After a 4-week family trip, I’m back in business.

And I must say: It’s hard. Now that I’m running my own business and no longer working as an employee, it’s a different kind of hard, though.

When I was still in my job, anxiety and overwhelm would lead to sleepless nights already days before returning to work after a vacation. Luckily, those days are gone since I quit my job and went all in on my business. Now I am my own boss, but it has been challenging to get back to work even though I love what I’m doing.

Based on my own problems with the transition back to work, this week I’m diving deeper into the science behind coming back from a vacation and how to make the transition easier. Many people are either on vacation right now or still looking forward to one, so it’s a timely topic anyway.

I hope it helps you with your next transition from vacation back to work!

The transition from vacation, where you have a lot of unstructured time and enjoyment, back to everyday routines with many tasks and fixed schedules is a major challenge, both cognitively and emotionally. Feeling off or unproductive over the first days after a vacation is common, and it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or lack discipline.

Your brain and body need time to get back into “work mode”. It’s a gradual process; returning to work is not “picking up where you left off and continuing at full speed.”

Here are a few tips that can help after a vacation. Not every tip will apply to your particular situation, but some of them will.

This is a mental shift that can help you find your rhythm again. Instead of thinking about the vacation as something you lost, let it become part of your present. Instead of wishing you could turn back time, ask: What did this vacation give me that I can carry into my everyday life?

If possible, avoid highly challenging or stressful tasks or working overtime during the first days after coming back. This gives you time to adjust first. That’s even more important if you’ve just returned from a different time zone and still feel jetlagged or experience strong travel fatigue after a long trip.

Research shows that strong boundaries between your work life and private life can make the transition easier.

To increase those boundaries, it helps to separate your physical spaces, that is, your private space and your working space (not always easy if you work from home!). Another important aspect is setting clear start and end times for your working day instead of mixing work activities with private activities.

There are different things you can do to work smarter (they always make sense, not only after vacation!):

Reduce task switching

Switching between different tasks comes with a cognitive cost known as switching cost, which means that you need more resources when you switch from one task to another rather than focusing on one task.

Switching between tasks carries a measurable cognitive cost: your brain has to disengage from one task, activate the rules for the next one, and then reorient when you return. For example, if you work on a specific task, then check your email, and then come back to the original task, the cost is much greater than just the time you needed for checking your email.

So, try focusing on one task at a time and batch similar tasks together.

Take breaks

Powering through doesn’t work. Recovery breaks are a necessity, not a waste of time. They can reduce fatigue, restore energy, and help you be more productive.

Take a break at least every 60-90 minutes. If you work on a screen, strive for screen-free breaks.

Limit your time for a task

Define how much uninterrupted time you’ll give yourself for a certain task and commit to one specific task without task switching during that defined time. Committing to limited amounts of time helps you get started.

Even tiny blocks of 10 or 15 minutes can be useful.

One big task/day

This depends on your autonomy, of course, but if you have the possibility to define your own priorities, then define just 1 top priority or “big task” (or no more than 2) for the day. It helps with organization and focus.

Use implementation intentions

Implementation intentions are specific action plans that create a link between a situation and an action. By setting an implementation intention, you have a concrete action plan instead of “just trying to make progress”.

The format is: IF [situation] THEN [action].

Mine for today was “IF I sit down to work in the morning, THEN I’ll write the draft for my next newsletter.”

To learn more about implementation intentions, check out this previous edition of my newsletter.

For your next workday, define an implementation intention like this:

IF I start my workday tomorrow, THEN I’ll work on [your top priority for the day] for [fixed duration] before doing anything else.

Feeling off and unmotivated during the first workdays after a vacation is common. You’re a human being, not a machine you can simply plug back in and expect to run at full speed.

Be patient and give yourself some grace over the transition period. You’ll find your rhythm again.

What else I’ve been up to:

I published a new Medium article (making slow progress after my break!) about 7 brain facts that still fascinate me after 20+ years in neuroscience.

You can read it here:

My friend link is included at the beginning of the article so you can read it for free if you’re not a Medium member.

That’s it for today!

And now?

Until next time!

Best wishes,

Patricia (Dr. Patricia Schmidt) from creatorschmidt.com

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Disclaimer: 1) This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical or mental health advice and is not a substitute for professional healthcare. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical condition, medications, or supplements, and before making any changes to your health routine. 2) This newsletter may contain recommendations or links to third-party offers and newsletters. The author is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or practices of these external sites.