Vacations are great until they’re over and you have to get back to the routine. Sometimes it’s so hard you may wonder if it’s worth taken the break in the first place. Sadly it happens even when you love your job.

Research indicates that we return from vacations happier, healthier and more energized. But in my experience that fades pretty quickly after walking through the door into a foyer of suitcases needing to be unpacked containing piles of clothes that need to be washed. And then the next morning instead of a having a leisurely breakfast, we’re up early and everyone is running in different directions to their respective activities.

Post vacation blues. It’s not a real thing according to researchers who have studied the subject. But judging from the number of articles on how to make the transition smoother, there is something there.

Maybe it’s that we spend so much time planning, anticipating and looking forward to the break and when we come back that’s gone. Maybe it’s that there’s just so much work to do it overwhelms us.

This is the sort of transition that can really throw off a writing or blogging schedule. Maybe you promised yourself you would keep up with it while you were away. You had high hopes of spending extra hours on your writing projects without all the distractions of regular work but instead you had all the distractions of leisure time. And now that you’re back, you have more things than before that need to get down now. Or maybe you planned to take a writing break but you can’t seem to get back into it.

Don’t beat yourself up about it. The tendency is get angry at ourselves for not doing something we know we want to do and that we think is important. But that doesn’t help us get back to writing it only makes us miserable.

Trust that the break has actually refreshed your mind and given you a new perspective on life that will benefit your writing. And, allow it to be at least a little bit of a priority. You don’t need to find hours to catch up. If you wait for that, it may never happen. But do set aside some time. An hour is ideal, but even less can work. The most important thing you can do right now is to get going again.

If you’ve been working on a book, open up the document and write a paragraph. It doesn’t have to be great or even something you will use, you just need to get the fingers moving again.

If you need to catch up on your blogging, write about something you learned on vacation. If you’re having trouble getting started, write about the ten best things you did or the three things that made you laugh or the five things you want to remember.

If you haven’t yet gone on vacation, then you can anticipate and plan for the post-holiday let down. Plan your blog topics out a few weeks past your return. Or if you’re writing a book, leave yourself some questions to answer or points to write about. Schedule the time to write in your calendar. It doesn’t have to be the day you return. Maybe a couple of days later would be better so you will feel more settled. Set yourself a goal – either a time limit or a word count. And, have don’t forget to have fun, you did just get back from vacation after all.