You just got back from vacation and *SMACK* – you’re hit in the face with reality! Sound familiar? Yea, I thought so. We don’t want to dread going home + facing our reality. We want to ease back into our routine + our work smoothly and avoid all the hassle. To do so, I compiled five different things to do to transition back to work after vacation below:

1. Set your  Out Of The Office  responder for one extra day

Yes! Give yourself some grace and some time. This one might seem surface level + a little obvious but many of us when we set our ‘out of the office’ responder, we’ve got our itinerary dates in our mind and just put the dates we’re going to be gone. Instead, I recommend giving yourself a day to get back into the groove without your inbox jumping down your throat!

2. Don’t schedule anything major for the day after you return

How many times have we made the mistake of  ‘Oh sure, I can take that call on Monday!‘ . . . Only to return home on Sunday night, exhausted, dreading that phone call the next morning and chugging coffee beforehand? Yea, I know I have! I believe we should bring our best selves into our work and especially to our clients. To do so, don’t schedule anything (especially anything major) for the day(s) following your vacation! Instead, transition back into work slowly. Start with your inbox, small tasks, setting up calls you need to have later in the week, etc.

3. Slowly Ease Into Your Day

Each day we wake up with a clean slate, the opportunity to start our day any way we choose. Instead of hopping on social media, checking your inbox and rushing through your morning after your oh-so-relaxing (or adventurous!) vacation, SLOW DOWN. Wake up, make some tea or coffee without rush, possibly read a book or newspaper, meditate (if you’re into that sort of thing), make a nutritious breakfast and just chill. Allow your thoughts to gather naturally, without pressures from your computer or phone, without the stress, without obligations. (Remember, your away message is still on + you don’t have anything major planned today!) Take it easy in the morning, layout what goals you’re working towards, what objectives you need to accomplish that week and then get to it!

4. Set 3 Objectives That You Know You Can Accomplish

First of all, if you’ve ever read my tips on productivity, you know about only giving yourself THREE things to accomplish in a day. Then, anything else is a bonus. So, for days that you’re coming back from vacation, make sure those three things are something that you can definitely get done! Why? Because then you’ll feel really accomplished + charged up, preparing you for an even better following day. This will help you slip back into the swing of things excited that you’re getting shit done!

5. Get A Little ‘Pau Hana Time’ Going

Here in Hawai’i, ‘Pau Hana’ means ‘after work’ and is the time when you go grab a drink with co-workers or friends when you’re done with your work day is commonly referred to as ‘Pau Hana Time’. But, no matter if you work from home by yourself or you work at an office – schedule something after your work is done that reminds you of the vacation you just took. Something that you can look forward to + enjoy! Maybe it is a grabbing a mai tai in a beautiful setting, or continuing to read the next chapter of your book on the lanai, or maybe it’s catching sunset yoga. Do something that makes you reminisce on the incredible experience you just had – instead of letting it slip away like a distant memory!

Recently, we took a little island hop over to Maui for the weekend + I definitely used these tips during my transition back to work. Typically, our trips are adventure filled + go, go, go the entire time but for this trip, we just CHILLED which was incredible! And even though I love what I do each day, it’s always a little challenging shifting gears back into routine, especially mid-week. So, if you’re just getting back from a vacation or are planning one here soon, I hope these tips help ease the transition back to work after vacation + help you hold on to those special vacation moments a bit longer!

Cheers!