Know the saying, “I need a vacation after my vacation”? It’s the truth. While your vacation may have been an enjoyable experience, we often find ourselves in need of additional down time when we get home.
Before you get back into the swing of reality, it’s very important that you take some time to unwind after your vacation is over. The following are four things that can help you do this successfully.
Photo Credit: Mark
1. Take an extra day off.
If you’re getting home at 11pm and you need to start work at 7am the next day, you’re going to feel stressed. Instead, make sure that you either take an extra day off so that you can be home to unwind from all of your vacation activities, or plan your vacation a day short so that you’re not rushing to get home in order to make it to work. You can then use this day off to do whatever you want to do and get yourself ready for reality, or you can even use it to catch up on some much needed sleep. The less stress you feel towards the end of your vacation, the better off you’ll feel when your vacation is over.
2. Get some help.
There is a lot to do after your vacation is over. You need to do multiple loads of laundry, you’ll need to unpack and you’ll need to start preparing for your real life. Instead of feeling pressured to get this all done, get some help. Ask a friend or family member to come over and help you clean, do laundry, unpack or even get dinner or lunch made for the week. If you stayed somewhere that had a washing machine, you could also start to tackle your to-do list by getting a load or two of laundry done before you leave.
3. Move slowly.
Nobody said that you had to unpack and get back into the swing of things right away, so don’t be afraid to take your time. Only unpack the items you’ll need right away, and use the rest of the week to do the rest. Feel free to unpack a little bit every day instead of doing it all at once. You can also do the same while you’re at work. Don’t feel obligated to get all of your work done in the first 10 minutes you’re there, either. Allow yourself to be behind for a little bit and catch up when you can. The less pressure you feel, the easier it will be for you to unwind.
4. Have fun.
You may have just enjoyed yourself on vacation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself at home either. Go out to dinner, enjoy a glass of wine or get a massage. Do something that you love to do while home, and it will make you feel much more relaxed after your vacation and ready to tackle the responsibilities of your real life.
Jared Grant is a travel agent and frequent traveler who knows what it’s like to need a bit of time off after a vacation. He loves to write about traveling and how to best enjoy your trips abroad.
