Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to prepare for a smooth reentry before you
Speaker 1: head out of town. Planning for re entry will help
Speaker 1: make sure that the relaxed vibe you bring back from
Speaker 1: vacation lasts a little longer instead of being eclipsed by
Speaker 1: a harried return to normal life. So from time to time,
Speaker 1: I hear from people who say it isn't worth it
Speaker 1: to take time off because returning to their various obligations
Speaker 1: after time away feels so exhausting. And I get that
Speaker 1: nobody likes to come back to a ridiculous inbox and
Speaker 1: no clean laundry, particularly if a flight delay means you're
Speaker 1: home later that you planned. But coming back to chaos
Speaker 1: and never going on vacation are not your only two options.
Speaker 1: A third option is to take vacation time and before
Speaker 1: you go, prepare for a smooth return. There are a
Speaker 1: few potential sources of post vacation chaos that a little
Speaker 1: advanced planning can help you with. On the household front,
Speaker 1: I know that some people actually come back a day
Speaker 1: earlier than they need to, in order to do all
Speaker 1: the laundry and grocery shop. That is one solution, but
Speaker 1: if you don't get that much vacation time, I don't
Speaker 1: want you to feel like you have to cut things short.
Speaker 1: Another option is that when you are packing, you pull
Speaker 1: out one to two outfits for everyone to lay out
Speaker 1: for your first day or two back. Now, you may
Speaker 1: discover that someone doesn't actually own enough socks to make
Speaker 1: that possible, but hey, if you are doing this before
Speaker 1: your trip, you could order some socks. Amazon will have
Speaker 1: them there for you when you return. If everyone has
Speaker 1: two outfits ready to go, then no one needs to
Speaker 1: do laundry until a day or two after you get back.
Speaker 1: That buys you time. Now, if you are the one
Speaker 1: who does all the laundry and you are headed out
Speaker 1: of town without your family, will first congratulations enjoy the
Speaker 1: break from doing laundry. It might be worth having a
Speaker 1: special conversation with whoever will be with your family, whether
Speaker 1: that's your partner, a grandparent, or a sitter, about doing
Speaker 1: everyone's wash at least once in your absence. Don't assume
Speaker 1: be straightforward, as in, please do everyone's laundry on Thursday.
Speaker 1: Thank you. If you don't think that will happen. Well,
Speaker 1: go ahead and pull out two outfits for your kids
Speaker 1: and yourself for the two days after your return. Squirrel
Speaker 1: them away somewhere so no one wears them. Are ready.
Speaker 1: Groceries can be another sore point. Think through the food
Speaker 1: you might need for the day or two after your return.
Speaker 1: One easy option is to order groceries for pickup or
Speaker 1: delivery right after you get home. You might also have
Speaker 1: plans for things that don't actually require new groceries. Pasta
Speaker 1: and a jar of sauce from your pantry plus a
Speaker 1: frozen veggie that you can heat up can easily be
Speaker 1: dinner even if you've been gone for a week or more.
Speaker 1: Keep pizza dough in your freezer and canned soups in
Speaker 1: your pantry, and now you can have soup and fresh
Speaker 1: bread for a meal when you bake that dough. Add
Speaker 1: in some frozen veggies to the soup to make them
Speaker 1: healthier and wow, sounding fairly nice. If your kids normally
Speaker 1: bring packed lunches to school, well, the first two days
Speaker 1: after a vacation are a great opportunity to try out
Speaker 1: the school lunch offerings and take this off your to
Speaker 1: do list. Both work and family activities can also be
Speaker 1: a big source of stress, So before you go, look
Speaker 1: at the week after your return. What do you have
Speaker 1: coming up? If you've got a big meeting at work
Speaker 1: two days after your return, you will feel less rushed
Speaker 1: if you do some of the preparation before your vacation,
Speaker 1: including sending anything you need to your colleagues so they
Speaker 1: can prepare in your absence. Your family calendar should also
Speaker 1: have anything impending on it too, so look ahead to
Speaker 1: the week post vacation and deal with anything that could
Speaker 1: be a crisis. Order that present for your kids friend's party.
Speaker 1: Make sure you have located the racket and shoes for
Speaker 1: someone's first tennis lesson, ask if your sitter can stay late,
Speaker 1: because you can see that you have a work dinner
Speaker 1: on Tuesday and your spouse is normally scheduled to work
Speaker 1: that night. As I have recommended in previous Before Breakfast episodes,
Speaker 1: it's also a good idea to be in touch with
Speaker 1: your closest colleagues and clients well in advance of your
Speaker 1: time away so you can coordinate timelines. That way, you
Speaker 1: are less likely to come back to a big urgent
Speaker 1: project unexpectedly. While a smooth reentry isn't quite as nice
Speaker 1: as a day at the beach, It is worth spending
Speaker 1: a little time making this happen. Having a plan for
Speaker 1: re entry will mean the days after vacation go more smoothly,
Speaker 1: and your feelings of refreshment may last longer. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a product of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.