How to prolong the benefits of summer?
It had to happen … 😬
Have you noticed how we manage to put our heads in the sand during the summer, literally and figuratively, saying “we’ll see about that in the fall”?
Well, here we are! How can we best live the transition between these two planets, the happy moments with family or friends around a good table, “farniente”, the sun, the summer light and suddenly the return to the office, the greyness, the early mornings to run to the nursery or to school, the traffic jams or the subway, the bills?
How to avoid for some people this feeling that all the problems jump down your throat and that you’ll never manage? And that it will take 12 long months before the next break ?
At TiL, even when guided by the passion of our work, these moments also require a bit of adaptation, but we have a few tricks to think positive, keep our eyes shining and start again with confidence. We share them with you here, hoping that they will help you.
Benefits of vacations, overestimated and too short?
It seems that the effects of vacations disappear between 2 to 4 weeks after the return, and that we find the same level of fatigue and stress as before …. When you think that you have been waiting for them all year long!
We put a lot of expectations in the vacations, and are disappointed that their effects do not last longer. But the level of expectation and the psychological over-investment that we put in it are probably too high. This is what Professor Michel Lejoyeux, a psychiatrist, explains: “We think of vacations as a kind of medicine or antibiotic whose effects would eliminate fatigue and overwork and, above all, would last forever.
But these are moments of pleasure, of rest, not life changes.” He sees society as responsible, demanding that we be perfect parents, with perfect children, perfect social and professional life, and that we become new, radically different beings on vacation. But it doesn’t work like that, we don’t become virgins again on vacation…
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On the other hand, the rhythm of work is such that we arrive on vacation exhausted, we take a long time to disconnect (when we manage to do so, because digital technology has blurred the border between personal and professional life), and as soon as we come back, we start all over again because everything has accumulated during our absence.
How to make the vacation effect last?
According to Professor Lejoyeux, there are 3 options: be physically active, keep moments of intimacy and focus on the present moment, especially in nature; “green and blue are natural antidepressants,” he says.
We add a lot of tips, adopted in the TiL team. Each one, according to his or her personality and life context, can find his or her own.
TiL and chill…
- What if we took the beginning of the school year as a fresh start? It changes your vision of things right away… it’s not about making unbearable resolutions, but about taking a step back to think about everything you can improve in your life and your days, from the smallest detail to the most important.
- Escape the back-to-school blues of others and their negative vibes, drape yourself in a cloak of invisibility! They can complain, of course, but not with you…
- Think about the little things, gestures or moments that make you feel good during the vacations, and try to introduce them in our diaries. You’ll see that for some, it’s not so difficult.
- Try to preserve a little time for yourself, because in the end that is the great privilege. Even 15 minutes. To do this, you often have to learn to say “no”, but it is possible … And what a liberation! During this time, do what gives you the most well-being: it can be nothing (yes!), or meditating, doing the child’s position, applying a relaxing mask, spraying a perfume that you like, putting on some music…
- Practice gratitude. This habit is so important to us because it is both pleasant and effective. Every day, write down in a notebook, or list in your head, or use an app, the 3 reasons why your life is beautiful, then 3 things to do to make the day good, and finally in the evening the 3 good moments of the past day. Obviously, all the little things count, and you end up finding plenty of them! It gives you the habit of being positive, which changes your life.
- Choose mentally, or put them in favorites in your mobile, the photos evoking the most beautiful moments of your vacations. And take them out every time you feel down…
- Sort out your apartment or house, it removes a weight, empties the head and allows you to start in a clean environment where you can recharge. Accumulation increases stress, so follow Marie Kondo, it’s liberating!
- Adopt as much as you can an healthy lifestyle: take it easy on alcohol, eat a healthy diet, try to go to bed earlier… and exercise! Not only because physical exercise is good for the body, but also for the mind by producing the famous endorphins, the happiness hormones. It is therefore a way to evacuate negative thoughts. For the skin too, good hygiene is essential: we clean morning and evening, we exfoliate to remove the dead cells of the summer, and we moisturize thoroughly face and body to make the tan last.
- Cultivate a connection with nature. You don’t need your own garden or terrace to do this (we are few to have this chance), just look for green spaces on your route and take a detour to spend even 10 minutes there, even if it means getting out of the metro a station before. And if there is only asphalt around you, put 3 pots of aromatic herbs in your kitchen, or plants in your apartment. Plant seeds and watch them grow day by day, it’s magic and that’s life. Super relaxing and rejuvenating!
- Let there be light: at the slightest opportunity, we get out of the shadows and take advantage of natural light. A coffee on the terrace, a 10-minute walk outside, walking the dog, riding our bike… light is a source of good mood, vitamin D, better immunity and good sleep!
- Avoid bringing out your black and gray winter wardrobe right away. Keep your colors bright, which will also bring out your tan.
- The hardest thing at the end, the work rhythm… it seems that the ideal rhythm is 52 minutes of work for 17 minutes of break… yes, we know, it’s impossible! On the other hand, forcing yourself to take a few minutes off every hour, or at least 5 minutes 3 times a day, to take a deep breath, stretch, meditate, do cardiac coherence or take a few steps outside, ideally in the fresh air, is a lifesaver: the brain needs to take a break, and in any case, it follows a cycle of attention, so there’s no point in insisting if you can’t concentrate. A break reduces stress and makes you more efficient. Otherwise, intellectual fatigue threatens: lack of desire, memory, concentration, tension and irritability…
- And if ever anxiety rises a little as the back to school period approaches, don’t forget your little “rescue”, to always have at hand, in your bag, LÉlixir de Sérénité, our new food supplement. Organic linden, hawthorn and fig bud macerate, it concentrates all their tranquilizing and anti-stress treasures, to soothe tension, agitation or anxiety. 3 to 6 sprays per day and the peaks of anxiety fall down.
So are you ready, as we are, to see the beginning of the new school year as an opportunity, a beginning, a new blank page to be written with the words of happiness, and to put in place new habits to better blossom? We are here to write it with you, and to make the “til & chill” spirit that we cherish live as long as possible…
