Career Counselling: How to get back on track after a long holiday?

Congratulations on a great vacation. All the fun moments, the exotic dishes and the rides, treks, and joyous time you enjoyed in this short while might have thrown you into a sweet wish that it would never end. But, the inevitable daily life has now dragged you here. The thought of office work, household errands, and daily chores seems like a big burden on your neck that you might want to scream at.

Well, take some time to chill and let your mind settle with this change. Take some time to rejoice the experience. Feel the happiness that got filled in you. Remember the little disturbances that were caused also led to a happy ending. All is well till now.

So, what’s now? Your mind might still be wandering in your holiday spot, while you have to be here. Remember to understand the need of adjustment and spare yourself from stressing too much. Take a break of one or two days before going back to work. Treat yourself with some ice-cream and relax for some time. Then, plan the things slowly and keep working on one by one.

Stop being a Couch-Potato

Normally, when you have a great vacation, all you want to do is to just relax well. Of course, after a long journey from the vacation, you can grant yourself a long deep sleep of some 10-12 hours. But soon after you wake up, have some food and start preparing a list of things that you need to do.

Instead of feeling like a bunch of lazy bones and lying there on the couch with a TV remote in hand, if you can get up and take a walk or take care of your pet or plants, that will make you more active. Now think of the important things that you need to do and then the remaining ones too. Make a list of them. Accordingly, plan your schedule so that you finish doing most of the things before going to the office.

Take one or two days of time to prepare yourself. Your kitchen must be empty as you are out. Make a list of the groceries you need and head for the shopping. Buy some fresh vegetables and fruits too. This gives you an idea on how unknowingly you fed all the junk stuff to your body. This makes you have some realistic diet goals.

Gained Some Pounds?

You must have had more than you eat normally during your vacation. This food extravaganza shows its affect in a short while. But you should never leave your body like that. Shop some food, slowly looking at those ingredients and the nutritional benefits. Keep away from foods, with that extra fat. Sort the list out. Get your healthy diet back on track.

Hit the gym to boost your confidence, as you would feel better when you look healthier. Healthy and light diet makes you active and wards off that slumber. Plan something like a simple sandwich and fruit to start your day with. Try eating some home-cooked healthy food. Avoid alcohol or lessen the quantity. It is a common thing that you carve for some tasty stuff that you had during vacation. But being strict on your diet is necessary to bring you back on that healthy track.

Think that you are saving that money for the next vacation and cut the food extravaganza that you want to have. Stop teasing your taste buds with those delicacies and limit your diet preferences. Divert your attention to other things. See if you have to run some errands for your house-hold purposes like some repair and replacing works. This actually sets you in the mood to work.

Now tame your social life and know what your friends did. Try getting that feel of being ahead of your colleagues and friends and make a plan on what you need to work on.

Beat the Back-to-Work Blues

You must be now slowly focusing on yourself and your capabilities. Now, before going to work, think what you need to focus on, like the presentation that you need to do, or the project that has to be submitted or an upcoming client meeting. Put yourself into the thinking on how it should be and what you need to get prepared. Check if you are ready with all those documents and sheets that you need for your office tomorrow. With this, you are already there virtually. Making your mind to go ahead and work will let you kick yourself out of that comfort zone.

If you are an employee, remember the things that inspire you and interest you in going to office, like next incentive or salary, or next meeting where you have to present your ideas, or maybe your team who work passionately towards the goals. Get an idea on what has been done till then and what you need to focus on. Make yourself ready by gathering some additional stuff for the work. To refresh yourself, get a small scented shrub in a designer pot to decorate your work table.

Buy some sweets or something to snack with your colleagues during a break. If it is your business, take some notes on what’s pending and what’s going on. What you need to buy and what needs to be repaired and all. Talk to your staff on the status. Try to arrange a meeting and note down the pending things. Make plans and discuss on them. Note down your goals for the near future and make plans on how to achieve them.

Take Breaks

As you are recently out of that holiday mood, making yourself work too much can get you stressed. So, take some short breaks often. After working for some 2-3 hours, take a break of 10-15 minutes for some coffee or a simple chitchat. Also, plan your schedule so that you start your day with the most interesting and easy work. This makes you pay all your attention and you will start enjoying it. Finish it as early as possible. Doing that makes you gives a fresh start like a cup of refreshing coffee. Then do the most important work that’s been pending. Finish off your pending list as soon as possible. This lets you to be confident.

Usually, when you get into work after a long break, you might find some simple things pending or some works left scrambled. Put them in an order and make a list on what needs to be focused. While doing this, we tend to become frustrated, which might affect our mood and spilling it out causes the work relationships to suffer. Hold your frustration and disinterest and come out to take a short break for some time to settle down.

Understand that reasons and make others evident that the work needs to be completed as immediate as possible. Getting into work after a long time could also make you feel guilty. But understand that breaks are important for a human mind to work well. Taking a long break and enjoying vacations make us ready for the next challenges. But, it should be observed if someone is always trying to party hard or take leaves and make excuses rather than working.

Such cases are common when employees tend to escape the duties due to various reasons like work stress, hectic timings or boring and bothering work environment. In case, you need help in dealing with any kind of work-related issues, we have our team of experienced psychologists who could help you out. Log on to Wellness Hub to book an appointment for a talk with an expert either online or offline according to your choice.