Top Tips On How To Be Pumped About Going Back To Work After A Vacation

1. Tip #1: Disconnect From Work And Technology

1.1. It will help you want to get back to work.

1.2. Truly disconnecting means not doing anything work-related.

1.2.1. No email checking, no calls, no social media.

1.2.2. Don’t bring your work laptop.

1.2.3. If it’s the same as your personal one, don’t turn it on unless it’s for researching things to do or book flights and accommodation.

1.2.4. Shut that phone off. Use it for the essentials only, like Google Maps and Translate.

1.3. Relax, get back to your hobbies. Do things you want to do that doesn’t work towards your productive activities.

2. Tip #2: Plan Your Return On Your Last Day Off

2.1. Don’t go back to work not knowing what to expect.

2.2. You’ll have clarity on what you need to do and you’ll be pumped to clear off that checklist the day of.

2.3. Be precise in your planning, and break your tasks in the smallest possible chunks.

2.4. Try not to schedule your hardest tasks on the day of your return. Or maybe not even in the first week.

2.5. Give yourself a chance to be back.

2.6. If you have limited control over your work, ask your superior what tasks they’re thinking of assigning you and try to negotiate with them

3. Tip #3: Be Positive About It

3.1. Do not tell yourself that coming back will suck. Even if you know it might.

3.2. Think about the positive aspects of your work. Think about the things you like about your work.

3.3. If you struggle to find anything positive, consider other options. There are almost always other options.

4. Tip #4: Be Grateful

4.1. Some people don’t have the luxury of taking a vacation.

4.2. Be thankful for being granted vacation. Be thankful that your work made your vacation possible.

4.3. Some people can’t afford it. Both in terms of money and time.

4.4. Start appreciating what made this vacation possible in the end: your work.

4.5. Work gives you purpose. Be thankful for the opportunity to do something productive.

5. Tip #5: Exhaust Yourself, Just Enough

5.1. When you take a vacation that’s too relaxing, you become too comfortable.

5.2. It’s hard to break out of it and want to go back to doing productive things.

5.3. Relax on vacation, but make sure to spend some energy too.

5.4. Spend energy on things you like to do and on things out of your comfort zone.

5.5. Learn new things. Meet new people. Eat new foods. Let your imagination run wild.

5.5.1. But don’t overdo it or you'll be too exhausted

5.6. Plan your most relaxing activities for the end of your vacation.

5.6.1. That way you’ll have spent energy in the beginning, and won’t have time to get too comfortable before going back.

6. Tip #6: Change Your Mindset About Work

6.1. Work and life go together. There’s no balance. Work is life.

6.2. Start seeing work as a way to get things done and not about a paycheque, and you'll understand that work gives a meaning to life.

6.3. Believe that you’re doing things that work towards your goals

6.4. Stop thinking of work as a chore, but as a way to achieve your greatest ambitions in life.

6.5. Coming back to “work” then becomes coming back to achieving your goals. And that is enticing and will get you pumped.