Thanks past-self for the pep talk!
When I was a teenager, I often kept a journal to scribble down my thoughts on life, school, dating and more. Every once in a while when giving my room a deep clean, I’ll find myself sitting amongst a pile of my belongs and reading back to those days—entertained, embarrassed, enthralled by my perspective at that age.
These days, this newsletter IS my journal. And so this week as I struggled to get out of my vacation brain fog ( can’t count how many times I misplaced my keys, wallet, and phone!), I opened up last year’s first post-vacation newsletter to look to my past self for some advice. It’s incredibly helpful for me to look back at my own words, to remember that circumstances and my mood can fluctuate, but that things ultimately keep on going as they always have.
So this week I want to reshare the tips I found useful last year and once again this week, in getting back into “real life” mode and fighting the “emotional jetlag” following a fantastic holiday!
1. Keep busy, but don’t do too much.
I tend to come back from vacation with a huge to-do list. I’m feeling motivated to hit the ground running and don’t want to let anything stop me. Fast forward to a few days after the holiday, and I’m overwhelmed by how much I’ve put on my plate and exhausted from overdoing it. Too much free time works the same way for me. I’ll obsess over what I miss from my vacation and whether what I’m doing in my “real life” is really what I should be doing. Being especially mindful to keep a work life balance in those few key days back helps a ton!
2. Fit in time for something you love.
Prioritize a visit with friends to share vacation stories with, take time to take a fitness class, try to make a recipe for something yummy you ate on holiday. Sticking to things you know consistently bring you joy can remind you of all the good things you’ve already got going for yourself in your day to day life.
3. Rest like you are on holiday.
While you can’t necessarily nap away the afternoon like you did on vacation, making sure you get enough sleep can help you feel more able to tackle the challenges of everyday life and less moody when those “back to reality” blues hit. Opting to put down my phone earlier to go to sleep instead of mindlessly scrolling and coming across others’ beach holiday photos on social media is especially helpful!
4. Be patient.
Realizing that I won’t be able to tackle every work project or be back in pre-vacation shape immediately means I can try to be a little easy on myself. Yes, I enjoyed every minute away from my phone, every sip of wine and every bite of ice cream. No, I won’t be exactly where I left off before I went away. It will take time, like it always does.
Have you had a summer holiday? How do you keep yourself from feeling the post-holiday blues? I’d love to hear from you!
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie
謝謝過去的自己幫忙打氣
青少年時期的我常常利用寫日記來記下生活、學校、約會或是針對其他人事物的想法。一段時間當我幫房間大掃除時，常常不自覺地發現自己坐在一堆雜物當中，翻閱著過去的那些日子，有些有趣、有些丟臉、有些精準捕捉住當時的年紀。
現在，這電子報正是我的日記，所以這週，當我仍在嘗試離開還在放假的腦袋時（已經數不清我有多少次找不到手機、錢包和鑰匙了）， 我打開了去年第一封在假期過後的電子報，期待過去的自己能給些有效的建議。神奇的是，看著自己過去寫的內容真的很有幫助， 回憶起當初的狀況，情緒跟著起伏，但就像是每一件事，它們都會過去。
所以這周我想要重新分享這些我「去年建議、今天受益」的小撇步，如何在一個完美的假期後，對抗抗情緒時差、接軌現實生活。
1.保持忙碌但是不要太過頭
我常常會在收假的時候給自己列了一大張代辦清單，然後興致滿滿地承諾自己無論如何我都要完成清單上的事，然後幾天過去了，我就發現自己已經被這個大清單壓得喘不過氣；反之，如果我有太多時間的話，我就會開始一直想著我最想念假期的哪一個部分，或是開始懷疑自己「真實生活」中的決定。我發現在收假的前幾天，有意識的保持工作與生活的平衡是很大的關鍵。
2.安排時間做一些你愛的事情
優先安排和好友一起吃飯分享旅途趣事、去上一堂健身課、或是嘗試做一道在假期中吃到很好吃的菜的食譜，做一些你知道一定會讓你開心的事，這樣可以幫助你記得並感激在「真實生活」你現在所擁有的。
3.像是在放假般的休息
雖然你不能像假日一樣睡一整個下午，但是足夠的睡眠可以幫助你有能力戰勝每天的挑戰，也比較不會情緒化，選擇放下手機早點上床睡覺，絕對比無意識地滑著手機、看著別人在社交媒體上放的假日海灘照片還有幫助。
4. 有耐心
了解我不會馬上就恢復能力或是身材，這就表示我可以不用對自己那樣嚴厲。沒錯，我享受我沒有用手機的每一分鐘，每一口酒和冰淇淋，我的心境和去之前不太一樣了。它只需要時間，就像所有的事情一樣！
這個夏天你有去哪裡度假嗎？ 你如何克服假後症候群？ 我也想聽聽你的想法。
繼續前進！
愛你的 Katie
( Anna Liang 譯 )