Monday Hitting You Like a Mac Truck After the Long Weekend? Been There.

Long weekends have a way of being a delight and a rough re-entry to the usual. It can feel like hitting a wall of unanswered emails, unorganized thoughts, and what feels like lost momentum.

You are not alone if you feel a little off track after extended time off. You are not behind. You are not broken or wrong for feeling a bit frazzled. You are re-entering, and there is a way to do that with grace.

There is a way to ease back in without guilt, overwhelm, self-shaming, and the all-or-nothing spiral.

Normalize the Slowness

Transition takes time and you are not supposed to bounce back instantly. Your body, mind, and nervous system need a soft landing. Not a crash course into flinging yourself back in. Language grounds your intention. Write it down. Say it aloud. Repeat it. “I am easing back in, and it is a process”.

Choose Your Anchors

You don’t need to boil the ocean today. You need to drop a few anchors to help you feel a sense of purpose and a path forward. What helps you feel most grounded? A nourishing breakfast? A 10-minute walk? A short stretch? Tackling the most pressing items first? Small anchors center you and help you build momentum without the pressure of perfection.

Let Development Be Gentle

Your routine doesn’t need to come back with a vengeance. It doesn’t need to punish or overcompensate. It needs to support you in the now. Maybe your workout today is a stretch while watching your favorite show. Maybe your mindset reset is a 5-minute walking meditation. Maybe your usual hour-long GSD (get shit done) block is two 20-minute blocks broken up throughout the day.

That counts. All of it counts.

Make Space for the Emotions

Sometimes coming back to routine feels a little sad and met with resistance. That’s normal. Joyful weekends often highlight what we’re missing in the routine of the usual. Pay attention to that information without judgement.

Instead of ignoring it, ask yourself what felt so good about embracing the time off. What do you want more of? What rhythms or boundaries might help me bring that feeling into this week?

Let your return teach you something. Not about discipline, but about what brings you the feelings of higher joy.

Recommit

You are not starting from zero. You have done this before. You are someone who shows up, prioritizes growth, and comes back to themselves again and again. This is a return and a re-commitment to yourself. You don’t have to earn your way back. Take the next small step that you can and keep pushing forward.

Don’t rush your way into alignment. Ease in, anchor yourself and choose grace.

You’re already on your way.