No matter what you do, finding the ideal work-life balance is something most of us think about. Especially now, with many of us still learning how to work from home, it can feel even harder to separate “work time” from “me time.” This balance has always been something I have worked to perfect. Finding enjoyment or fulfillment to some extent in what I do, working hard, and being the best at what I do, but not letting work be the defining factor of who I was. “Work to live, not live to work” while still making sure the bills are paid. After all, I am just trying to make it until B and I are able to start our Restaurant, which is definitely the end goal! 2020 brought some unique challenges and setbacks, but because of these, I was able to really work on this balance and find something that for now, works for me.
Whenever we travel from Ohio to Florida, my work goes with me from one home to the other. This presents an opportunity to test the balance I have created for myself. Can I continue to work without it consuming my “vacation” time? How much time should I actually take off? Can I create a suitable work environment for myself at this other location? I do get a bit apprehensive about “taking my show on the road” so to speak, but with a bit of planning it has always worked out very well.
Currently, I am an ESL teacher and manage the website and social media for a small business. Along with running this blog, and my personal social media I stay pretty busy! With the teaching, my schedule can be very flexible, and I would not have to work at all if I did not want to. The other job is pretty much the same number of hours every week Monday-Wednesday, and I can do it whenever I want as long as all the work is done by Thursday evening. Typically, I like my schedule to be 6am-12pm Monday/Tuesday, 5am-11am Wednesday, and 5am-8am Thursday/Friday. I usually spend 30-40 minutes Monday-Friday on my personal social media and blog. I will also usually end up picking up some extra classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings because I have nothing better to do, and I like the extra money. The weekends are also when I like to take a break from being on social media (engaging, answering DMs/emails, posting, etc) and just work on creating the actual content. Overall, it’s a pretty good gig, and I definitely enjoy the mix of what I do. It has also given me the opportunity to really learn how to effectively manage my time.
So what should you do if you are ready to give your “home office” a little change of scenery?
The first thing you will need to do before you leave is set your schedule. You can use a physical calendar or the one on your phone or computer. I just use the calendar on my iPhone. Since I like to plan my schedule about a month ahead of time, this is when I try to start planning. Also, when we go to the beach house we don’t like to have too much of a deadline when we have to come back, especially if there is bad weather that we might have to drive through, or anything else unexpected. If I am alone the drive takes 17-18hrs, with B and the dogs it takes closer to 20. We don’t mind the drive, but travel time definitely needs to be factored in!
This is also when you will want to start really figuring out your finances. How much extra do you need to make this month, so you can take as much time off as you like starting next month? Will you realistically be able to cut your hours and still make enough to pay for your expenses? Actually writing out how much you will need to pay your bills, groceries, gas, and whatever else you need, while still contributing to your savings. Then factoring that against how many extra hours you can realistically work this month, as well as how much you will be working while you are traveling, will help you figure out what your hours need to be. I decided to only teach my regular students so they would not fall behind (3-5 half-hour classes a week when I usually teach 6-8 a day) this way I would only have to work until 11am at the latest Monday- Wednesday, while still keeping up with the website for my other job. I am the type of person who likes to get up early and get sh!t done! That way I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. For you, it might be more conducive to work in the evenings or mid-afternoon. That is ok too as long as you figure out ahead of time what is going to work the best for you, and as long as you are still making that money!
The next thing you will want to do is gather up your materials. After the last day of work before the drive, I made a list of what I would need and packed it up then and there. I'm usually not this organized when it comes to packing and take a much more relaxed approach. But with work it is different! For me, this meant packing up some classroom essentials (Whiteboard, flashcards, other basic teaching props, notebook, pens, etc) as well as my computer, mouse, and headphones. Luckily everything I needed for the other job was already on the computer, so everything fit quite neatly into my laptop bag.
As soon as you arrive at your destination set up your work area! I know this is a bore and probably the last thing you will want to do, but it will save you time in the long run and help you relax. We arrived at our house in Florida at about 10 pm. The first thing I did after getting the dogs settled was rearranged the spare bedroom a bit to suit my needs, set up my workstation, and get my computer set up/ connected to the wifi. Even though I didn’t have to work for another three days this gave me peace of mind while enjoying the first days of vacation.
Now all you have to do is stay with your set schedule! Plan what you want to do around your work, and stick to it! This goes both ways. If a project is taking a bit longer, know that it is ok to walk away until tomorrow. You will get it all done. Know your worth. Your time is yours and no one else’s. You can still work hard and have this mindset. Remember, it is all about balance.
So far this has schedule has really been working out well! My classes have all gone smoothly, and I am done working before 11am. This has allowed B and I to do what we came here to do, just relax! B has also done a lot of work on the house here, and the dogs are enjoying multiple daily dog walks to the nearby park. It is peak tourist season so we mainly stay home and to ourselves. We spend most of the time hanging out by the pool and have even gone to the beach several times when there haven’t been many other people around. It has been so much fun cooking together every night and experimenting with fresh seafood, something we definitely don’t get in Ohio! The post for my delicious hog snapper recipe is also up on my blog and linked here. I am also still able to take my yoga classes via zoom and stay connected with my studio. For me, this is the perfect work/life balance at the moment.
The main things I want you to take away from this are:
When working while traveling it is best to be over prepared & extra organized
Even though you are on “vacation“ sticking with your schedule is still important!
Stay realistic with your finances
Have fun and travel safe
It is my sincerest hope that this post helps all my fellow remote workers find their balance too!
To see more of my travel content you can follow me on Instagram @_sincerelylovely. To learn more about teaching English with VIPKid check out their website, or my post reviewing 6 months with the company here.