Tonight, as I sit here with a can of Pepsi, I’m trying to remember all that happened today. My first day back at work after being off since Christmas. My first day back to “normal life.” My first day back to the rhythm that everyone else seems to slip into without thinking, while I stand at the edge of it, blinking like someone who’s just stepped out of a cinema into bright daylight.
It’s amazing how quickly we forget the pace of our own lives. Over the holidays, everything softened. Time stretched. Days blurred. I remembered what it felt like to breathe without checking the clock. And then today, Monday, arrived, sharp and insistent, like an alarm I didn’t set.
I know I suffer from exhaustion on a daily basis due to health issues, but there a different kind of exhaustion that comes from re‑entering the world after a break. It’s not just physical tiredness, it’s the mental shift, the emotional gear‑change, and the sudden expectation to perform, decide, respond and produce.
One minute you’re eating chocolates all day, the next you’re answering emails written by people who clearly did not take time off.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, you’re supposed to feel grateful for the routine returning. Grateful for structure. Grateful for the “normal” that everyone talks about as if it’s a warm blanket rather than a slightly itchy jumper.
Let’s be honest, returning to work after Christmas is hard. Not because we don’t care about our jobs, but because the world asks us to jump from rest to full speed without any kind of warm‑up. We’re expected to be switched on, energised, focused, but the reality is, most of us are still mentally sitting beside the tree, watching rubbish on the TV and wondering where the last two weeks went.
The stress creeps in quickly. The to‑do list grows faster than the energy to tackle it. And the body tries to keep up even when the soul is still rubbing sleep from its eyes.
But here’s the thing I’m holding onto tonight: exhaustion doesn’t mean failure. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean I’m not capable. Struggling to adjust doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong. It just means I’m human!
And maybe that’s the lesson we should take from days like this, to remember that life isn’t meant to be lived at the speed of a sprint; That rest wasn’t a luxury of the holidays, but a reminder of what my body and spirit actually need; That “normal life” doesn’t have to be the frantic version I’ve accepted for so long.
Maybe the real work of this week isn’t just catching up on tasks, but catching up with myself.
If you are also returning to work this week, be kind to yourself, take breaks, drink water, breathe. Remember that you’re not a machine, you are a person with a soul that needs tending.
And if today felt like a lot, that’s ok. Tomorrow is another chance to find your footing.
For today, I’ll be closing my laptop early, stretching my tired shoulders, and choosing rest again, because “normal life” can wait until tomorrow.
The Distinct Dot 