Something that most people aren’t aware of is that you can burn out from having too much fun when you’re travelling, especially when you’re on a long term trip.
You’ll wake up one day and can’t seem to figure out why you’re always feeling like you want to go home. Conflicted, you reconsider since you’re already half way across the world.
Sounds familiar? You’ve got what many call, ‘traveller’s fatigue.’
Read more to know why and how to fix it.
What your body is used to
Let’s think about your life prior to travelling for a second.
Likely as with most people, you’ve held a job or went to school during the weekdays, while on the weekends you took the time to unwind. Spent time with friends, paint, go to the bar, whatever you did to rejuvenate for the following work week.
Living like this for so long becomes almost a strong habit. For some, probably even an addiction (aka. workaholics.)
It was this constant routine that eventually made you want to break out and go travelling.
When you’re travelling it’s like the body is on full weekend mode. It’s so used to working that all of a sudden when you stop and have constant fun, it begins to send out signals the body is not used to and things go haywire.
With that in perspective, let’s think about your life now.
Stability and routine
You’re probably having the time of your life, travelling different countries and encountering unusual things daily.
So much so that maybe it’s gotten to the point that the most unusual thing doesn’t seem to invoke any feelings anymore.
You’re finding yourself staying inside more than going out, and feeling a little guilty about it.
You’re somewhere most people dream to be right now, shouldn’t you be out there squeezing every little bit of travel experiences you can?
What you may not realize yet is you’re wanting stability in your life again.
Your body is craving a routine.
Structured and unstructured time
How to fix it:
Plan your week for structured and unstructured time.
Structured time is working on a blog post, making a YouTube channel, finding work, painting, designing, learning a new skill, etc.
It’s time where you use to develop yourself or do something for gain. Much like the outcome when you’re working at a job or studying at school.
Unstructured time is going out to sightsee the local area, trying a new food, letting your mind wander as you’re at an art museum, etc.
It’s the time where you have no plans, winging it and seeing what life brings you for the day. It’s the reason why we all love travelling so much.
You’re human, you get tired. That’s ok.
Spend the day or week in and work on your hobbies instead. Veg out watching Netflix all day, whatever you want. Allow yourself to do something you normally would do at home.
Try to introduce more daily routines while on the road.
Steps I personally took to fix my traveller’s fatigue:
- Bought a portable USB scent diffuser for relaxation in hotels: This is the one I bought
- Decided Thailand would be my “home base” because it’s the place where I feel the most at home and the culinary was comfort food.
- Made local friends – You can use social apps, dating apps, or if you’re extroverted-just go say hi to people!
- Had structured time during the morning
- Had unstructured time during the day to travel around
- Had structured time again in the evening
- Immersion into local life – Online learning how to read and write Thai.
- Keep healthy, exercise – push ups, sit ups, etc.
- Eat well – In Asia it’s so easy to just pick up pre-packaged food at the convenience store and live off of that. I get it. But you’re not doing yourself any good if that’s all you’re eating. Go out and find some healthy alternatives.
- Avoid having too much unstructured time – This always leads to laziness and being in a poor mental state. I enjoy working on something that gives my life meaning. Add some value to your life everyday.
- Organized my belongings – To feel like I’m taking back control of my life, I decided to buy organizers to sort my belongings. Being neat and having every items in my bag having a it’s own home felt really good.
Cable organizer: Buy now on Amazon
Compression packing cubes: Buy now on Amazon
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