Last week you were baking a cocktail on the beach, but now for many the ‘normal life’ has started again. We go back to work, have to cook again, wash, clean, maintain the garden and you name it. In other words: stress is lurking again. How do you maintain that wonderfully relaxed holiday feeling?
“After the holiday, people are recharged and they have the feeling that they can take it again. We see fewer people with stress complaints,” says Franca Meijs. She is co-founder of Het Stresshuis in Eindhoven. Yet that relaxed feeling often disappears like snow in the sun when normal life has started again. The stress coach gives the most important tips.
1. Limit your phone usage
“It is very important to make more conscious choices in your telephone use. Because of your telephone you are available 24 hours a day, you can easily check your mail and work and private life quickly get mixed up.”
So it’s smart to make a plan for yourself. “Turn off your phone when you get home and make it clear to people that you’re not available 24 hours a day. Also, train yourself to stop checking your phone.”
2. Make time for what you like
Many will recognize it: that good book that you enjoyed so much during the holiday, will soon be gathering dust on the shelf when you get home. “What we really liked during the holiday is what we often stop doing at home. So read a book or listen to music that makes you happy.”
To maintain your holiday feeling, it is important to keep doing those kinds of things. “Look at what made your vacation so great and how you can give it a place at home. Ask yourself: if you enjoy reading so much, why not do it at home?”
Then you have to consciously make time for those fun things. “On vacation you automatically have that time, but now you have to plan it consciously. So in addition to the appointments you normally schedule, also make some time for that me-time that recharges you.”
3. Check how you are doing
According to the stress coach, mindfulness can also help you to stay relaxed. “Make room to check with yourself every now and then how your energy is doing: how tired are you and how do you feel? On holiday you easily give in to that, if you are tired you lie on the beach for example. You really have to consciously make room for that at work.”
But what if you feel tired at work? Then you can’t just go to a beach to lie down. “You don’t need that much time to come to yourself,” Meijs reassures. “It can even be done in the toilet. Close your eyes for two minutes and come to yourself. After that you will feel a little better. Even if you sometimes take a moment to walk or meditate, you can start again. “
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