Staying on Track

The week leading up to time away is full of excitement, preparation, anxiety, and giddiness. I can’t seem to stay on track with my goals or routine and the thought always crosses my mind that when I get back I am going to be this different person who magically pulls it all together and hops back on track better than ever.

Then I get back from vacation and am tired, trying to play catch up at work and around the house, along with hopping back into a healthy lifestyle and getting back to my gym routine. It’s not easy but I think there are ways to stay on track or not completely fall off the rails before and after a vacation.

I was away this past weekend with my college friends for our annual getaway and while I did fall into the trap of some old habits I also made some changes to see if they would help me stay on track.

The Week Before

The week before I left for my weekend away I was a little bit of a mess. I had to take a COVID test the Friday before going and the anxiety of potentially testing positive and missing one of my favorite weekends was weighing heavy. I skipped the gym for the week just to be safe but stuck to my other routines. I made sure the house was in order before leaving.

I also promised myself that I would not have as much COVID anxiety when I returned and I would get back on track with my normal routine. Now, I’ve made that promise to myself several times before in this scenario so I didn’t think much about it. But, as I was packing up Monday saying goodbye to my friends the panic set in a little bit of how I was going to pull everything together when I got home.

Recovery Day

I have some extra vacation time so when I looked at my calendar I decided I would take Tuesday off as a recovery day. This worked out well and helped me ease back into the routine without too much stress and anxiety. We don’t always have this luxury but I figured I would take advantage of it.

During my vacation, I had been up every night till midnight catching up, playing games, laughing, and having fun with friends I don’t see often. On top of that, I don’t typically sleep well in new places. I knew I would pay for this but with the benefit of having the extra day off on Monday when I got home, I was able to take a nap, go to the grocery store, make dinner, and head to bed early without the added stress of being fully prepared for the workweek.

The morning of my recovery day I slept in to let my body catch up on some much-needed rest, put dinner in the crockpot, and headed to the gym.

I hadn’t been to the gym in over a week but having the extra day allowed me to get back into the routine without having another week go by. I was a little nervous and it wasn’t the smoothest workout I’ve had but I got it done and have fallen back into the routine of looking forward to the next workout.

I spent the afternoon catching up, unpacking, laundry, dishes, and anything on my to-do list that got put off last week. I also squeezed in some nice downtime to rest and reset along with taking a nice long bath for my self-care to make sure I was prepared for the week ahead. With an easy dinner already made it left the night to relax for my return to the office the next day.

This is the first time I have tried the recovery day but I am already feeling the benefits, that will let me go into the week less stressed from a weekend away and feeling recharged. After all, isn’t that what vacation is for?

My strategy for preparing for a weekend away may need some work, but I am a work in progress and have realized where I need to make changes.