Re-entry following a vacation is trying at the best of times. You come back to "normal life" with looming deadlines, piles of unwashed laundry and all those things you really did mean to finish -- but didn't quite get to -- right before you left. (Not to mention that fresh take on life you developed while travelling that you're darn well going to start implementing... now.)
Toss in some jet lag and -- if you're me, about 10 gazillion bags worth of purchases you made at Target -- and it's a recipe for disaster.
Which is why -- having just returned from a two and a half week vacation to the U.S. yesterday -- I decided that this time, I'd really work consciously not to make re-entry the agonizing, adrenaline-fuelled stress-fest that it usually is in my life.
Well, I'm pleased to report that on day five of the Good Lord's Year 2011... something I resolved to do differently in the new year actually worked.
Here are five ways to manage re-entry after a vacation:
- Shower First. Pay no attention to that whole soap-dodging trend. It's amazing what a shower can do to wake up the senses. Make sure you do it as soon as you get home, even if you've already taken a shower that day. A shower -- plus a good, strong hot cup of coffee -- are, I am convinced, the foundation for a successful re-entry launch.
Happy re-entry.
And Happy 2011.