Photo by Marissa Cristina (STIL) from Unsplash

The long break is over, and it’s time to get back to business. You have given yourself ample time to rest and make memories with your loved ones. Your body has now regained its strength to tackle more work-related problems to come. The shift from relaxing mode to working mode is a tricky process. So many distractions will keep you from getting back into the game, one of which is the chance to stay in bed for as long as you want.

However, your mood or enthusiasm doesn’t necessarily define your unwillingness to pursue your goals. Just because you feel unmotivated to return to your usual daily routine doesn’t mean you have given up. Indeed, the entire process of forcing yourself to get into the zone tests your discipline and commitment. Maintaining consistency is important to bring back the motivation into your head.

Moreover, one of the many challenges upon transitioning is the sudden change in your sleep cycle and daily schedule. It takes time to come out of the trenches but as long as you’re determined to try again the next day, you are unstoppable. The sooner you accept that your journey won’t be an easy one, the sooner you will get back on track with your goals. 

 

 

You might like: 16 Ways to Get Motivated and Break out of the Slump from Lifehack

 

DON’T BE AFRAID TO START AGAIN 

 

Remember that you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience. Life is more than just sleeping and waking up again the next day. But whatever you do in between is in your hands. It’s about imagining a life you want to live and making it a reality. Throughout our lives, we constantly have to adjust and go through tough circumstances to get there. Starting again isn’t a sign that you failed. It’s a milestone presenting itself that means you’re capable of reaching your fullest potential unlimited times. You may have treaded the wrong road the first time, but it doesn’t mean you can’t redirect yourself to the path you’re destined to be. 

 

8 WAYS TO GET BACK ON TRACK WITH YOUR GOALS AFTER TAKING A LONG BREAK: 

 

START SMALL 

 

As you shift your attitude and habit towards your goals, keep in mind that you’re still taking baby steps. Don’t rush the process. It takes time to form small habits because it’s not always easy. Incredibly successful people once stood in a position where they had to start despite not having enough discipline. They started with little effort and little to no expectations of themselves to be great already.

People with big dreams started from the bottom and eagerly climbed their way to the top, one step at a time. It takes years to perfect artwork or develop a skill to the best of your ability. But these things have one thing in common, that they started small. Know that no matter how big or small your contribution to your self-growth is, you’ve done your best today. You may have failed and struggled today, but you can do better tomorrow. 

 

REDIRECT YOUR GOALS 

 

When you were on vacation, your goal was to relax and take a break from work. But now that you’re back, your goals would change to more of achieving tasks and productive activities. Redirecting your goals from what your body needs (rest) to what your soul needs (dream and passion) is significant to help you create an organized system of your time and work.

It’s going to be hard to shift your body and mentality to a new set of goals but it’s worth it. With new goals come new habits and new choices. As long as proper goal-setting is applied, your goals won’t be too mediocre and unrealistic. Inculcate your daily objectives into your mind through making a mental to-do checklist and participating in affirmations. Always remember the bigger picture in everything you do. 

 

SET A REWARD SYSTEM 

 

It’s imperative to have some kind of reward system as a motive, especially after going on a long break. Having something to look forward to not only motivates you to work harder but also helps you retain your good habits. It keeps you focused and disciplined to do the work when you’re feeling down.

Effective reward systems are practiced and applied in the workplace as it builds honesty and loyalty among the employees. Building your ideal future is hard enough as it is thinking about it. There’s nothing wrong with keeping yourself entertained by the thought that you will be achieving a few perks along the way. Do whatever you can to stay on the lane and not to lose direction from your goal. 

 

REMEMBER YOUR PURPOSE 

 

The challenge to go back to work after a long, relaxing break is to restart forming and maintaining good habits to reach your goals. It’s important to analyze and evaluate your actions and habits before checking if they are still important and relevant to your current goals. Reflect on your progress and your decisions lately.

This is a critical step to achieve complete self-awareness and to build a stronger connection to the vision in your head. Keep in mind the bigger picture, the ultimate vision of the future. Remember why you took a break in the first place. You came back stronger because you gave yourself time to recharge and rebuild your strength.

STICK TO YOUR SCHEDULE 

 

Try your best to return to your usual working schedule to optimize productivity no matter how small your step. Manage your time wisely. You can’t guarantee that your habits will fall in place in a time frame of your choice. But it will be harder to straighten out your habits if you don’t slowly inculcate them back into your lifestyle. Small habits done daily will prompt your mind to continue doing them the following day. 

