Our family just returned from nine relaxing and energizing days away. Our older daughter was happy to see her toys and stuffed animals again, but she kept saying, “something feels funny. I don’t know what it is, but something feels funny.” This morning, our younger daughter stood at the front door and said, “I don’t want to go to camp.” And as I fired up my computer, something did feel funny.

This time of year especially, we hear a lot of about the benefits of taking a vacation.  Clearing our minds with a change of scene makes us more productive when we return to work.  But we hear less about moving through those transitional days back into our routine.

Here are some ideas I am holding on to today as I transition back to work:

Accept that it feels jarring to shift surroundings, temperature, and routine. I have the same feelings every time I come back: Am I here or there? What should I be doing now? Recognizing that I usually feel that way for a day or two calms me down and helps me to refocus on work.

Take what inspired us from vacation and bring it back to our daily lives. Our vacation home was tidy and uncluttered, which I found energizing. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to spend a little bit of time every day decluttering, with the hope of living more like we live on vacation!

Do what inspired us from vacation and bring it back to our daily lives. More walking, more swimming, more outside time. Vacation can remind us of the energizing power of the outdoors or of new sights. How can we bring some version of this back to day-to-day life?

Look around more and be more in the moment.  This vacation, I got inspired by Instagram. Taking and sharing photos was a way to pay attention to my surroundings, to the beauty around me, and the experiences I was having. Now that we are home, I want to continue to tune in to the beauty around me and aim to capture it more.

How about you…when your vacation winds down, what do you do to acknowledge and make the most of the transition back?