Your trip home

You're probably so focused on your trip that you're not thinking about what comes afterward: your trip home. Jet lag, overwhelming work loads and unexpected budget overruns all make for a stressful return.

What can you do about it?

• time your return

• accept the surprises

• enjoy the memories

Time your return

Although jet lag can hit anyone, it's less of an issue when you fly west to east: Europe to North America, for example (especially western Europe to the East Coast or Midwest of the U.S.).

This means that even if you struggled with jet lag on your outbound trip, it's likely to be less of a factor, maybe much less of a factor, when you return. Most international flights depart Europe in the late morning to early afternoon and arrive in North America by early evening (local time), so you usually go to bed shortly after your arrive.

You might not sleep much that first night, or you might wake up super early on that first morning, but you're likely to be somewhat rested.

However, this doesn't mean your body has fully adjusted to everything back home and you're ready to attack the work that's been patiently waiting for you! If at all possible, allow one full day between the time you arrive and the time you return to work. If you can't do that, try for a shorter day on your first day back.

My ideal return trip home is to arrive in North America on a Wednesday (also one of the least expensive days of the week to fly); work 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; and then have the weekend to rest some more if needed.

There's another reason you want to consider not charging back into work a few hours after your plane touches down: delays. Flights can be delayed. Trains can be delayed. If you parked a car, one of its tires might have gone flat during your absence, and that can delay your drive home. The person who promised to pick you up at the airport might even be delayed.

Don't stress about these things. Having a little "wiggle room" in your schedule makes it easier.

Accept the surprises

It's almost guaranteed that your trip didn't go exactly as planned - our trips never do.

Maybe you spent more in that restaurant than you expected. Maybe you didn't pack as well as you first thought. Maybe some parts of the trip were more intimidating than you expected.

It's all good.

On a recent trip, the "master traveler" here made amateur mistakes in packing, even though I know better. A rogue heat wave swept over much of the continent while I was there, which I had neither packed nor prepared for adequately. On a "flight" day, my husband lost his passport and we scrambled madly to replace it.

But we still made it to Brandenburg Gate. We still walked in the Tiergarten. We still hiked down part of Vienna Woods.

This is where unscheduled days become remarkably useful, because they offer some flexibility in what you accomplish. But realize that every trip comes with surprises, which is some of the fun.

Enjoy the memories

Regardless of the challenges you might have faced or the things that might have gone "wrong," enjoy what went right. (This is something I struggle to do)

Whether it's looking through photos and videos you took, or reminiscing with a travel companion about your time away, savor the sweetest parts of your travel.

You got to go somewhere amazing. You got to learn new things. You got to have an adventure. You rock!