Woohoo! It’s Christmas time - ’tis the season to be jolly! You’ve started your well-deserved winter break, put up your “Out of Office” message on your work email, and said “Till next year!” to your colleagues.
You’re now excitedly planning all the fun things you’re going to do during these days off. You’re gonna get to hang out with friends you’ve not seen in months and get together with your family. This is how life should always be!
There is just one tiny problem. There is a thought forming in the back of your head. You know it’s there but try to ignore it… but this happens every year - it’s only a matter of time before it takes full-form and overpowers all your other thoughts.
“I’m going to have to go back to work soon…”
Once you’ve thought it once, it’s pretty damn hard to get it out of your head.
I used to get a bad case of this when I was working a 9-5 office job. Every time I’d take some time off I’d try and forget about work - and I was often pretty good at it. At least at first.
As the days went by and I enjoyed the wonders of relaxation and stress-free fun, (aka. a Holiday) I couldn’t help but think about how many days I had left in this holiday. How many days I had until…
The Dreaded Return - Going Back to Work
It is during the holidays when we rediscover why life is incredible. We get to do the things we enjoy and be with those we love. We can choose to wake up only when our bodies are fully rested, and we have time to go for long walks and get some fresh air.
Putting it plainly, the holidays are when we feel alive!
Our brains have a negative bias, so we soon start to wonder why we can’t have this life every day, and before we know it we’ve fallen back into the bottomless pit of worrying about work.
The worst is that we know what it’s like to get back to work after a holiday because we’ve done it many, many times before. We’ve experienced the post-Christmas blues - we know the weeks following the Christmas holidays are the most depressing of the year.
It’s a terrible mixture of shorter days, colder weather, the sadness after everyone’s favourite holiday is over, and yes - going back to spending 8 hours a day being somewhere we don’t wanna be.
Worry not, though! I have 3 brilliant tips that you can do right now that will save your holidays from the thought of going back to work!
3 tips to beat the blues and enjoy your holidays
When you’re starting to dread the return to work after the holidays, pick one of these 3 tactics and you’ll notice that you’ll feel so much better.
Do 30 minutes of exercise
Exercise is such an underrated anti-depressant! There are numerous studies that
There are numerous studies that prove the beneficial effects of exercise on both body and mind. The feel-good hormones that are released with exercise can combat any negative state of mind and have you feeling rejuvenated within minutes.
Have you got access to a gym? Go lift some weights!
Do you live near the countryside? Go for a long walk and breathe the fresh air!
Are you more of a running person? Go for a quick jog!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll feel too warm and comfortable inside the house to get out - but you must! I promise you’ll be glad you did it.
Practice Gratitude
It’s all too easy to focus on the things that worry us and ignore the great parts of our lives. That’s where gratitude comes in.
It was shown in a study by Harvard that people who are grateful about the good parts of their lives - however small - are more likely to feel happy and optimistic.
Think about 5 things you’re grateful for and focus on them. It could be your family, friends or health. Maybe you love your home and where you live. Even being grateful for the smallest things can have a huge effect.
I always feel grateful for water. It’s an absolute necessity, and we have pipes, pumps and filters that provide up with clean water. On demand. This would be mindblowing to someone a few centuries ago!
Have an escape plan
I found that what worked best for me was having a plan to leave work. This made me see going back to work as a step in the plan to freedom - not a burden that I hated.
If you hate your job and you’d like to take the leap and start your own business - something that would make the best use of your skills and your creativity - I have a plan that you can use.
Sign up below to get free instant access to the 7-step Guide to Escape the 9-5 and Live the Life you Want:
This is a completely free pdf that will show you a plan that you know works - it’s what I did to quit my job and start this website! 😉
When you start seeing your job as a way to make money - so that you can save a stash that’ll let you quit your job - it’ll be a lot easier to go back after the holidays.
That’s it for today folks! I hope you can use these tips to enjoy your holidays to the max and get back to work with a plan.
Having an escape plan is a great way to stay motivated. Fortunately for me, I love my job… but I know that most people can’t say that.
It’s great that you love your job! You’re one of the lucky few 😉 I’ve only met a handful of people who can say that. Even if you don’t want to escape your 9-5 job, it’s still important to have a financial plan of some sort - whether to save for an emergency fund, pay off debt or invest for a nest egg.