How to get over the vacation blues!

We have all felt it! Those down in the dumps, back to real life blues. Your vacation was the perfect getaway. You planned it thinking you would have an adventure, great food, and fun with great friends. What you didn’t count on is a holiday filled with excitement; so-much-so you didn’t want it to end. Now you’re home with suitcases to unpack; emails to answer and your day-to-day routine waiting for you. What’s on your mind is the most perfect vacation you’ve had in years – and you wish you were still there. You have the “Vacation Blues!”

I’m writing this article two days after my return from Hawaii. I had a wonderful time walking along Kailua Bay beach each morning watching the sunrise, with my feet whisking along the turquoise water. My days were filled with visits to fruit markets and learning about the Honolulu Fish Auction while trying various type of Poke (cubed sized raw fish prepared with seaweed and different spices.) I stayed in a beautiful luxury home with an oasis right outside my door. It was an exquisite getaway. Yes, I have vacation blues! I needed to sort out – “How to get over the vacation blues!”

First, what are the symptoms of vacation blues?

Symptoms:

Tiredness or restlessness

Inability to concentrate

Feeling sad with strong feelings of nostalgia

Loss of appetite or no appetite for local foods of home

Depression or feeling deflated (missing the people and places of your vacation.)

Here are my twenty suggestions for how to get over the vacation blues

1. Do rush to get over the “vacation high”. Take time to transition to your everyday life and realize this is the sign of a GREAT vacation. And it’s very normal.

2. Put together a slide show or video of your best photos. Share your fond memories with family and friends. And, don’t forget to share them with the people who helped make your trip memorable. Having your photos organized also helps you relive the fun and keeps the good feelings alive. On a day when you need a pick-me-up, you can always go back to your photo files and be swept away with special memories.

3. Have dinner at a restaurant with similar food. Did you just get back from Italy – have Italian food one night. Just back from Hawaii, try Japanese or Chinese food to bring back the tasty flavors and yummy memories of your vacation.

4.  Keep the cultural experience going! If you had a great cultural experience – maintain the love and learning by joining an organization or visiting a cultural center in your city. If there are festivals or carnival’s coming up soon, mark your calendar to attend and immerse yourself again in the culture you enjoyed so much.

5. Learn the language. Did you visit a destination where you didn’t understand the language? Here’s your chance to enhance many of the things you liked about your trip by learning the language.  Culture and language are very closely related, and speaking the language will help you understand the people and culture much better.

6.  Take a class. Is there a national dance? A song? A traditional dish? All things you can learn! Take a class and connect with the memories and fun. You’ll also impress your family and friends with a yummy and unique meal or be the star of the party with a traditional dance.

7.  Perform a self-evaluation. Did you learn something about yourself? Do you see ways to make improvements in your life or someone else’s life? Maybe you discovered you can live on less money per day than you thought? Or did you find you can live without all the social media? Were you on a vacation with super athletic friends who helped you integrate more activity into your schedule? Stop for a few minutes to evaluation your experiences and you will find many things you learned and can incorporate into your daily routine.

8. Continue to meet new friends. Vacations are a great time to meet new people. Bring your outgoing, friendship-building skills home and continue to meet people. You can join a local club or organization with a focus on things you enjoy or a club with connections to the destinations you like. 

9. Share the funny times and mishaps. They are learning experiences. But, they are also fun to share, and others may learn from them too. Plus – what’s more endearing than someone who can laugh at themselves.

10. Embrace your routine. While daydreaming about your fabulous vacation would be a great pastime, you will need to live in the present. Spend the first couple of days sharing memories with your buddies and organizing photos and videos. But, your real life is calling, and you must get back. That means back to our regular day, with normal things. Some people jump right back into their life at home, while others need a little extra time. I say, take some time to live in the bliss of your fabulous vacation, but not too much time. Especially, if you’ve traveled across time zones. You’ll feel much better by getting back on your sleep schedule. It’s important to your health and sleep routine.  And, your colleagues will want you alert at work.

11. Book flights for maximum “snap back!” One of the largest challenges to travel and vacation is the body clock. I recommend taking a flight that gets you to your destination with enough daylight to tackle some activities and get you ready for bedtime. That could be taking a tour, going out with business colleagues or when returning home, getting a head start with laundry and unpacking. To overcome jetlag, you need to get your body back into your sleep and wake routine as soon as possible. If you can sleep on an airplane, you’re in luck. But, nothing beats a great night’s sleep in a comfortable bed.

12. Resume your regular diet. Enjoy a day or two of food favorites from your vacation. But it’s important to ease back into your diet routine. If you’ve gained weight over your vacation, you’ll be ready to get the pounds off. Take a healthy approach without crash diets. Get out and walk. Exercise gets the blood flowing; you feel much better, and you can use those alone moments to reminisce about your trip.

13. Start planning your next getaway. Can’t shake the vacation blues. Now is a good time to start searching for your next great adventure. Or maybe a return trip to your “favorite city!” Wait to book it because you’ll want to make a decision based on a more well-thought-out plan, but let the feelings of excitement and adventure send you on an adventure around the internet looking for new places to explore and creative ways to see the world.

14. Join a tourism or travel club. You, your stories, memories and beautiful photos are welcomed there. Talk all you want for as long as you want. You’ll find many like-minded people anxious to hear your stories and ready to share travel tips too!

15. Connect with your family and friends. Your life may not be 100% where you want it to be, but after an awesome vacation is not the time to make significant life changes. A great vacation can leave you feeling you should pack-up and move to your “city-love.” While this may be a good idea, it’s important to remember you’ll take many of your same day-to-day routines and situations with you. A change in city and location does not make a new person. Change takes time, and a new town is not the complete answer. Things could become worse. With that said, it’s important to take note of what you feel inside while away. If you realize you do hate aspects of your life at home, now is a good time to take inventory of what doesn’t feel good and what’s not working in your life. But, before you make any changes, talk with a trusted friend or family member about what you are thinking and feeling. This favorite new place may be just what you need as an escape but not a new home.

16. Get in the present. Focus, focus, focus. It’s may be hard, but schedule a few minutes to look at pictures, but get back to work. Take a few moments to share memories and stories with friends, but get back to the stack of papers on your desk.

17. Tackle your emails! Hopefully, you didn’t spend your vacation checking email all day and night. If you did, the vacation was probably not so great! Now that you’re back at work tackle the long list of emails. Respond to the issues and do not let them pile up by placing them in a file to answer later. Tackle them right away and get them off your screen.

18. Take a mini vacation. Nothing helps the “get-away blues”, like a mini vacation. Take an extended vacation from Friday to Sunday and, if possible, add-on a Monday too! You’ll feel refreshed, and it’s an excellent buffer between work and the next great get-away.

19. Spend a few minutes getting updates at work! Take a break to hear what went on while you were gone. You may find you missed some fun times while away. It’s a good idea to catch up with a work friend before heading into the office. You want to avoid any surprises, and a trusted work friend can prepare you before you return.

20. Give yourself a day or two. No one likes when a fantastic vacation ends. But, as the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end!” And, that includes vacations. Head home a day or two before it’s time to return to work. Give yourself a little time to adjust from jet lag, get over any upset eating routines and to get ahead with laundry. Find time to meet friends and family to hear what went on while you were away, gather any mail or package they may have collected while you were away. Most of all, it gives you a chance to rest, relax and adjust. All good!

Now – start planning your next great adventure!