I’ve learned that returning from a trip on a Sunday night and then going right back to work is often not worth it. My sweet spot is to come back on a Friday and then have a weekend at home to chill and do life chores before resuming work.
Ideal if you can also book some low key fun and/or relaxing activities when you’re back. A massage, an off-the-beaten track restaurant, a long walk. Preserve the exploratory, vacation mood so you’re not just doing chores.
Huge sub rec: When I go on a vacation vacation (time off from work, not just changing location), I always like to take a digital detox. I find that doing that resets my brain and helps me return to reality with a much healthier relationship to my phone and modern life busy work like processing emails. In an ideal world, I keep the phone off for a couple days post the travel (or at least don’t respond yet to missed messages). It helps taper the transition and make it less like “oh fuck that wasn’t my life and now I have to do my dumb lil job and catch up on my digital correspondence.”
