Post-holiday blues are real and can affect you in subtle ways if not in big ways.
It’s okay to be a little resentful for having to go back to your routine after a long holiday. But it can affect your mood and become a dark cloud over the past few days. If you dread returning to work or your routine, find yourself complaining already and think of ways to go back next week, you might be having the blues.
But those melancholy thoughts and feelings can make it difficult to get back into the groove. Here’s how to handle it.
Go out after work
Pick an activity for the evening and enjoy it with colleagues. If going out for quiz night in the evening with colleagues or friends is common for you, get back right into it on the first day of returning to work.
Get some time with the team
Start your morning with socialising. Talk about the holiday and what each person did, and also talk about new plans. It can be detrimental to go from holiday spirit to staring at your computer without a welcoming feeling of togetherness with others.
Put away holiday reminders
If you still have holiday foods or drinks, give them away or share them with colleagues and other people around you. Throw away that palm from Palm Sunday, don’t turn it into a drying house plant. Store away any other collections.
Talk about your holiday
Speak up about your experience and what you enjoyed about it. Talk about any thoughts you have and how happy or unhappy you felt. Talking with others may help you let go of those feelings in better ways than stewing in memories or trying to force yourself to move on.
Remind yourself of your goals
Your goals are like a rudder for your activity and life trajectory. Setting goals can help you get the motivation you need to move forward.
Fake it till you make it
A gloomy mood and a bright mood are both infectious so choose wisely which one to collaborate with. Try to be positive and energetic as much as you can and surround yourself with those of a similar complexion.