It can be overwhelming to return to your business after a relaxing vacation. In this episode #146 of The FastForwardAmy Show, Amy shares some tips to make that adjustment easier.
Do you find it difficult to return to your business after your vacation?
At first, you may feel energised and ready to tackle anything after your vacation. It can be a surprise when you begin to feel tired so quickly once you get back to business.
After relaxing, eating good food, and drinking wine under the stars, coming back to reality can be overwhelming. This feeling actually has nothing to do with your work (don’t worry, you don’t hate your job!).
You are feeling tired or overwhelmed because your vacation habits are so different to your habits at home — they don’t match up.
In this episode of the FastForwardAmy Show, I share advice on how to develop habits that help you both on vacation and at home, so that coming back to your business is less overwhelming. Below are the first three steps:
1. Budget: not just for vacation
Most of us have a budget when we go on vacation. While I am away I know I will be eating out for every meal, and I have set up a budget to do that. However, at home, the same decision may be much more stressful. Do I cook? Do I order in? Do I go out?
While you are on vacation, and you have a budget, you know exactly what you can spend and you don’t need to worry as long as you stay within your budget.
The first step to mirroring your vacation behaviour is setting up a budget at home too. When you set up a budget for yourself at home, you know exactly what’s coming in and going out all the time.
You don’t need to constantly stress about money because you are keeping track of it — just like on vacation — and it becomes easier to make decisions.
2. Planning and clarity
The main reason people get overwhelmed is because they don't know what their priorities are. When I get overwhelmed, it usually means I don’t know what my priorities are.
When ‘everything is a priority’, nothing is a priority anymore — you have to figure out the most important tasks to get done.
On vacation it is easy to have clarity because you have very little to worry about, maybe where you will go to lunch, but that’s about it. You know you are just there to relax, so you have clarity about your purpose without even trying.
At home, it’s not always that easy. You have more to worry about and you need more of a plan to maintain that clarity. Staying on top of planning and clarity is important at home and on vacation. When you get home from a vacation, figuring out your priorities is key to maintaining clarity and avoiding feeling overwhelmed.
3. Listen to your natural rhythm, no matter where you are.
I enjoy being out in nature, thinking, discussing ideas — I don’t like admin. On vacation, I often get to do more of the things I enjoy. At home, there is often more admin.
As well as doing more of the things we like, on vacation we are often around people we love — friends, family — and this feels great. Often, this is very different to how it can feel to be around clients, coworkers, or your work teams at home. If coming back to these people is draining your energy, maybe it’s time to ask yourself if you should be working with these people?
Often, our vacation will tell us a lot about our energy. What energizes you? What do you really enjoy doing? Who makes you happy? If we can mirror these things at home — maybe go for more walks in nature, or whatever you enjoy — this can ultimately help us feel better about what we do everyday.
Coming back from a vacation can be less overwhelming when you really feel like you are happy doing what you do everyday.
The secret is to create best of both worlds
Even when I was on vacation, I really missed some things about my everyday life. For example, my morning routine and my structure at home. I am a morning person, and I try to keep up that rhythm and habit of getting up early when I’m on vacation. Otherwise, my sleep will be messed up at home and I will feel tired and overwhelmed really quickly.
What you need to ask yourself is: how can I combine the best of both worlds? Is it more walks at the end of the day? Drinking less coffee? What is important to me both on vacation and at home — and am I creating habits that help me achieve those priorities?
fastforwardamy.com/elevatorAt FastForwardAmy, we want to help people achieve lives that they don’t want to take vacations from, with the Business Freedom Elevator™. It's my group coaching program for anyone who wants to be financial independent and work according to their own passion and rhythm. Follow the link fastforwardamy.com/elevator to register!
Do you need some free help with your time management, even when you're not coming back from vacation?
Follow my free Dutch training: “De 7 Geboden: Passievol Ondernemen Op Eigen Ritme” and find the rhythm that fits YOU.
RECAP
To help you feel less overwhelmed after your vacation, I have summarised the tips and habits I discuss in this week's episode in the list below. For more advice on how to create habits that make coming home from vacation easier, listen to the rest of the episode here.
Top tips to avoid feeling overwhelmed after your vacation by mirroring your vacation habits at home:
- Create a budget
- Maintain clarity, priorities, and planning at home and when you are away
- Understand and mirror your needs
- Spend time with people you love
- Mirror your natural rhythm
- Keep the healthy vacation habits: more vitamin D, less phone time, more reading, more walks
Listen to this episode via Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and search for episode 146 of The FastForwardAmy Show.
PS: If you want to work with me but aren’t sure where to begin, head to fastforwardamy.com/findyourfit and answer the questions — we’ll point you in the right direction!
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