I wont lie, coming back from a trip and sliding back into a normal routine can be challenging. The longer you’re away, the harder it can be and ‘reverse culture shock’ is a real thing! If it’s your first time coming home, you might be surprised by how hard you find it. Most of my friends weren’t super interested in hearing about my extended travels, it felt like the entire thing faded away into a long distant memory fast. I’ve gone on many long trips and come back home each time, so I’ve found these three simple ways to adjust to home life after traveling that really help me adjust faster and feel happy about not being on vacation – well as happy as you can be!
1. Order Things Online
It can be a bit of a bummer getting home and getting stuck into errands, supermarket runs and paying bills. Nothing says “my vacation is over” like spending an hour in the bank. I like to do some online grocery shopping before I even get home so I know I’m going to have food coming and I can get back into a healthy eating routine as soon as possible. There are also more interesting things you can order online, such as freedomjars.com which are delicious jar-meals that can be delivered to your home or office. I also really enjoy having good quality wine regularly delivered as I love to have a glass of wine after a long day, or having a spare nice bottle of wine that I can gift to someone if I’m invited to dinner. Check out Naked Winery custom wine club for your wine delivery needs!
2. Plan Fun Things in Advance
I always feel like when I come home that my friends and family are busy and I get it. Modern life is busy – we each have to balance our time between our significant others, children, friends, family, work, fitness and then any other social commitments. It can take me a few weeks to catch up with a friend, even if we both keep trying to find time to see other. I like to plan some fun things in advance to do with my friends and family before I even get back into the country so that I’m excited to see them and have things to look forward to. Try different things like an escape room with a group of friends, or maybe heading to a local music performance with your parents. I find when we’re traveling we’re more open to new experiences, but doing these things at home is a great way to keep the adventure alive.
3. Make a Photo Book
At some point it may feel like your trip didn’t even happen, that it was just a distant dream. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably good at uploading a few pictures online to either Facebook or Instragram, but somewhat useless at printing out photos. That’s OK, I completely understand! Taking the time to make a photo book is a wonderful way to remember your trip, but also a special way to keep it around so you can look back on your favorite memories. I like to make a photo book for each trip and I keep them laying around on my coffee table, so that guests can browse through them too.
These are my top tips for making the transition back home as easy as possible. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments below.
