Post project blues

Three years, an average of 12 hours a day, no sundays and no holidays. These were the times when work life balance meant work and only work. Now as the project is over, it seems odd to return home when the sun is still out and kids are still awake. Sunday's are spent at home and the life means more than only work. But for how long ?. Soon it gets to your nerves. Having gone through the hectic work schedule and that too for so long, we have trained our bodies and minds to stay with our work. Out minds cannot make out what to do when out of office. Even our families have gotten accustomed to our absence from home. The kids have their own schedules and activities in which we are not included. They have grown up in the last three years without us and now our presence perhaps is interfering in their life patterns. Have we lost this time ?

On the work front every thing else looks like peanuts. Un challanging and not worth doing effort for. It is like asking someone to paddle a tricycle and get praised when he has already ridden a mountain bike in x-games. Not at all interesting!

With all of these 'Blues' would we turn into an unproductive lot for our organisation which is dull, not interested in anything and, may be, is unable to muster up energy for another assignment ? The situation is even worst for the individual in us. The more we remain 'lost', the more we are sucked into the 'Blue' zone. What should we do ?

1. Take a break
   Go on vacation, take rest, change your environment, take your mind off your past routine and re-energize for a fresh start.
   
   
2. Spend time with your family
   Spend time with your immediate family. Take kids to the park, feed them, if they go to school be there to pick and drop them. Absorb your self into their daily routine. Call up distant relatives, friends, and those you were unable to stay in touch with. Go out with them, discuss anything and everything.
   
   
3. Re-start that hobby
   The good old X-box is eating rust, get it out and blast your time gaming. Get the fresh batteries for your RC model plane and rejuvenate that good old hobby. Not only will it take your mind off your past routine but will help create a reason to stay busy when not working.
   
   
4. Get a different new assignment
   And if you have an option, take a new assignment that is different from your past one in some aspect. No matter what the magnitude of this new assignment is compared to what you have done in the last project, you will find it more easy to get your self going if given a different set of puzzles to solve.

Bottom line - We should not get the 'Blues' to take over us. Get in control and confront the situation. Only then we can find a solution.