How to Recover from a Long Trip
29.10.2015
Have you ever returned from a long trip feeling depleted and buried by the workload waiting for you? Do you dread going back to work the next day? There are some things you can do to prevent the typical “crash landing” when you get back from a trip. Here are some steps you can take while on the trip and your first day back home.
Email and voicemail
Find time in the early morning or at night to keep current on email and voicemail messages. Put off whatever can wait until you return and deal with the urgent items only on the road.
Task list
Keep a running list of things you need to do as you think of them on the trip. You can capture these on paper or an app. This clears you mind and reduces worry. Then, when you get home, sort through the tasks and put each item where it belongs in your planning system.
Hydrate
If you are flying home, drink water on the flight and when you land. Airplanes are dehydration machines. Drink more water than usual the first day back home.
Time zone
Get back into your normal time zone immediately. Stay up until bedtime and go to bed if you’re not that tired. Jet lag tends to be unpredictable. Living in the old time zone doesn’t help.
Schedule time to “dig out”
When you plan your trip, block out a chunk of time to catch up. You need time to sort out the tasks you collected on the trip, get your email back to zero, and deal with the backlog in your inbox. It will take a couple of hours to dig out. Be realistic and schedule this time before you leave on the trip.
You have probably already incorporated some of these practices into your routine for returning from a long trip. What else can you do to make your re-entry as painless as possible?
