Things We Should Never Do After A Vacation

1. Don't put pressure on yourself to get EVERYTHING done

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There's so much pressure to 'get back to reality' after returning home from a vacation that you feel the urgency of a good routine, household chores, getting back to work, taking care of yourself... it's overwhelming, which is why you definitely shouldn't try and do everything, all at once!

2. Don't stop yourself from sulking about it!

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The post vacation blues are all too real, and you've every right to feel glum about it! Don't feel guilty for being moody or for feeling bad about being home - it's all part of the process, and it's better just to let yourself sulk about it for as long as you need while you adjust back to reality!

3. Don't go back into the office straight away

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Don't be in a huge rush to get right back to work, as it's a good idea to try and have at least a day between getting back and returning to the office! So it's a huge no go if your flight arrives back at 1am and you're due in work at 8am the same day... it won't do you any good!

4. But also don't leave work prep until the last minute!

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It's good to give yourself some extra time at home before you head back to work, but that also doesn't mean you should pretend work doesn't exist. If you're worrying about how much you'll have to do when you go back in, it can make you more stressed, so it might help just doing a few work tasks while you're still at home, to set yourself up ready!

5. Don't let your new body clock carry on for too long

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It's important to get your body clock back to how it should be as soon as possible so that your sleep and eating schedules won't suffer! So try to do this as soon as you're back. If you need to hold off on going to bed even though you're exhausted, you should, if it means you can then go to bed at your 'normal' time!

6. Don't fill your calendar up too quickly

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You want to get back into the swing of things, but try not to do too much too soon. Don't completely fill up your next week's calendar with work things, meeting up with friends and errands. Give yourself time to adjust, including days off/days free for yourself to sort things out!

7. Don't skip out on your morning routine

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The first few mornings after you get back are going to make all the difference to your feeling refreshed! So don't forget about a good morning routine while choosing to sleep in for an extra three hours instead! Get yourself up, take care of your skin, pamper yourself a little - anything to feel more energized!

8. Don't forget about eating healthily

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It's likely you ate far too much on vacation - and good for you - and now it's time to be a little 'healthier' again! You'll need to get your digestive system back in working order due to the travel and time differences, so try to get back to eating healthily at the right times of the day!

9. Don't forget to drink water!

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Staying hydrated is really important, but especially so after you've been traveling. It's likely you haven't had enough water during a very long flight, and with the lack of sleep too, you'll need to top up your hydration levels as much as possible! Long flights can be very dehydrating.

10. Don't go on the bathroom scales

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Just don't. We know you've likely put weight on from all that delicious vacation food and good time drinking, so it's best if you just avoid the scales because it's not something that's going to help. Focus on getting back into a healthy routine and avoid eye contact with the scales for now!

11. Don't avoid that pile of laundry for too long

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The last thing you want to do when you get home from vacation is ten loads of laundry, but unfortunately it's one of the most time-urgent things that needs doing! You have a suitcase full of dirty clothes and no clean underwear for the week ahead, so it's definitely best if you get started on that laundry ASAP!

12. Don't sit down for too long

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The longer you sit down, lie on the couch or stay in bed, the more bummed out you're going to feel about being back off vacation, and the harder it's going to be to get up and get back into a good routine. Try to keep on your feet as much as possible, doing things, exercising and getting back to it!

13. Don't hit the snooze button the first day you're back

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Especially if you're trying to re-set your body clock from jet lag, because you'll need to set an alarm for the normal time you would wake up on that day so you don't sleep the whole day! Not only that, snoozing makes it more likely you'll run late and be more stressed on your first day back at work - so give yourself extra time to wake up properly and slowly!

14. Don't forget to let friends and family know you're back

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With the time differences and jet lag, your only thought might be your warm bed, but just make sure to send a quick text to loved ones to let them know you're back in the country! Especially if you're planning to go to bed straight away and sleep for hours, they might be worried if they don't hear from you!

15. Don't forget to give your property a quick once over!

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When you get home, make sure to walk through your property just to check there's nothing that needs your attention! You never know what might have happened while you were away - like bad weather might have damaged something - so make sure all windows are still closed, and everything looks as you left it!