If you can’t get yourself to write a 1,000-word blog post every day like you used to, then write a 500-word essay. Scribble down any ideas or random words into your notebook to trigger the creative juices. Set your mind and body to write as many words as you can every day and at the same time. To get back on your previous good habits, form a new, smaller habit as a form of a refresher exercise. 

Affirming yourself that you will commit on this particular day is unreliable and frankly, not enough. You need to create specific and realistic minute goals to remind you of the greater goal you’re headed towards. You need to convince yourself about your exact goals, why you need to achieve them, and how you intend to precisely manage to put a step forward every single day.

For this reason, it’s extremely important to stick to your schedule and do what it is you plan to do. The more eager you are to stick to your schedule, the easier it is for you to build a behavioral pattern that will inspire creativity and boost confidence. Your strong-willed disposition impacts your growth. Keep in mind that your minor efforts are not insignificant as you think they are, for all these little steps will build a bridge that will transport you to long-term success. 

 

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE WHO YOU CAN RELY ON TO STAY MOTIVATED

 

It’s strategic to be with someone who can help you get back into shape. He or she can be your accountability partner to finish a goal. It doesn’t have to be a family member or a significant other; it can be someone straightforward but a believer in your capabilities. It can be someone you’re not necessarily friends with, but you know you can achieve more with him/her. When you associate yourself with people more motivated and driven than you expecting you to do the same, you feel the pressure of doing the work.

Your source of motivation will come from the people around you who believe in you because you don’t want to let them down. You show up, do the work, and track your progress every single day. Their influence on you will help you get yourself back on track with your goals quickly. Being with them will not only bring you motivation but will also remind you that you can start at any place of your progress, and you would still have someone to start over with.

FOCUS MORE ON WHAT’S PRESENT THAN WHAT’S MISSING 

CUSTOMIZE YOUR ENVIRONMENT 

 

One usually overlooked strategy to get back on track with your goals is to observe the environment around you. Whatever you surround yourself with the entire day greatly affects your mood, mental health, and well-being. If you want to form a new habit, you need to design your environment in a strategic way that will trigger you to maintain that particular habit consistently. For example, if you want to wake up early, place your phone or alarm clock inside a glass far away from your bedside.

When it rings, you won’t be tempted to press snooze since it’s out of your reach. Also, it’s unlikely you can ignore it since the sound in full volume is amplified inside the glass which makes it louder and more distracting. Habit formation isn’t cultivated only with the right people but also with the right environment. To overcome the hurdle of getting back on track and achieving your goals, you need to keep your physical things in order.

You have to clean up your workspace regularly and declutter physical objects that are no longer useful to you. Being in a cluttered, disorganized set-up not only reflects how you manage your time and resources but also affects how you plan out your day. The things and symbols in your environment send a message to your brain about how you look at things. It’s crucial to customize your environment in a way that will help you foster the positive energy for success.

Note that the objects around us impact our thinking as well which means you have to look out for particular things that will only remind you of negativity and past traumas. You don’t want these items anywhere near you especially in the morning. The risk of seeing all the flashbacks come to you at once is costly and dangerous. Every symbol in our environment, no matter the size, can trigger us to think of ideas, make decisions, and take action. Designing your environment is crucial for habit formation and should not be taken for granted.

CONCLUSION: 

 

There will always be stages in your life where committing to your regular daily routine feels like a chore. You find it impossible to do things at the time you set simply because you don’t feel like it. You don’t have the motivation nor the willpower to get out of your comfort zone and conquer the day. Just like any other human being, this is totally a normal feeling.

But remember that the longer you’re in that anxious or undisciplined state of mind, the harder it is for you to get back on track. When you feel like you’re going to the deep end, you need to throw the rope and pull yourself together. Carefully laid-out strategies will help you form habits and stick with them until they turn into your instincts. When we come back after a long break, we tend to lose vision of our future. We forget the bigger picture and the reason we’re fighting for.

Pausing your usual routine would mean allowing yourself to breathe, to take time to reflect. This means you would be vulnerable to distractions and feelings of doubt that will come unexpectedly. When trying to get back on track with your goals, discipline is imperative. Forming habits is hard, but maintaining them after a while of hiatus is even harder. You need to invest your energy in improving yourself and engaging in routines that will help you step out of your comfort zone. 

 

 

 

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”

Theodore Roosevelt