How I reset for a good week after traveling
**pictured: the excitement of arriving to my room in Lake Como, Italy
If you’re anything like me, you love traveling but you so look forward to getting back into your normal routine when you get home. Routines are already pretty tough to maintain so it definitely adds a layer of challenge to try to get back into a *healthy* routine after time away. I’m going to share my checklist for how I get back into my healthy routine as quickly as possible after traveling - whether I was away for the weekend or a month.
The one thing I want to be sure to mention here is to keep in mind that what feels healthy for me could be totally different from what feels healthy to you. I’ll share a few questions here that can help you make sure whatever is added into you healthy routine is a good fit for you.
What is a healthy routine to me?
What are my priorities?
What actions make me feel best during my work week?
Does this genuinely feel important to me or is this what someone else values?
Is this commitment practical for my resources and time?
Are my expectations for myself too high here?
Do I feel overwhelmed just making the list of things to do?
Now that you’ve done your check in and you’re in a mindset to make this personal, I’m going to share what helps me feel set up for the week. Take what feels like it would fit for you and leave what doesn’t feel helpful!
Before the trip:
I want everything to be clean so that when I get home, all I have to do is focus on getting ready for the upcoming week - not cleaning up old messes. At a bare minimum I have to:
Take out the trash
Leave no dirty dishes are in the sink
I don’t want any bugs greeting me when I get home. If we have a lot of dirty dishes, I load the dishwasher and start it right before we leave. In an ideal world, I would also have all of the following done:
Fresh sheets on the bed
Clean out the fridge - throw away food that is going to expire or give it to a friend
Wipe down the kitchen counters so there are no food crumbs left behind
Water the plants
Wash and put away laundry I’m not taking on the trip
Clean the bathroom : counters, toilet, bathtub/shower
Vacuum everything - the last thing I want to do when I get home from a vacation is vacuum all of Millie’s hair off of the couch
Bonus: when you’re planning your trip, plan to have a day at home before going back to work - especially on your longer trips! This will really help calm anxiety and give you a little wiggle room incase a flight gets delayed or cancelled.
As soon as I get home:
The only thing that I am consistently doing immediately when I get home is unpacking. Yes - I am that person. Everything needs to be unpacked immediately or I will not feel settled. I do not want my suitcase sitting in the middle of my already-small apartment, greeting me the next morning when I would rather be relaxing. It actually takes less than 15 mins to unpack my suitcase - you can do 15 minutes! If I get home late and I just want to go to bed, I’m doing this first, taking a shower and leaving everything else for the next day. The only thing I would do before this is go pick Millie up from the pet sitter. Here’s my unpacking checklist:
All clothes - dirty. I don’t care if I didn’t wear it. It’s easier and cleaner just to wash it all.
Shoes - in the closet (I also wiped down all of my shoes after NY because the streets were particularly … gross)
Toiletries & hair tools - bathroom
Coffee mugs/Tupperware for snacks - dishwasher/sink
Suitcase and all packing materials put away
Quickly after getting home:
Depending on what time we get in, we may try to do most of this the first day we’re back. It really just depends on when we have to go back to work and what we have the energy for. For a weekend trip, we’ll try to leave early enough on Sunday to get home with enough time to do everything by Sunday night. For our longer trips, we plan to have a day between vacation and work so we won’t be as rushed getting things done and we can relax.
Start laundry
Pick Millie up if I haven’t done so by this point - I don’t want to be without her
Plan meals for the week + make a grocery list
Go grocery shopping**
Walk Millie **
Put laundry away**
Make dinner**
Change the bed sheets if not already done**
Pack lunches for work the next day + clean up from dinner
The starred items are where my husband and I would divide and conquer if needed in order to get everything done and not feel overwhelmed or go to bed too late. Generally one person will go to the grocery store while the other finishes up laundry/starting dinner or walking Millie.
Getting back into work:
This is the last step - getting back into the work flow. This will probably take a few days - it normally does for me. I try to just keep doing my best to stay in my routine. There are a few things I prioritize:
Wake up early
Eat breakfast and lunch regularly
Read / have relaxing time in the morning to prepare my brain for clients
Get ready
Try to stay on task with work and getting caught up on emails - limit social media
Exercise
Walk Millie
Make dinner at home
And that’s how I reset for the week after a trip! Again these are things that work best for me and help me to feel happy and healthy in my week. This is my ideal day/routine and I definitely don’t do it perfectly every time or every day. It is helpful for me to have an ideal goal in my mind and to try to offer myself compassion when my expectations of myself might be too high or I just get distracted and don’t meet my goals. I invite you to do the same - find a goal that sounds helpful (and maybe slightly challenging) to you, work to achieve it, and offer yourself compassion if you fall short or need to rework your expectations.
I hope this helps for your next trip!
xx, Desa