to gain a fresh perspective, spend time with friends and family, or perhaps even travel to exotic locations across the globe. We all need to break for a vacation at some stage, but how do you cope with coming back to reality after lounging on a beach, sipping daiquiris and scoping out bikini-clad ladies? It’s a harsh reality to face, but the show must go on and a salary must be earned in order to take these well-deserved breaks.
Here are our thoughts on how to cope with post-vacation depression.
Give Yourself Some Time
The first point is something you actually need to plan in advance and that would be to give yourself a few days to come back down to Earth and organize your life before heading straight back to the grindstone. When you’re planning your trip, add a little bit of padding on the end of your holiday to spend at home, so that you’ve got time to get used to the idea of your routine again.
Find Positive Aspects To Your Daily Life
Take a look at your daily life and see what positive aspects still excite you. They may not involve skiing down the Alps, but there is great pleasure in small and simple things. By accentuating these elements in your normal existence, you’ll have something to look forward to every day.
Don’t Let The Holiday End
Probably one of the most important points is to try and squeeze some holiday-related activities into your normal life. Don’t wait until you’re on your annual leave to go and visit the countryside… go camping on the weekend, book a horse riding outride. Do things that are different and out of your normal routine and add a little extra spice to your days.
Stay Healthy
The best way to combat unhealthy emotions and negativity is to stay healthy. Stay in shape and keep those happy-inducing endorphins pumping at the same time as eating healthily to keep fitting into your holiday jeans.
Spring Clean
Have a look around your home and see what areas of it make you feel at peace and “at home” and which ones make you feel cluttered and claustrophobic. It’s more than likely that you’ve hoarded a lot of stuff over the last year and you could possibly do with a little bit of a spring clean. Cleaning out spaces of useless junk is the best way to get a clear perspective on your life. It sounds silly, but if your surroundings are cluttered and messy, your mind too will have little freedom to find a space of Zen.
Start Planning Your Next Adventure
Pop down to your local book dealer and buy a guidebook to your next destination of choice. Of course, you could also just Google it or get a Kindle version, but there’s something exciting in browsing through the shelves and buying a brand new, old-fashioned guidebook that you’ll eventually take with you on your travels. Start planning your next trip, down to the finest details and you’ll have a little something to look forward to and work towards.
Here’s to a prosperous and exciting 2013 for all… but more importantly, here’s to the next vacation!
Image courtesy of Instagram @givebones