After a great vacation, the first thing you probably want to do when you get home is to stay in bed and rub your legs against the sheets. However, at some point you’ll need to get up and going: after all, the bills don’t pay for themselves. To help you get over that vacation hangover (which is when your body is back in town but your brain and heart are still on your trip), here are a few things you can do.
1. Unpack.
You probably left your luggage in one corner of your room and crashed straight into bed. That’s well and good, but once you got your rest, you’ll need to unpack. Unpacking isn’t only hygienic (imagine leaving damp towels and dirty clothes in your bag for a week), but it will also make you feel that you’re really back, and that you need to reorganize. Trust us, you’ll feel better prepared for the week ahead once you do.
2. Do the laundry.
Once you’ve unpacked, the next logical thing to do is to wash your dirty clothes. It’ll help you get back to your regular routine, especially if doing the laundry is something that you normally do on a weekly basis.
3. Check your email.
You may have been out-of-reach the past few days, so get yourself back in-the-know by checking your email. Doing so will help you get with the program and avoid the embarrassing “I wasn’t informed” excuses at work.
4. Read the papers.
Similar to checking your email, reading the papers or watching the news can help get you reoriented with what’s going on around you. Although it’s nice to detach yourself once in a while from your environment, it’s also important to be grounded.
5. Work out.
Feeling lazy? Get your fanny off the couch and run a few laps around your neighborhood. Exercise can get your blood going and produce those much needed happy hormones called endorphins to get you in the mood to get back to the groove.
6. Head to the grocery.
You probably ate out a lot while you’re on vacation, which probably depleted your finances. Head out and go grocery shopping to restock ingredients for cheap but healthy home cooking. After all, nothing beats tasty baon that doesn’t cost you much.
7. Go out with friends.
If the vacation bug really got you bad, why not call your friends and hang out with them? Being with your barkada can remind you of some of the reasons why home is really where the heart is.
8. Plan your next vacation.
Never mind that you just got back from a trip. One thing that makes returning to the daily grind a little more bearable is the idea that you’ve got something else to look forward to in the near future.
Whatever your coping mechanism, the truth is that vacations are meant to help you recharge and re-inspire yourself so that when you do sink back into your daily routines and stressful work tasks, you have something to smile about. We recommend using photos from your vacation as the wall paper on your phone or computer or even posting photos on your cubicle wall to remind you that life is about more than just work.