I got a confession to make.
It’s embarrassing but it’s the complete truth. Every since I took my first vacation in over a year, I’ve been stuck in a rut. I guess you can say that I have the blues.
The post vacation blues.
Have you ever had the post vacation blues before?
I’m currently trapped in a severe case of the post vacation blues! My body may physically be home but my mind is still elsewhere. With my mindset gone, I see that my normal habits have gone out the window!
What’s the longest it ever took for you to beat your post vacation blues?
My blues have been the mixture of a perfect storm. While on vacation, I suffered my first severe allergy attack. I don’t get sick too often so this was a complete shock to my body. My natural reaction was to rest and eat comfort foods.
While on vacation I was six hours behind my normal time zone. Once back in my time zone, my body sought to stay six hours behind by not sleeping properly. This lack of sleep prolonged my post vacation blues.
Today is the day that I decided I have had enough! I see the danger signs of what will happen if I continue to stay in this mindset. I want to help you solve your own post vacation blues problem as well.
Here’s my advice on how to get out of your own post vacation blues:
Go To Bed Early
The sooner you can get your body back on schedule the easier it will be to break free of being a sleep deprived zombie. It’s amazing how simply changing one hour of time can affect one’s sleep schedule. When you travel for several days that easily turns into several lost hours of sleep.
Once you return home, you can never get those hours back but you can get yourself back on a healthy sleep schedule. Your body will want to resist and stay up late. Fight it and go to bed early!
That will set the tone for the next day as you gradually try to develop a healthy bedtime routine. This is a much better option than staying up late and waking up early. That’s a routine that’s just asking for trouble.
Don’t Say “Tomorrow I Will…”
The biggest excuse you can tell yourself is “tomorrow I will…”.
Stop it!
When coming back from a vacation, it’s very important that you get back to normal ASAP.
Now I understand that the day you arrive from your trip, you may be severely jet lagged. You don’t have to be perfect on that day. What you should do is find at least one normal thing to do on that day. By just doing one thing from your normal routine, you make it easier to get back to your normal home self.
If you tell yourself “tomorrow I will…”, you’re setting yourself up for a week full of excuses. It will become harder and harder to get back into your routine because you’ve convinced yourself that it will be done tomorrow.
Always live in the moment, not the past or the future!
Make A Home Cooked Meal
The first day back from your trip is the easiest to eat take out or fast food. Depending on the time you arrive home, it may be too late to go shopping. That’s why you should make a rule for yourself to cook the second day you’re back home.
Most likely while on vacation you’ve been eating out consistently. That desire to eat out will continue until you decide to break it. The sooner you make your own food, the better your body will look and feel.
If you feel that you won’t have time to go shopping, you could always do yourself a favor and grocery shop the days before your trip. Buy some simple frozen vegetables and meat that can be stored in your freezer. The day you get back, just thaw your meat out in your refrigerator, so the second day it’s ready to be cooked.
If you want to go the extra mile, you could just pre-cook an entire meal and freeze it. That way you can just thaw in the microwave and have a meal ready to go!
