How to Deal with Post-Vacation Blues

Going on vacation is exciting however, returning from a vacation and dealing with those post-vacation blues is one of the worst feelings ever.  I’ve been feeling the post-vacation blues lately, from my recent trip to Orlando, FL.  I enjoyed my stay at Orlando as well as exploring Disney World and Universal.  However, coming back to my daily routine always gets me in such a mood.  I had the same feeling last year, post my trip to St. Lucia in the West Indies.

Over the years, I have come up with ways to help me ease my way back into my daily routine and lifestyle.  While I love to go and explore new places, it’s always good to have a routine when coming back and settling back home.  Without further ado, check out my tips on how to deal with the post-vacation blues.

Do Laundry

One of the most essential tips after coming back from an amazing vacation is to do your laundry immediately.  I can’t stress this enough.  Doing your laundry will make you feel productive and ready to tackle the week ahead.  Having that vacation laundry piling up in your laundry hamper will not help you get past your vacation blues.  In addition, you know you have tons of laundry post that vacation, so you might as well get through with it immediately.

For me, I like to do my laundry the next day coming back from a trip. I will usually plan my trips from a Saturday to a Saturday.  So this way, I have Sunday coming back to do laundry and prep for my Monday at work.  However, if I’m not able to plan a trip with a “free day” post my trip, then I will do laundry the following day.  I feel accomplished once my vacation laundry is completed.  In addition, it also helps me start the week with no laundry to do and that always makes me happy.

Eat Clean

During a vacation, we tend to let loose and eat and drink as we please.  However, post a vacation, your body is most likely craving those healthy fruits and vegetables.  So, try to fuel your body with good, clean, foods post your vacation.  This will also allow your body to rid itself of the bad toxins that you have stuffed it with all week.  Keep in mind that eating clean, it is referring to giving your body fruits, vegetables, and natural foods- not dieting. 

For Me, I like to indulge a little bit during vacation but tend to stick to my normal daily eating habits.  Since I have some health concerns, I don’t like to flare them up even when on vacation.  In addition, I also do quite a bit of meal prep in my day-to-day life.  So, if I can have a day in between my trip and my workday, then I’ll do some sort of meal prep.  I also prep meals the week before my trip and freeze them.  So, this way when I’m back home, I can easily unfreeze them for the week.  This allows me to not stress about meals post-vacation.

Exercise

Exercising on a daily is good for you.  Not only is it good for you physically and to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it can also release endorphins to your brain.  Those endorphins send a happy signal to your brain thus in turn, helping you feel better when returning to your daily routine.

For me, I like to ease my way back into my exercise routine.  My normal exercise routine requires working out six days a week, which includes three days of high-intensity workouts and three days of low-intensity workouts.  In addition to my workouts, I also walk my dog daily for thirty minutes.  This normal routine is very strenuous, so I like to ease my way back into my routine.  Typically, on my first week back, I’ll focus on walking my dog for thirty minutes and doing some stretches, as well as 10-15 minutes of yoga a couple of days during the week.  Then the following week, I’ll return to my normal exercise routine.  This way, my body will get used to physical activity slowly rather than immediately- especially after a beach vacation where all I did was lay on the beach all day.

Unpack

Unpacking is such a simple yet effective way to help you get over those vacation blues.  Most people like to unpack a couple of days after they have returned home.  However, having that suitcase laying around in your bedroom, will be a constant reminder of those amazing vacation days and how you’re not there.  So, unpack as soon as possible.  Whether that’s the same day as your day back or the following day.  Unpacking your suitcase helps you lift that load of the constant reminder of your trip.

For me, if I come home early enough then I will unpack on the same day.  If I come home late and have a free day or not, I will unpack the next day.  However, my rule of thumb is to unpack within 24 hours of returning from my trip.  This also helps me to do my post-vacation laundry as well as helps me start the week fresh.

Plan the Next Trip

Finally, the worst feeling about coming back from a trip is assuming that you will not enjoy such a trip again.  So, go ahead and plan the next trip!  You can never start planning early if your next trip isn’t until a year away.  This also helps you to budget your trip and your daily expenses to make that trip happen.

For me, I usually have one big trip a year and then a couple of trips to visit my family in NY.  My family trips are usually around the same time of the year, summer, and the holidays.  So, for those, I already look forward to them from the previous year.  However, for my big annual trip with my hubby, I’ll start to plan that post the holiday season.  Although, we’ll usually have a location in mind by the time our current trip has ended.  So this way, all we have to do is book the trip and plan an itinerary. 

And that concludes my post for tips about how to deal with the post-vacation blues.  I hope you enjoyed these tips which have helped me in dealing with my post-vacation blues as well.  What is one tip that you do to deal with those post-vacation blues?  Let me know in the comments below!

Much Love,