Back to Work Routine Hello and welcome to this podcast brought to you by That’s English! The Spanish Ministry of Education’s official distance learning English course. To find out more about That’s English! go to www.thatsenglish.com or contact your local Official School of Languages. Are you suffering with post-holiday blues as you try and get back into your usual routine? Perhaps you’re feeling sluggish after indulging a little too much during the summer or are desperate to start a new hobby or activity to help you lift your spirits. Don’t stress! The team at That’s English! have pulled together this podcast with a few tips on how you can get yourself back on track. So, let’s begin! First things first, make sure you’re getting enough sleep or rest. We know that may be pretty hard if you live where the temperature is still scorching hot, but it’s important to try and sleep an average of at least seven hours a day. Now that you are back to work and no longer on holiday, it’s even more important that you get your sleep because you’ll be feeling very tired due to the returned workload and your change in sleeping pattern. Secondly, create a healthy eating routine. Hopefully your holidays were filled with pleasurable moments, and they probably included eating out more often with friends and family, which may have resulted in a couple of extra kilos around the waist. Now, when we say to create a healthy eating routine, that doesn’t have to mean following a strict diet, there are simpler ways to lose a bit of weight or just to feel better in yourself. Easy things like drinking plenty of water is a good start. One to two litres a day seem to be the recommended amount. Stock up on plenty of fruit and vegetables. The rule is to eat five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day. September is still generally hot so eating fresh salads shouldn’t be difficult. Choose wholegrain or wholemeal foods for more fibre, vitamins and minerals and when eating dairy, go for the lower fat and sugar products where possible. Opt for lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry. Eggs and fish are also good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals. If you follow all this and are careful not to eat too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, you’ll soon be feeling on top of the world! So now that we’ve dealt with your sleep and eating routine, the next thing is to get active! Post summer is a great time to start a new hobby or physical activity. The key is to do something that you enjoy. Don’t force yourself to start lifting weights if it’s never been your thing. And remember, it doesn’t have to cost money. Daily walks, with or without a pooch can be done for free (maybe you could offer to walk a neighbour’s dog!). Perhaps a friend or family member might want to join you in your new hobby or activity, then you could motivate each other! And just like your working hours, from 9am to 6pm for example, it’s important to set a regular time for your new activity so you can put this time aside every week. So, you’re now sleeping and eating well and doing exercise, but your holidays are over and you’re still feeling low. What else can you do to help get back into that post summer routine? – Yes, book another trip! It’s so important to have something to look forward to so start looking at your calendar and finances and see if you can get away for a couple of days for one weekend. The key is to plan. And if your finances won’t stretch that far then get some dates in the diary with friends or family. A day out in the mountains or a city day trip with a nice lunch are very pleasant things to look forward to so get planning. But finally, and probably the most important thing of all, when trying to get back into routine after the holidays, is not to put so much pressure on yourself. You won’t have drunk your two litres of water, followed your super healthy eating plan, done your 3 hours of weekly exercise and booked your next holiday all on day one! Give yourself a break, you need time to adjust to getting back into work and to organising yourself. Take small positive steps in the right direction to keep yourself on track. Perhaps introduce one new measure each week. If you do that it will take you just one month to successfully have a new back -to -work routine, to have organised yourself and you will be ready to enjoy those beautiful autumn days to come! Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. We hope you have enjoyed this podcast, brought to you by That's English! Please follow us on social media. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now!