
Have you just come back from an amazing holiday filled with relaxation, positive experiences, and some much-needed time away from work? Well, if you’re like most of us, you might be starting to stress about the next thing you have to do – go back to your job.
Although going back to work isn’t difficult, it can be quite a stressful time for many people. Changing from the laid-back lifestyle of vacation to the hustle and bustle of work-life can be tough to cope with, but luckily you don’t have to go through it on your own.
In this article, we’re going to look at the top 5 things you can do to help destress before returning to work. After following this advice, you’ll have the perfect attitude to hit the ground running.
Going Back to Work After Vacation – 5 Anti-Anxiety Tips
So you’re starting to feel stressed about going back to work and you want to know how to deal with it. You’re in luck. Many people have gone through the same thing and these five tips are bound to help you get into the right mindset.
1. Get a Good Night’s Rest
Although this might seem cliched, getting a good night’s rest is one of the most important things you can do if you don’t want to go back to work after vacation. If you struggle to sleep the night before going back to work, a natural supplement like CBD for sleep in South Africa, chamomile, or melatonin can all help you get the most out of your last rest of the holiday.
Try to head to bed a little bit earlier than usual and make sure that you have completed all your planning before – so you don’t need to add unnecessary stress in the morning. It would be a good idea to stay away from coffee towards the end of the day – you wouldn’t want to lie awake all night because of the caffeine.
Tip: A good meal before bed can do wonders for your sleep. Try to stay away from junk food or too much sugar and eat at least 30 minutes – 1 hour before going to sleep.
2. Plan Your Work Week
One of the best things you can do before going back to work is planning your schedule. Although seeing everything you have to do can be quite overwhelming at first, there’s no point hiding away from reality.
Look through everything you need to do and start dividing up your schedule to tackle everything you need to. Even if you’re dreading doing the work, at least you will know exactly what needs to be done – which can save valuable time on your first day back.
3. Get Back from Holiday a Day Earlier
Although your first instinct might be to extend your holiday to the last day, whether it be a Knysna safari or sunset cruise or an overseas vacation, this isn’t great if you struggle with back-to-work blues. By giving yourself an extra day at home, you can plan and mentally prepare for the week ahead.
Take your time to go shopping, plan your work week, and relax in your own comfort zone. Although this day might not be very exciting, it’s much better for your mental health to take a day to get ready.
4. Keep Your First Week Simple
The first week back from holiday is often filled with getting ahead of deadlines, fitting in as many meetings as possible, and making sure that everything is going smoothly. Why add more things to worry about?
Try to keep your first week as simple as possible. Although some things might be unavoidable, try to prevent adding anything that isn’t 100% necessary. Have you been thinking about starting a new diet or a workout routine? That’s great! But maybe just wait till the second week of work before starting – it will do wonders for your stress levels.
5. Do Your Shopping For The Week
What does shopping have to do with work stress? Many people feel more confident about tackling a new work week if they have already taken care of some of their routine chores. Although grocery shopping might not seem like a big deal, it will just make your first week much better knowing that you can come straight home, relax, and prepare your meal – without needing to go back out again.
Not only does it free up your week, but by getting all your groceries beforehand you can prepare some healthy meal options for lunch and dinner. This will prevent you from just hopping out and buying fast food.
Why do I Dread Going to Work?
Although now you know exactly what you can do to feel better, it’s important that we look at why you are feeling bad in the first place. Just because you’ve got anxiety about going back to work after vacation, doesn’t mean you should start re-evaluating your life decisions.
It’s completely normal to dread going back to work after the holiday – especially if you’ve been spending time with the penguins at Boulders Beach and other dreamy vacation activities. Although you might think it means you don’t love what you’re doing, that’s not always the case.
A holiday is a really fun time, filled with many positive things, like family, friends, and great experiences. It’s no wonder that you naturally start feeling a bit stressed when you think about going back to work.
However, just because the holiday has to end, does that mean you hate what you do? Of course not. Anxiety about missing work or starting up again is normal. Unfortunately, holidays can’t last forever and the sooner you realize these back-to-work blues are normal, the sooner you can start taking steps to cope with it.
Crushing Your First Day Back At Work
Now that you know what you’re going through is normal, there’s no reason why you should suffer without any coping mechanisms. By using the tips we have mentioned above, you will be able to mentally prepare yourself for your first day back in the rat race.
Although it might seem difficult, with the right planning you will be able to get back into the swing of things in no time. Time to get out there and crush your work goals!