About a week ago, I took a long weekend and went back home to see Chance the Rapper(!!) in concert, visit family, and hang with Hannah. To be honest, I still haven’t really gotten back on track and today I’m gonna write a blog post about how I plan on kicking myself back into gear. I know that when I broke my normal routine that it would be hard to get back to it and that’s okay. Vacations are good for the mind and soul! Buttttt…. I really liked having my routine, eating healthy, and sharing all my delicious fruit bowls with y’all on Instagram stories.

If you have recently come back from vacay and are struggling to get your life back together, this one is for us! Also, I’ll be sharing one of the looks that I styled and shot when Hannah and I did our annual downtown shoot. I’m linking all the details at the bottom of this post! Holla at our new theme for making all these extra add ons so easy! Let me know if you like seeing style shots throughout the post; these are just a lot more fun for me to edit and post! Now, let’s get into it.

Clean Up and Reorganize Your Life

I usually do this before I leave for a trip, but when you don’t pack until about an hour before you should be leaving; clean up is super limited. So, what should have I done as soon as coming back to Chapel Hill?Reorganized and prepared for the work week. What did I do instead, you ask? I watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians with my roommates.

Ideally, this is when you go grocery shopping[10/10 would recommend] because you’re not going to do it after work the next day. I also like to update my planner and to do list. Plan out your workout for the next day! Sometimes, I’ll even work out the day I get back from vacation. All those endorphins will encourage you to get your butt movin’ even when you’re super tired.

Watch some normal people do healthy things.

So, the key with this is making sure you aren’t setting terribly unrealistic goals for yourself when you’re fresh off of eating out everyday and chilling poolside. Now, say it with me: I am not on vacation anymore. It’s time for me to get my priorities straight and slay this week back in reality.

Now, this is when I pull out my Good Housekeeping magazine and binge watch some of Tori Sterling’s or binge read Abigail’s health and fitness posts. I’ll also see what new things Cristina has cooking up on her blog. These gals are around my age and make everything health and fitness super easy to understand. I don’t like to watch 28 year olds with families and five children because chances are they are having a ton of time to make complicated meals and have equipment that I likely don’t. Sure I like to watch their videos and try their recipes, but not when I’m trying to jump back into my reality. 

Fix your sleep schedule.

One thing that kills me is when I somehow shift to being a night owl after all the rest I saved up during vacation. Somehow, I am then able to stay up until 2 am watching Netflix, or even blogging. Yes, that really happens. Jumping back into a bed by 11:00pm schedule is rough, but I’ll just try to make my days super exhausting and kick my workouts into high gear so that as soon as I hit a horizontal orientation, I am out like a light.

When you slack on sleep, you’re not going to help but be sluggish for the next day. Trust me, I’ve been going this path for a couple days before I pulled myself out of the sad, unmotivated gutter. Sleep for 6-8 hours a night: preferably 8, maybe even 9 if you’re feeling crazy.

Make yourself presentable, more-so than usual.

This is the thing on my list of post vacation rituals that I have not made time for and may be the reason for my struggles. I feel so much better and like a true queen when my makeup is on point and my outfit could be instagrammed{verb?}. After I’m settled in my routine: a full face of makeup is rare, but I also have a ton more energy and feeling better in my natural skin. Fake it till you make it, right?!

You can be super cute with minimal effort. I love fun sundresses, cute rompers, and flirty sandals which is literally so easy and is 100% already in your closet. No need to make impulsive online shopping binges. Or, you can even go for this look and have a fun graphic tee, flattering jeans, and fun sneakers to put you into a playful and fun mood!

These are all the things that I’ll do to get myself into a better mood and kick into high gear to correct the recklessness that vacations bring. How do you get back into a routine after vacation? Sound off in the comments because your girl was struggling and I’d love to hear what all of you are doing!

xo,