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How to be motivated and engaged after the holidays

How to be motivated and engaged after the holidaysAhh holidays, the joy of taking some time out, feeling free and jumping off the merry go round of daily life!

Whether you stayed home and simply enjoyed the break or you were lucky enough to travel somewhere wonderful, I hope that you relaxed as much as you could with all that is happening in the world at the moment (thanks covid).  Holidays truly are a much need sanity break and when done well, allow you time to renew your body, mind and soul.

Unfortunately, all too often when work rolls back around and it’s time to resume “normal life” it can be a time fraught with despair as you realise that all those problems you promised yourself you’d deal with ‘after the holiday’ are right there waiting for you — usually along with a larger than normal credit-card bill (ugh).

 

 

So how do you stay motivated and engaged after the holidays?

Here’s my five top tips for staying upbeat and focus as opposed to feeling heavy hearted and glum as your holiday come to it’s eventual end:

  1. Shift your Focus – As you return from holidays and land back in the day to day of life, it’s quite normal to keep comparing your idyllic time off to all of life’s day to day practicalities.  Cooking, cleaning, commuting, work pressures, deadlines, family commitments and financial obligations all take centre stage. It can be a huge downer and it’s completely normal. As much as we would all love life to be an endless holiday, for the majority of us, we need to come back to pay the bills!  So, however you are feeling right now, know that you are not alone and do your best to shift your focus.   What goals and dreams do you have for your year? What can you plan into your week or month to look forward to? What opportunities are available to you and how can you take advantage of them?
  2. Research and book your next trip – Another thing that can really help you to shift your focus is to research, dream and plan your next trip.  It doesn’t even need to be a massive holiday, it can be a two or three day long weekend, just something in the not too distant future to look forward to.
  3. Truth be Told – If you find you’re on real downer after your holiday and can’t regain your usual vigor and focus, it may be an indication that it’s time to change some things in your life and in your work life.

Here’s a few key questions to consider:

  • If you were really truthful with yourself, what have you been tolerating or ignoring in your life/work that it’s really time to tackle and change?
  • Where can you bring more fun, rest and relaxation into your life on a week to week basis?
  • What can you simplify and let go of in your home or your life that no longer serves you and simply doesn’t bring you joy anymore?
  1. Timely Transition – Upon returning home and starting work, be gentle with yourself as you transition back into your normal routine. Remind yourself daily that you’re doing the best that you can in that moment. Pre-plan your day with a morning routine that uplifts and energizes you. Write out your daily action/to do list and cross each item off as you achieve it. Take time out in nature as much as you can to avoid getting sucked back into your normal (busy) routine.
  2. Gratitude Moments – It’s all too easy to get depressed about returning to normal life and getting caught up in your ever growing ‘to do’ list which can losing touch with the “grace” in your life. To counteract this; find and download an app for your phone (I recommend Grow for Android) and program in regular 2 or 3 hour reminders that pop up on your phone asking you what are you grateful for right now? It’s a fast, easy way to refocus your state and build your gratitude muscle –  as when you are feeling gratitude, it’s not possible to feel resentment or to be upset at the exact same moment!

Whilst it’s completely normal to feel a bit down as your holiday becomes a distant memory, take heart in the fact that you are lucky enough to be able to take a holiday (So many people simply can’t afford to take any time off work or are too sick, frail or invalid to enjoy a holiday)

Your life is YOUR life, waking up every day is a privilege and unfortunately, all too often we take this simple act of waking up and being healthy for granted  – that is, until ill health occurs or some sort of catastrophe happens shocking us into realizing just how good things were (that we totally forgot to appreciate and instead: found fault in most of the time!)

So after every holiday (big or small) be grateful, make changes, uplift yourself and others and celebrate the simple act of living the life that you really want.  Your life will always be a work in progress, it’s important to realise that it’s never done and that you will always want more (or different) and that’s totally ok.

It’s also ok to strive for your dreams and goals and ask for assistance when you’re feeling stuck, lost or confused.  No one ever said the path of growth and change would be simple but you certainly don’t have to traverse it alone.