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The President of the United States recently made headlines after admitting he was feeling "a little feisty" from his vacation.

Barack Obama said the time away from work left him "refreshed, renewed, recharged" and ready to take on whatever his final term has to throw at him.

We've all been there, Mr. President: returning to work after some time away from the daily grind, feeling like you can take on the world. The mind is clear, as are our ambitions. But after 24 to 72 hours back in reality, the sparkle fades and we begin daydreaming about the next getaway. The postvacation blues set in. You realize nothing really changed. It sucks, whether or not you have "crazies" and a GOP Congress to deal with.

So is there a way to sustain that postvacation glow, or to put it to greater use?

Career coach and consultant Bruce Sandy says it all comes down to stress relief.

"A good, relaxing vacation allows people to not only get clarity about what's important, but to develop a new vision, priority and perspective," he says.

When the malaise sets in, Sandy suggests employees question their own reactive tendencies and look for the patterns they've temporarily stepped away from (and are coming back to). He challenges employees to ask themselves what they want to do differently in order to re-engage more fully.

"I always tell people to build in reflection time and time to re-energize into their daily routine," Sandy says, adding this could be as simple as remembering to get up, stretch and move around every 45 minutes, or it could mean engaging in activities outside of work that help cultivate balance and focus.

A good sleep schedule, proper diet, exercise, yoga and mindful meditation are some popular suggestions to achieve this. Postvacationers can also make small life changes inspired by their trip: unplugging from the Internet and wireless devices, living on less and making efforts to "get out there" and be a tourist in their own city.

It's all about breaking up the routine. "People get caught up in their repetitive patterns," Sandy says, and that's why the vacation is such a desirable idea in the first place.

"I challenge [employees] to think about how they want to be different when they come back. How can they sustain that energy and work towards a long-term focus?"

For psychologist Dawn DeCunha, one of the reasons people feel a low when they come home is because a vacation literally makes us high. "The brain really loves novelty," she explains. "Vacations are novel [and] your brain is on an endorphin rush … unless you lead a life that's balanced to begin with, the endorphins will wear off."

How well you live your life before you get away will affect how much of a vacation "come down" you experience, DeCunha says.

"I advocate balance. You must build this in to your daily life, build joy into your daily life and something that allows you to escape from the routine." She recommended cooking and sharing a meal, sex and dancing. "A vacation itself is not a sustainable plan."

The combination of good habits, greater awareness of one's own energy and making time for reflection is the best way to be as present and effective as possible for when you come off that vacation high.

But the big question for us non-presidential mortals remains how to sustain this mojo.

"The thing is that you have a choice when you face challenging situations [such as returning to work]," Sandy says. "You have a choice to get bitter again, or to look at your challenges as opportunities and seeing how you can apply your new awareness or opportunities for change moving forward."

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