Beating the back to work blues

The best cure for the back to work blues? Booking your next holiday. But then you might have guessed we would say that… so here are some other ways we think you might be able to shift the post-summer gloom and make your September a happy one.

Taking time off from the daily grind is a wonderful thing. It gives us an opportunity to spend time with our loved ones, to pursue neglected interests and hobbies, and to relax without the burden of responsibility and routine. And who doesn’t need occasional time out from colleagues, conference calls, calendar demands and commuting?

The stress-relieving benefits of taking some time out to re-connect with people, nature, and places are obvious, but what to do to relieve the inevitable back-to-work blues? How can we reduce the sense of loss that getting back to running the home and paying the mortgage so often involves?

Here’s the Dioni team’s best suggestions for softening those inevitable back-to-work blues and preserving some of that summer joy.

1. September is a beautiful month – get out and get involved in it

From the beginning of September the first signs of the shifting season are beginning to show – the fruits and seed heads that fill our gardens and woodlands are accompanied by the first hint of gold in the trees. It’s a truly beautiful time of year, so rather than mourning the summer you have left behind, stoke your enthusiasm for life by getting out and involved in it in your local park, woodland, or even by doing a spot of tidying in your garden. The days are still long enough to be active before or after work – open your eyes and take in the beauty of the season as it turns. 

2. Plant some tree seeds and look forward to seeing them grow in spring

Growing a tree from seed needn’t be tricky – but what a wonderful thing to anticipate for next spring! Take a walk through your local woodland or park to gather fallen seeds – beechnuts, sweet chestnuts, hazelnuts and acorns are easy to find. Plant individual seeds into pots with good drainage (holes at the bottom and a layer of stones under the soil) and leave to winter in a shady corner of the garden. Cover your pot with mesh to stop birds or squirrels from making a steal. Sit back and look forward to seeing the first shoots emerge in spring.

3. Go foraging, then cook up some lovely treats

Early autumn – September – is the best time to go foraging. The hedgerows, woodlands, and heathlands are full of bounty which you can use to make cakes, chutneys, gins or jams. Grab your basket and get out to collect wild treasures of the season: apples, sloes, bilberries, blackberries, elderberries and damsons are some of our favorites. Just make sure you leave enough for the birds, sheep (they love bilberries) and squirrels who rely on this crop to survive the winter.

4. Regularly switch off your devices (or leave them in another room)

Need we share this one? It’s so obvious isn’t it, yet so hard to actually do. Everything feels less oppressive and anxiety-inducing when we leave the phone or tablet behind. If the very thought of being phone-free makes you break out in a cold sweat, try switching to airplane mode for a couple of hours in the evening or over the weekend. You won’t look back (but do remember to switch the setting back).

5. Actually print your holiday photos… and make an album of lovely memories

It’s something that the majority of us are guilty of – we photograph everything, and then just keep our pics on our phone or ‘in the cloud’. Why not do something lovely with them instead – create an old fashioned photograph album or scrapbook of your favourite memories? Or actually pick out the best ones and put them in a frame! It’s a great way to motivate yourself to save up and start planning the next trip away.

6. Book your next holiday

Yup, we’re back where we began. And whilst we have no statistics to back this one up, we know from collective experience – as we’re sure you do too – that the best way to really shake off the back-to-work blues is by booking your next trip. How about starting with a cheeky little mini-break off season? Head to our homepage to start your search.