Return to work after the vacations can cause stress if we do not dedicate the necessary time and proper management. We mistakenly place all our desires in the vacations, since we do not stop to think about what we need throughout the year and how we can dedicate the time we need to ourselves, without waiting for the holiday period. Time to do what we like to do, to take care of our personal relationships, to travel or to relax. Forgetting about oneself, among other reasons, is one of the causes that make the return to work a colossal difficulty and gives rise to the well-known post-holiday syndrome.
After the vacations, people who do not adapt to the return to work often report symptoms such as sleep disturbance, muscle aches, fatigue, anxiety, sadness, homesickness, difficulty concentrating and loss of motivation. It usually subsides within one to two weeks, but to prevent this from happening, here are some tips on how to manage your return to work and combat post-holiday syndrome.
7 tips for managing your return to work
Get motivated
Allow yourself more leisure time during your first days at work so that the return to work is not so abrupt. In this way, the change of pace of life will be more gradual and will not affect your mood so much. This advice is for the first few days, but to help you in the long run it is important to find something in your day to day life that motivates you and above all makes you feel good about yourself. Tener un objetivo que estimule es un modo de enfrentarse a las semanas desde otro punto de vista.
Plan
To face the return to work, it helps to make a good management of schedules. Changing the hours from one day to the next is a very abrupt alteration for the organism. Go little by little until you manage to readapt the schedule that best suits your day. On the other hand, one of the most valuable tips is to stop thinking about next year’s vacations: live in the present moment and enjoy the day to day. Plan short-term activities that stimulate you, such as getaways that excite you and help your emotional health.
Calm and order
When you return, you may have a backlog of work. It is important that you do not get overwhelmed because it will not help you to finish your tasks faster. It is better to stop, assimilate all the work that needs to be done, establish priorities and consider how these tasks will be carried out. Organizing yourself on your first day is a way to succeed, to avoid stress and to start engines progressively, until you get back to your usual rhythm. The objective is not to overestimate the initial impact of the first day of work, compared to what it really is, in order to avoid stress.
Physical and mental exercise
Relaxation exercises such as deep breathing, meditation, Mindfulness, a relaxing massage or exercises such as tai chi or yoga, are very beneficial to help appease the discouragement and stop the vicious circle of negative thoughts. In the same way, physical activity helps us to feel better, since in addition to being a way to ensure the health of bones and muscles, it also helps to combat emotional disorders thanks to the release of endorphins and serotonin.
Good eating and sleeping habits
In addition to the previous point, nutrition and good rest would be the four key elements for a healthy life. Coming back from vacation and keeping these four pieces of the puzzle in order and in balance is an infallible method to face the abrupt change that can be the return to work after a period of rest. Eating nutritious and balanced meals (50% vegetables, 25% protein, 25% complex carbohydrates, a good portion of healthy fats and proper hydration), sleeping 8 hours a day, along with physical and mental exercise, favors a better adaptation to the return.
Integrate your vacation activities
Most of the time, the return is a problem for us because we stop doing activities that we did during the holiday period and for this reason it seems to us that the routine we had during the year is less intense. And if you change the chip? Incorporate into your week some activities or habits that you find enjoyable on vacation and that you can adapt to your day-to-day life, without harming yourself. For example, having a quiet breakfast while sitting down, reading for a few minutes every day, finding time to do that creative or physical activity you like, going out to be in contact with nature, listening to a podcast while walking or meeting your friends.
Value your job
Think about all that your job offers you and value all the positive things it has for you. When you come back from vacation, the thought of how far away the next vacation is and this thought completely blurs the awareness of the value of the work you do and being active in the working world. We tend to focus more on the negative and leave little room for the positive. Reflect on the importance of your work, of your role in your job. Feel what your colleagues and the team you work with bring to you. Think about what you want to improve or if you need any changes.