Back-to-Reality Season
All good things must come to an end, including beachside margaritas, lake days, and a vacation mindset.
It’s like…without warning, September arrives. The vibe shifts overnight from “let’s catch a sunset on the lake” to “who moved my color-coded calendar?” Kids are lugging backpacks bigger than their torsos, coworkers are back from vacation, and your inbox suddenly feels like it multiplied while you weren’t looking.
It’s jarring. Right?!
According to the American Psychological Association, nearly three in five workers report feeling mentally fatigued when they transition out of vacation mode. Which makes sense cause our brains get use to the slower rhythm of summer. Then, all at once, we’re expected to shift gears into back-to-back meetings, tighter deadlines, and inboxes that are, well, scary. No wonder it feels like whiplash.
But here’s the thing: maybe this season doesn’t have to be about mourning summer. Maybe it’s about bringing a little bit of that mindset with us. Think about it. The same joy you felt watching a late-night sunset? You can still catch it even if it means pulling into your driveway after work and refusing to scroll your phone until the sky turns pink. The same spontaneity that led to ice cream runs or impromptu road trips? That can sneak its way into a Wednesday night, if you let it.
Of course, the adjustment is real. The first week back often feels like jumping into cold water, you question your life choices, and eventually, you remember how to swim. It takes time. It takes patience. And it takes reminding yourself that you don’t have to sprint into fall at full speed just because the calendar flipped to September.
So as you trade your beach chair for a desk chair, give yourself some grace. Acknowledge that yes, your brain misses vacation mode. Yes, your inbox is terrifying. But also yes, you can carry pieces of summer with you. Maybe “Back-to-Reality Season” is less about returning to grind culture and more about building a reality you don’t need to escape from.
