These 8 Tips for Getting Into Routine After Holidays are for everyone who is struggling with getting back into routine post-vacay. After a nice bit of time with late nights, late mornings and all the food…well…it can make the return to school/work/life a bit…um…challenging. Here’s hoping these 8 Tips for Getting Into Routine After Holidays help!…
8 Tips for Getting Into Routine After Holidays
1. Get back to usual bedtime. I know, it’s fun to stay up late…but you pay for it the next morning when you are back from holidays. Get yourself and the family back to usual bedtime (including usual bedtime routine of showers/baths, tooth brushing, reading stories et al). Save the late nights for weekends when you have no plans for the next morning and can sleep in.
2. Wake up 5 minutes earlier than usual. It will give your brain that “head start” in getting up. And don’t lie there for more than the 5 minute period or you risk falling back asleep. That extra 5 minutes can be your time for mental to-dos, meditation, or grateful word-of-the-day thinking.
3. Meal plan. Not only will meal planning make grocery shopping easier it will also help you feel better when you have healthy meals. Bonus points: make your dinner the next day’s school lunch!
PARENT CLUB TIP:
Check my EASY HOT SCHOOL LUNCH LIST for inspiration.
4. Work out. Getting back into training will make you feel better and sleep better. And not just you, the kids’ need to get back into their daily physical activity – whether it be an organized activity like Karate or Soccer – or spontaneous like one or two of my 65 INDOOR ACTIVITY IDEAS FOR KIDS.
5. Make lists. Like the mental to-dos in #2 above – making a list will help get you back in routine. From doctor’s appointments to school must-dos (I always forget when the class has to bring library books back) to errands a list is a good thing. And you have choices…google calendar, sticky note app or good ol’ paper and pen.
6. Plan outfits with weather in mind. Because brr. After being on a warm beach for a week…I’ve forgotten how to dress for my cold city. Check the weather forecast the night before to plan how to appropriately dress yourself and the kids.
7. Organize your schedule. I’m talking about the MASTER SCHEDULE with the school schedules (PD Days, pizza days), birthday party save-the-dates, Karate classes, dentist appointments, practices…get all of it on one master schedule. Be it online (where you can invite others to edit and then partners can share the responsibility) or tacked to a cork board in your kitchen.
8. Put something on the calendar. Because post-holiday blahs happen. You know the blues post holidays where you are back in routine and you feel “ah man”?! That. Plan something special and put it on the calendar so you have something to look forward to. A family outing. Movie. Special play date. Date night. Put something on the calendar that will drive you through the routine and make you feel like you are on mini-holiday.
These tips are get. Special getting back into a sleep routine. Once our decorations were put away and we did some purging of “stuff” the house just felt back to its normality.
I need to purge!…
Taking it easy one step at a time is important, not to be too hard on yourself. I think a slow transition is needed at times.