5 Ways vacations can change the way you work

Ahh, nothing is better than those first few days of your vacation. And one of the hardest parts of coming back is the transition to old work habits. This year, why not try to apply some of those nice holiday habits to your work life and keep the happy vibe going?
Check out these five tips and let me know what you think:

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1. Change your daily routine
When you are on holiday, days and evenings seem to be so much longer and you can accomplish so much. Try to change some of your daily routines and do something different instead. Enjoy the long days and go for an early morning walk, or for a long walk after dinner. Take long lunches or have breakfast meetings. Once or twice a week, try to fit something new into your day and see how that feels.

2. Relax and do ‘nothing’
Conversely, holidays are also time for that rare feeling of almost getting bored.  Give yourself that same space at home: You want to spend all day reading a book? Go for it! Take time out to relax and not let yourself do chores or errands. Read a book, give yourself a mini spa day at home, or whatever feels utterly indulgent. I bet you will have a bunch of new ideas that pop into your head for all parts of your life that can only happen when you give your subconscious the time and space to explore on its own.

3. Maintain Your Observational Skills
When you are in an unfamiliar place, it is easy to notice small details in everyday things: the way most people stand up for morning coffee in Italy, buying fresh bread for the day in France, getting food and coffee ‘to go’ in the States, and so on. Try being very conscious about what you do each day and see if that habit still fits. Maybe it is time to try a new routine you used on your holiday that will help you feel more alert and conscious as you move through your day.

4. Change Your location
New ideas often come when you are in a place where people do things differently, and it triggers your creative thinking. You can mimic this by literally changing your physical point of view. Change the place where you do your work, for example, by moving to a different room, or office space, or building, etc. Or even move around the room so you are facing a different wall :). Just these little tweaks can help you freshen up your perspective, and alter the way your brain is engaging.

5. Try New Food
One of the best parts of traveling to new places is trying new and interesting foods. If there is a new way of eating, or a new kind of food you liked, try it when you get back home. Eat a different cuisine for lunch at a restaurant or bring something you prepared from home. Or, you can change up the timing and length of your meals by, for example, eating a bigger, longer lunch and smaller dinner. You can make meals social by joining with new or different colleagues for breakfast meetings or longer lunches. 

All these little changes in your daily routine make holidays refreshing; why not try to extend that refreshing feeling by switching a few things when you get back home, and see what a difference it makes!