In every day life, I’m generally a big ball of anxiety. I have rituals like taking deep breaths, eating certain foods at certain times, taking herbs, vitamins, and tinctures, and don’t even get me started on my bedtime routine.

But when I go on vacation, I skip all of that nonsense and somehow feel 100x better without it. Coming back from our trip this week, I realized that it’s not only about location. I (and you!) can do a lot of the things that we do on vacation at home to keep that relaxed mentality. Here is my how-to guide for bringing vacation home.

1. Relaxing activities: While on vacay, Anel and I would take nightly walks on the beach before and after dinner. At home, that time is generally reserved for TV. Since we’ve been home, we’ve been trying to go for walks along the East River (not quite the same, but it works) in place of our usual TV time. It’s nice, it’s relaxing, and we get to connect like real humans without screens and stimulating light in our faces.

2. Vitamin D: Part of the reason that vacation feels so good is the Vitamin D. Obviously most of us have to work so can’t spend full weekdays outside like we can while at the beach. I have been adding Vitamin D drops to my smoothies to help beat the winter blues but when I have time, I’m trying to get outside and soak up some rays, even if for 5 minutes. Leave the office, take a walk or just stand there. It actually makes a world of difference. The fresh air never killed anyone either.

3. Omega-3s: Speaking of vitamins, while on the island we ate fish every single day. Those Omega-3s really boost your mood! Eating fresh, local, non-farm-raised fish every day is hard in NYC so I try for once or twice/week but have doubled up on my fish oil intake. I take Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega which is known to be one of the best brands.

4. Work out every day: I don’t know about you but my job takes up most of the day. Followed by other activities and errands. Finding time to work out can be tough. On vacation, we worked out every day and our bodies thanked us by sending lots of happy little endorphins into our blood stream. Back at home, you can do SOME form of physical activity every day. Whether that’s leg lifts while you’re cooking dinner or a brisk afternoon walk during your lunch break. Make it happen for a week and see how much better you feel!

5. Less electronics: As I mentioned above, we didn’t turn on a TV once last week. I also only opened my computer once and used my iPhone sparingly. Staring at a bright, stimulating screen for hours every day is not great for our brains and certainly not great for people with anxiety and/or sleep issues. I have always made a rule to turn mine off an hour before bed but lately I’m aiming for computer shut down at 8:30. It’s hard but makes a huge difference!