How to emotionally cope with returning to work after the holidays

For many people, the end of the holidays is a source of discomfort that goes beyond the fact of not having a lot of free time for several days in a row.

In many cases, what generates more anguish or uneasiness is the need to readjust to day-to-day work; Having to adapt quickly to the demands of the workday can become emotionally overwhelming under a series of circumstances. In fact, it has come to speak of a phenomenon called post-holiday depression that, although it is not a psychological disorder nor is it comparable to depression greater, reflects the state of decay and general low mood that occurs in some workers when they return to work after their parenthesis vacation.

In this article you will find a summary of the main Tips that you should take into account so that the return to the work context is more bearable and does not become too uphill.

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Why is returning to work emotionally difficult for us?

As we have anticipated, the fundamental factor to understand that "downturn" that sometimes occurs when we return to work after the holidays is the contrast between experiences and habits, the strong difference between what we did on our days off and what we do when we are immersed in the dynamics of job.

Do not forget that Working involves much more than carrying out a series of concrete actions during a workday that lies ahead.; Normally, it also happens to adopt a different mentality in which we must plan what we will do during the month or the week, and adjust our expectations to certain productivity objectives, to the prevention of possible inconveniences, etc.

In other words, the difference between being on vacation and being on vacation has profound psychological implications, and If our mind does not "connect" with the actions that we must carry out during the day, friction arises that produces a lot of discomfort. In fact, it is relatively common for this to happen during the first days back to work, since we still function with the psychological inertias that we have internalized during holidays.

For example, the fact of evoking memories of the days we have spent while traveling has nothing wrong in itself and can even be pleasant, but if we use it during our workday as a way to escape from work, not only will we underperform (which will lead to objective problems due to lack of productivity) but we will also feel worse, since we will be unable to focus and feel motivated to carry out our tasks. chores.

In this way, emotional readjustment consists of adequately transitioning that step from habits and memories associated to actions, to actions concentration, time management and self-motivation strategies necessary to perform at work in the most satisfactory way possible.

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5 tips to psychologically face the return to work after the holidays

Keep these key ideas in mind to help you best adjust back to work.

1. Before your first day back at work, readjust your sleep schedule

Much of what we feel has to do with our degree of activation at a given moment. And this depends on the circadian rhythms, linked to our biological clock that regulates the alternation between sleep and wakefulness. If your work schedule does not coincide with that of the holidays, it is normal that you feel bad and do not focus or be able to find your role as a professional satisfactory.

So at least two days before you return to work, make sure to normalize your sleep schedule and start going to bed at a similar time to when you work. If you don't, or you will only go to work sleepy, but also your mood will drop and you will be a person more prone to stress and with a worse ability to concentrate.

• Related article: "Circadian rhythms: what are they and in what biological functions do they intervene"

2. Create a clear sequence of activities

To make it easy for you to "connect" with work, make sure you are very clear at all times what the sequence of tasks ahead of you should be as part of your responsibilities.

If you do not plan this order of tasks in advance, you will surely waste too much time doubting and feeling sorry for not having energy or motivation to do nothing. Keep in mind that clearly visualizing the next short-term goal that you will achieve will be a motivating element that will “pull you” and will prevent you from falling into those experiences of anguish and indecision.

To order the tasks that you will perform during the day, a useful way to achieve this is to order them first by urgency, and then by simplicity and brevity of those tasks. Once you have made those two lists, merge them so that the highest priority tasks are the most urgent and the simplest. Once you have started with the easiest thing to do, you will have much more motivation and it will cost you much less to continue with the rest of the responsibilities.

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3. Make sure to incorporate enough moments of rest into your day

If you do not incorporate moments of rest into your work day, you will end up wasting a lot of time due to sheer exhaustion, resting in an improvised and inefficient way. It is better to add many short breaks than not to do it and rest anyway but going out of your schedule.

4. Don't neglect healthy eating routines

If you don't eat well, it will be the most normal thing in the world that you do not have physical or mental energy to face the challenge of returning to work. Keep this in mind, because it is possible that when you leave your vacation behind, you will run into many more limitations to choose when and what to eat.

• Related article: "The relationship of nutrition with emotional well-being"

5. Don't let work suck up all your free time

Finally, don't let the end of the holidays mean the end of your free time, because that will wear you down psychologically very quickly. Make sure you still have several hours a week to dedicate to yourself and what you love beyond paid work and domestic and family responsibilities.

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Are you interested in getting professional help to improve your well-being?

If you are looking for psychotherapy services, we invite you to get in touch with our team of professionals.

On Vibra Wellbeing we offer individualized psychological therapy, couples therapy, psychiatric support, nutrition and dietetic services, physical therapy, and meditation, yoga and Pilates classes.

You will find us in our center located in San Blas-Canillejas, and we also carry out online sessions.