How to WFH not from home…
So.. we are living in a new world. A world where the traditional office timetable of 9–5 is a restraint of the past and we are now moving into an era of flexible remote working. Well at least until Covid allows, however for the more fortunate, usually when working for newer and smaller businesses, you may never go back to the office.
Either way, the likelihood is that commuting twice a day from Monday- Friday will no longer taunt us. So that brings to question, what are you still doing paying $$$ living in the city centre, with enough space for a house plant and views of grey concrete.
My trip was roughly 7 weeks long, allowing me to return home for Christmas, I visited multiple national parks, tried multiple cuisines, met many people and most importantly, enjoyed some sunny days without taking 1 day of annual leave — result.
In this post, I am going to provide advice on how you can travel whilst ensuring you still perform in your career. Here are my top tips.
*Please keep in mind that the below tips are Covid dependent, travel restrictions sadly slow these plans down*
1. Plan Ahead
The stereo type exists of the hippy style traveller with the wind in their hair and going in any direction they please when they wake up. There is an element of this, but if you really want to maximise your time whilst ensuring your work doesn’t suffer, then plan ahead.
When I travelled whilst working it was during the winter time so the long dark evenings gave me a great opportunity to spend time researching.
Scope out your accomodation
A strong place for you to sleep, and to an extent, to work too, is really important. You need to ensure that each box is ticked. I recommend creating a criteria, and then when searching through Airbnbs and hotels tick through each box to make sure your hotel has the level of utilities you require. For example look at:
- Cleanliness ratings
- Reviews of internet speed
- Outdoor space
- Coffee available!
- Work environment (more on this below).
A side note, judging places by reviews will be essential, as now is not the time to take risks at Airbnbs/ hotels which are new to the game and have low/ minimal reviews. You want to have a degree of confidence when you arrive.
Have an idea how you’ll spend your weekend
Planning your weekends is not essential, and I would be lying if I told you that my weekend itinary was planned 7am to 7pm both days, however to make sure that you maximise your off time, you should have an idea of what you want to be doing, even if it is just exploring the local village with a caña for lunch on a Saturday.
This is important as you are in an exciting place in a new location, so exploring and new experiences should be top priority for your weekend, I can assure you that by Sunday evening you will truly feel satisfied that you have had a full and enjoyable weekend.
Again, for me, planning time was abundant due to the dark evenings giving me plenty of time to research.
2. Find a desk!
It is all fun and games doing this travelling whilst working business, but the key caviat here is you are being paid a salary, so meeting (and hopefully) exceeding employer expectations is really important so the work environment is a key area.
I had a range of experiences with my work environment, fortunately through strong scoping of my accomodation I was confident that my internet connection would be sufficient throughout my time. I also took the time to make sure that I had a plan B just in case my accomodation internet failed me.
Depending on your role, you may require another screen, and unless you are a strong packer and you have another screen in your ‘check in’ bag, then you will have to make do without. This obviosuly really depends on your role, but there are various things you can do to make sure that you can be effective and efficient without another screen. Through keyboard shortcuts or swiping gestures, I managed just fine with one screen. I am lucky with a large screen laptop, and also work in a role where another screen is not crucial.
Have a look around as there are many products out there which make it easy for taking a screen with you.
Chairs and desks are also very important, there is no point travelling around and then developing an injury due to a poor work set up. Airbnb conveniently adds a feature for ‘laptop friendly’ workplaces, however the reality of these friendly work places varies considerably. Judge and hope by photos will be your best bet, hosts are also usually very good at responding to questions.
My first stop in Malaga had a very poor WFH set up, I had to invent a back rest and raise my laptop up a few levels with some books, but after 2 weeks it began to get uncomfortable, even with that beautiful blue sky outside.
3. Keep a healthy ‘live life to the full’ routine
I managed to ensure that I ate healthily, worked out 5 days a week and got enough sleep throughout my time. This point may sound boring but remember you aren't on holiday and if you are planning to be away from home for a longer period of time this point is really important. Being more active and eating better was a huge draw for me, hence the delicious jamón and freshly baked bread below:
The benefit of this is that you can enhance your routine, this could be going for nicer/ longer runs because there is a 5km promenade next to the beach, or eating healthier food due to the wide range of fruit available, or in my case start the day with a delicious coffee and morning walk.
4. Hire a car
This slightly depends on your location, if you find you are in a large city and you don’t need to go far during your weekends, then this doesn't apply. However for me, hiring a car was a must. This provides you with some exciting flexibility for weekend adventures, but also during the week it means that supermarkets and restaurants are easy access. Most likely you are going to be travelling outside of peak holiday seasons, so hiring a car will be relatively inexpensive. This also means that you generally have the peace of mind from airport to airport that you can get to your accomodation eaisly with your bags, and there are no needs for unreliable buses or expensive taxis.
5. Pack for all occasions
You may have reached this point and been put off by all this advanced planning by now, but I promise it is easier than it seems.
Packing certainly doesn’t bring joy to anyone, unless there is a holiday on the other side. But for this trip, you really need to think carefully about everything you need to bring. As strange as it sounds, my most satisfying item of choice were my flip flops. Not for going to the beach, but for using in my accommodation, without needing to wear shoes or bare feet, flip flops were a good alternative.
I hope that these tips can help you with your ventures abroad, please comment below if you have anything extra you would like to add. Also apologies for going off topic, I will be returning to my product adventure next week.
