One of my great weakness is getting back into the groove after taking a week or so off for an active fun-filled vacation.
Captiva Sunset
Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks to help reduce the uncomfortable letdown after starting back to work after such a vacation.
1.) Instead of starting my first day back to work on a Monday, I take Monday, Tuesday and sometimes Wednesday off before I start back to work. I do this for a few reasons, but mainly because it reduces the first week back to only a few days. While those few days that I do work are very long days, the following week afterwords is a cakewalk.
Another great advantage of starting back to work after Tuesday or Wednesday is that a lot of the problems from the beginning of the week are ironed out. Where I work at, Monday is always the problem child of the weekdays! So why come back to a horrible day when instead I could start back on hump day (Wednesday) or later. This way half of the stress of the typical work week is eliminated and I come back to a more pleasant work environment.
2.) After vacation, things around the house done, like: the lawn needs mowed, pets cages need cleaned up, mail needs picked up, and other tasks that need the rust broken loose! Monday and a good part of Tuesday is usually a wonderful, relaxed way to get those needed tasks done. In case of bad weather (especially with respect to the lawn), lately I’ve been taking Wednesday off too.
3.) Taking a few relaxing vacation days after an active vacation, is the optimal solution for me. I take a few days off as purely relaxing days, and believe me, it’s wonderful! It’s like a vacation within a vacation! I really enjoyed sitting out on my deck, drinking a beverage and reading the latest book that I borrowed from the library. It’s very enjoyable and relaxing, my own personal nirvana!
I know that everybody is different, so my technique may not work for everybody, but why not give it a try once? Who knows, you may enjoy recovering from a active fun-filled vacation the same way!
Enjoy Summer,
MR