Campaign Vets Get Back to Reality

After months—and maybe years—on the campaign trail, reporters and staffers are still adjusting to post-election life, Politico reports. Sleep is a high priority, and so is reconnecting with long-neglected family and friends. "You have to remind yourself that a campaign is followed by a transition," Time reporter Karen Tumulty says, "which is essentially the same amount of work with none of the travel.”

One thing that takes work: getting into a healthy routine after eating "seven full meals plus multiple snacks" on the trail. "The only real exercise I got all day was unloading my bag from the plane," Tumulty says. For some, a getaway is the best way to decompress. "I’m in Costa Rica right now doing exactly that," a former McCain spokesman said via his BlackBerry. (More campaign trail stories.)