After the holidays, it is common to suffer stress from returning to work, or what is often called a “post-vacation crisis.” But isn’t it strange not wanting to come back into our life?

During the holidays, most people propose to “disconnect”, get out of the routine and carry out all those leisure activities that they normally cannot do. On many occasions, you want to take advantage of your time so much that when you return you almost need another vacation to rest from the holidays.

Also after the month of rest, many couples decide to separate. Perhaps because of the lack of habit of spending so many hours together, or because of breaking out of the comfort zone. Because unresolved conflicts have accumulated or because each one has high expectations these days to compensate for the entire year of sacrifice.

Doesn’t this seem a bit lopsided? Can we sustain 11 months of unrest in exchange for a month where we squander what we have earned and compensate with excesses for lack of satisfaction? What do we intend to disconnect from? Why does our life drain us so much?

In an ideal state, our usual routine should be pleasant enough that vacations are an incentive, but not a necessity. So that, instead of disconnecting, we take the opportunity to connect with ourselves.

The search for balance is the key. Perhaps we cannot change jobs overnight or restructure our life, but we can make small changes to transform it little by little. Here are some recommendations:

• Do something you like every day: even if it’s 10 minutes of reading or a call to your friend.
• Do something every day to take care of yourself: for example, take a quiet bath, use a hydrating mask, or a time of yoga and meditation.
• Do something constructive every day: put oil on that squeaky door or tidy up a drawer in your closet, something small, that doesn’t take up much time, and that you can cross off the to-do list.

This type of self-care helps us to be more relaxed in our day to day, to better manage concerns, and that makes the daily routine more bearable.

And we will no longer need grandstanding on our vacations to make sense of our year of work. Nor will it be traumatic to return, because, although we all like more to have free time and enjoy it, it is also wonderful to walk our way, to build our life experience pebble by pebble.

Overcoming obstacles, knowing that we are capable of moving forward,giving ourselves what we need every day. Build and build ourselves, and give thanks. Because being here and now is unrepeatable, don’t wait for tomorrow to be happy. Take the first step today.