The first day back from a vacation, holiday weekend, or even a regular weekend can be a drag. Actual results may vary based on how long you have been gone and what you need to be doing. Often on the first day back from a long break, we are off track and are not in the flow. There are many reasons for this. The main reasons is that we get out of a routines on our day off. We may stay up and wake up later than we normally do, we do activities that we don’t normally do, and we don’t do activities that we normally do. While there are ways to get back on track after we return, even better is a way to keep us from getting as far off track. This is more like the prevention rather than waiting until you need the cure. Here are a few tips that I try to use, that would really help.
Keep you bed time and wake up time rather consistent. Ideally, you can go to the bed the same time every day and wake up the same time every day. I do know people who somehow can do this; however, so far in my life that has never been me. Oddly enough, I can function quite well early and also very late. In the last week alone I have been up as early as 3:53 AM and up as late as 1:25 AM (and only two days apart!) and I was fine, but I would not recommend this be a regular thing and for me this last week has been unusual. Pick a time that is best for you and that is actually obtainable. If you have evening commitments, don’t try for a time that is too early.
Have a morning and evening routine. Find things that you do every day and make it a regular routine. This way even on weekends, holidays, and vacations you will be in a pattern with some sort of normalcy regardless. This alone will make it easier to stay in the groove.
Pick a routine that is sustainable. Very often a reason we do go off track the first opportunity we have is because the regular routine we have is not sustainable for us. It may not involve enough activities that we enjoy, so when we do have free time, we jump ship and binge on whatever we feel like doing.
Be as balanced as you can. While I do believe in work life balance, I am going to take it with a different approach. For one thing, there will never be a perfect balance of work, life, and anything else. There are needs that arise in any category in our life that will require more attention at the moment. For example, big project at work or a product launch for your business will raise the priority for work, a family emergency or a major event like a new baby will make family a higher priority than other times in your life. If you do take an average of everything, by the end of your life the hope is that everything balanced out in a reasonable matter that you lived a meaningful yet productive life.
I hope everyone has enjoyed their Thanksgiving time. Even if you did not have a full weekend, it was still likely a shift in your routine and there was most likely a need for a course correction and a need to get back on track. Also, take note that you are not alone in this either and part of the reason you may feel off track is that everyone around you is also out of it and trying to get back on track as well. After all, this is why Mondays have a bad rap after all. Please let me know your thoughts on this and if you have experienced getting off track after time off and how long it took to get back into it as everyone does experience it differently.