16. Don't forget about your car

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If you left your car behind on vacation - and especially if you went away for two weeks - you should run your car as soon as possible to make sure the battery is recharged. If it's been sat there, especially in cold weather, make sure to drive it for at least 15 minutes after you're back from vacation as soon as you can!

17. Don't avoid quality pet time!

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If you also had to leave pets behind with a loved one or in a kennel, make sure to give them your full love and attention because they'll be more energized to see you than usual! This means you should prioritize a big walk for dogs, too, even if you might feel too tired!

18. Don't forget to backup all your vacation snaps

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The last thing you want is to lose all those perfect beach selfies and sunset snaps, so back up your vacation videos and photos on your device as soon as you can, just so you know they've saved and nothing happened to them - especially if you've been having any issues with your phone connection while you've been away!

19. Don't forget to switch your phone back!

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To avoid any extra phone charges now you're back, make sure to switch roaming off or contact your phone company to cancel any extra data you paid for just for your trip. It's very easy to still go around with your roaming on and incur extra charges! So the ideal time is right when you step off the plane!

20. DO try and fly back at the end of the week

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If you can try and time your flight to arrive back at the end of the week, this gives you the weekend before you have to get back to work, which is good for getting back into a normal routine. If you don't work normal Monday-Friday, then just timing your flight for whatever day would be best for you on normal 2 days off is helpful!

21. DO clean your home before you go

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Your present self will thank your past self for cleaning the house before you went on vacation because you're going to be VERY grateful for that when you get back! You want to arrive to a clean and tidy home and know that you don't have to deal with any chores right now!

22. Don't forget about changing any money back

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If you took physical currency on vacation with you and you happen to have some left over (good for you!) then don't forget about changing it back over to give yourself a little extra post-vacation cash! Otherwise you might put it in a drawer and forget about it, when you could do with a little extra in the bank!

23. Don't check your bank balance

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Speaking of the bank... don't check your bank balance, or your credit card status. You know you spent a lot of money on vacation and it's probably best you don't stew on that right now! Unless you think there's some charges you definitely need to check, like for using your card abroad, then don't worry about money too much right now!

24. Don't skip sleep

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It's important to get your body clock back on track, but you still need to get a full 8 hours where you can. Set alarms to try and train your wake/sleep cycle back into your normal routine, but don't be tempted to stay awake a full day, or to sleep only for a few hours because you have things to do!

25. Don't avoid too many work emails

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While it's important not to rush back to work, you might do yourself a big favor if you actually check work emails - you don't have to reply them, but reading them can be helpful if you're panicking, because it'll likely turn out it's not as bad as you thought, so once you've checked them, you can relax!

26. Don't forget about getting food for the way back

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You won't have any essentials stocked up at home right when you get back, like basic food or milk for your coffee! So don't forget to pick that up on the way back, or order it in for when you arrive home, because you'll likely need food and drink straight away - and will definitely need a healthy breakfast in the morning!

27. Don't set too many goals

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If you're feeling strangely motivated after arriving back to get sorted with everything, you might be tempted to power through a million tasks and goals to get back into a good routine. But this only risks burn out very quickly when you're already tired from traveling!

28. Don't expect it to be easy

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Don't put pressure on yourself to get everything done easily, and don't feel like a failure if you have brain fog back at work! Adjusting to your life after vacation isn't easy, and you'll only stress yourself out more if you're asking yourself why everything is so darn difficult! Go with the flow.

29. DO share your vacation vids and photos!

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When you're feeling ready, though, definitely share your vacation snaps and videos with your loved ones, and/or on social media! This will let you relive those happy memories while giving you a serotonin boost when you can talk to everyone about what you got up to!

30. DO start planning your next one!

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It's never too soon to start planning your next vacation! If your post trip blues are really bad, the best thing you can do is start planning your next trip so that you have something to look forward to and so you can perk up again. Even if you just start browsing places you'd love to visit!