How to Get Back on Track After Vacation


You go away on vacation, have a wonderful time, but when you return home, it’s a challenge to be able to jump back into real life

After a week away in the east coast for an incredible wedding plus seeing my boyfriend’s family, we are now back home in San Francisco! I don’t know about you but whenever I would come home from a trip, I STRUGGLE with the whole re-entry process. I would complain about needing a vacation from my vacation. 😅 😓 HOWEVER, it is going to be different this time around because the first thing that I have considered is managing the mind. Be conscious about how you’re thinking about your return. Are you thinking about it in a negative way? Or are you thinking of it with gratitude that you have a job to return to? It’s not the circumstance that creates the emotion. It’s how we think about the circumstances. Instead of dreading having to go back to work, we can choose to focus on the experiences we had on vacation and carry that positivity with us in our daily life.

Remember to ease the re-entry process with these tips below:


1. Drink a TON of Water

Chances are, when you come back from vacation you're a bit dehydrated. There are a few reasons for that: flying, have less access to fresh water, drink more alcohol, sitting in the sunshine. And that's why it's super important that when you get back you drink LOTS of water.

My usual rule of thumb is at least half my body weight in ounces of water per day. When I get back from a trip, I double that. I know I'm fully hydrated when I'm peeing every hour. Yes it's a lot, yes it's hard, but it's going to help you feel amazing and will help get your digestion back on track AND flush out toxins.

2. Load up on Greens

I already eat a lot of greens normally, but post-vacation, I take it to another level. We're talking leafy greens at every single meal for at least 2 – 3 days. The reason? There are tons, but here are some of my personal faves:

  • Flooding my body with nutrients

  • Alkalizing to my system

  • Fiber-rich to support my digestion

  • Packed with chlorophyll and other detoxifying minerals

  • High in plant-based protein

3. Add Algae to my Supplement Routine

I don't typically take algae every single day, but when I get back from vacation I definitely do. My two favorites are chlorella and spirulina and I find they're actually super easy to incorporate into my routine. I either take them in pill form with my other supplements, or I'll just throw them into my smoothie (or both).

Blue-green algae is one of the most potent superfoods on the planet due to its incredibly high concentrations of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein. It can be used as a detoxifier but is also amazing for reducing inflammation, promoting new cell growth and increasing energy.

4. Skip the Alcohol + Sweets

This kind of goes without saying, but after a vacation where I've consumed a bit more alcohol than I normally would, it's time to take a little break to help my body recalibrate. I don't typically drink during the week anyway, but I usually like to give myself at least a 10 day – 2-week window post-vacation where I don't consume alcohol.

Sugar is similar for me. Since I probably drank a few sugary drinks while I was away, I try and take about 5 – 7 days off from sweet treats. I'm still eating fruit, but I'll skip my nightly chocolate routine and try not to bake up any cookies or other tempting treats.

Is this necessary? Maybe not, but I personally find that limiting these two things in my diet really helps me feel the benefits of the other things I'm doing, like the hydration and flood of nutrients from all the good food I'm eating. So go with whatever works best for you, but this timeframe seems to do really well for my body.

5. Sweat it out

Last but not least, I try and get a good sweat on every single day post-vacation (for a week-long period that is). I'll do at home workouts, I'll go to hot yoga, I'll take a Soul Cycle class, or I'll even just head to the gym and go into the steam room/sauna. Sweating is such an important part of detoxing and it really will help you get back on track.

Don't think of going to the gym as punishment for what you ate while you were away. Think of it as a tool to help you feel good and get back to “normal” as quickly as possible. I promise, 5 days of a good sweat will do wonders for your digestion, your skin, your brain and pretty much every other part of your body (despite some soreness of course!).

NOW, what do I do about easing back into WORK?

  1. Don’t schedule any meetings or appointments for your first day back. Block that time out on your calendar so people won’t schedule things for you. Leave your out-of-office email responder and voicemail message up for a day or two after you return.

  2. Consider getting to work a bit earlier on the first day than usual, so you can deal with some of the backlog before co-workers start coming by and asking you about your vacation. While it's still quiet, survey the situation, decide what needs to get done, do a brain dump — write down everything you know needs to get done in the first few days, and then prioritize it. Have a plan in place to deal with that barrage of people asking for things and the pile of work waiting for you–get out in front of the potential overwhelm.

  3. Remember to do something fun (that something you planned before you left, right?).

  4. Be sure to also protect your rest. One of the great things about vacations is the chance to sleep in and catch up on our rest. Protect the rest you got on vacation so you don’t use it all up your first few days home.

  5. Bring the vacation benefits into your day-to-day life by doing things such as taking better breaks (or actually taking a break at all) and get outside for a walk, if you can.


How do you make the adjustment of returning to your regular day-to-day life after a vacation? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below