How I Gave My Work Life a Restart After 10 Days of Traveling; Work After Fun
Traveling is fun but the aftermath of it is often tiresome
I am the kind of person who loves my simple mundane life. I know the time I wake up, what I do next, and how any part of my day doesn’t involve anything ‘unknown’ or extraordinary. I feel more aligned with my inner cycle knowing I don’t have to rush to get anything done. I have the full day to get my work done as well as indulge in the sweet little pleasures of life.
It’s because I don’t have the most productive routine or a particular format to follow, I feel calm every day. People say ‘you should have something to feel excited towards every day.’
Well, I believe your days should be so calm that you never feel any outburst of emotion whether it’s panic or excitement. Your day-to-day life should be like ocean water. There are waves of emotions — happiness, excitement, sadness, or worries. But in the end, it’s so calm that these waves automatically dissolve.
To give you a gist of my day, I wake up at around 7 or 8 AM. I quickly make my bed, take a shower, have my breakfast and then with a good cup of tea or coffee, I sit down to scroll Pinterest. Oh boy, what a joy.
Afterwards, I write articles for my book. Do some client work, have lunch, take a nap, have a cup of coffee, and then either read, sit with my mother to chit-chat or crochet, or just lie around. Some days when I feel like going out, I get ready and take a walk around my favorite parts of my city and end the day at my favorite bakery shop with a brownie or waffle (I love waffles. I want to go to Belgium one day just to eat lots of waffles).
Anyway, you see my days are pretty simple. Nothing fancy or extraordinary. Nothing that says, ‘I am going to own the world.’
Now each one of us works at our own pace doing things we love the most. However, traveling or any special occasion often puts a hold on it and our natural rhythm and our connection with our day-to-day life get broken.
As much as people have hipped up traveling, what they don’t tell you is a long travel journey or any kind of long break can make you feel disconnected from your life and then if you don’t pay attention, you may slip back into bad habits so your mind doesn’t have to deal with the consequences.
For example: In my case, when I came back home after 10 days of travel, I didn’t feel at home even after 4–5 days. I felt a disconnection with the things that were once a joy to me. I wasn’t able to think straight and feel focused on my work. Thus, as an escape, I started using social media a lot. I spent more time on Netflix than I ever had in the past. All of this because I wasn’t able to feel that connection with my life.
Now, this could be the case with you as well. Or maybe even without any breaks or traveling, you are feeling a little disconnected from your life and if that’s the case, do these things that helped me:
1. Make A Little Change:
I personally feel your space decides your mood and connectivity with the given place.
There is a reason why even after the most luxurious travel and stay, we crave to go back home. Because home defines us. It looks like a part of our soul and mind. It calms us. Things seem familiar there.
Hence, when I came back home and didn’t feel that connection, I decided to change things a little to make it feel and look more like ‘myself.’
I don’t have a personal room as of now. I had one but not right now. Again, your personal space is an essential part for you to feel focused and disconnected from the external world.
So here is what I did, we have a big terrace living room. It’s not designed nor did it look good. I decided to turn it into my space. I cleaned the living room first. Then I added a small bed with my table. I added white curtains just beside my bed and brought some plants. The wall wasn’t really beautiful so I printed some cool pictures that defined my aesthetic and I stuck them on my wall. I also got a floor cover mat because I love to sit on the floor.
Now, every morning when I come here with my cup of tea, I feel that I am entering my personal space. Those pictures on the wall remind me of who I am and what I want to be. It helps me stay focused as well as gives me the feel of home.
This is exactly what I want you to do. There are enough reasons why you cannot do what you want to do and why you don’t have a perfect room or space to decorate. But there is only one reason to make the best out of what you have: YOUR PERSONAL COMFORT.
Make yourself feel at home by designing your place in your own way. Even if it’s a very small space, make it your own. Decorate it like your mental imagination and let it inspire you to be more of yourself. If you need inspiration, go search online. But don’t let your days pass away feeling disconnected in a place you live.
2. Forces Less; Connect More:
It’s so sad but the reality of our world is, after taking a break for any reason, we feel so guilty to get back to work as if we never deserved a break.
I have seen people rush things and add a bunch of extra tasks to their list after they come back from a holiday. It’s like they have to compensate for the amount of joy they had in the past few days.
I agree that when we take a break, our work suffers a bit. But we don’t have to pressurize ourselves or guilt trip ourselves for doing more. By doing so, you will feel guilty for the fun you had and stressed about the work you have to catch up with.
The better way to deal with post-work is to let yourself find your natural rhythm to work. Start by sorting out smaller tasks that have to be done. Give your brain a little warm-up by doing these smaller tasks like replying back to pending emails, taking some time to analyze your current work situation, and scheduling tasks — keeping the important ones as a priority. This way your brain wouldn’t be here and there. You would know what needs to be done and with a relaxed mind, you will be able to do them faster and effectively.
Conclusion:
These are the things that helped to get back to my work without feeling guilty or stressed. I hope it helps you as well. Remember, you can have fun and you can be equally passionate about your work.
