The Holidays are Over…Time to Get Back to Your Routine

The parties are over.  All the high-caloric foods have been eaten.  All the libations have been… drunk?…drank?…consumed!  It’s time to get back to the drudgery of our dreary, work-a-day lives.  But it can be quite difficult to get back there.

You’ve spent the last two weeks staying up late, sleeping in, decorating the house, binge watching the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and crying over Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life and Die Hard (come on, who doesn’t get misty eyed when John McClain drops Hans Gruber off the top of Nakatomi Tower?).  However, it’s time to get back to reality.  I mean, you can’t live your entire life like this, can you?

Of course you can’t! So here are a few tips to get you back on your schedule, whether that schedule involves heading back to work or school, running a household, or the joys of retirement.

1. Get back to your “normal” sleep schedule as quick as possible. This process takes 3-4 days for most people, so expect to be a bit groggy over those first few days of normalcy.  Start by gradually going to bed a bit earlier and setting your phone alarm for your dreaded “back to work” time.

   Then, get yourself into the light (unlike Carol Anne in Poltergeist who was told to stay away from the light while she was in the television.  Sorry, for some reason my head is full of movie references this morning).That light can be natural or artificial, but sleepologists (made up word) have determined that the presence of light signals the body to awaken.  Caffeine is fine, just avoid it in the late afternoon/early evening.

2. Don’t feel it’s necessary to get back on your entire schedule that first day. Focus on your sleep routine that first week, despite your New Year’s resolution to exercise every day of 2019.
3. Next, start eating “normal” again. “Normal,” to your situation.  If that means eating the same things at the same time every day, then it’s time to get back there.  During the holidays, not only do we eat at “abnormal” times, we usually eat “abnormal” things.

   I mean, who eats roast turkey, ham, broccoli casserole, pie and pavlova (a wonderful dessert of meringue puffs, whipped cream and fruit) on a regular basis?  It’s time to bring your gastro-intestinal system off the ledge.

4. Get rid of those decorations ASAP. Nothing says “normal” more than a house devoid of holiday decorations.  Therefore, take the elf off the shelf and pack up the tree or get it on the curb by January 7.  The lack of visual cues will assist in reminding you that the holidays are over and it’s time to start planning for your summer vacation!

Whether you accept it or not, most humans work better when on a schedule.  Breaks from that schedule, like the holidays, are wonderful and necessary, but admit it…you can’t wait to get back to your routine, and there’s nothing wrong with that.