Work and Vacation: Can You Do Both | Serbia Edition
Work and Vacation: Can You Do Both | Serbia Edition
Leveraging technology during your travel, whether working full-time or tying up a few loose ends, is crucial. A portable Wi-Fi hotspot like Skyroam is a game-changer.
Highlights
How to manage work and time off efficiently as a remote worker during travel.
Tools and strategies for financial planning and expense tracking while on vacation.
Tips for staying productive and using technology to work seamlessly while traveling.
This summer, I had the pleasure of vacationing in Makarska, Croatia—one of my favorite destinations. The tickets were purchased in early spring, and my itinerary was fully prepared months before the takeoff. What can’t be planned ahead when you’re a self-employed remote worker is the workload that expects you before or after your holiday.
As remote workers, we’ve all been there, and packing the laptop when leaving for vacation isn’t unusual. While offline mode is the recommended strategy, some tools can make the process easier than expected if you take your work on vacation with you. Based on years of experience with both all-work-and-no-fun and strictly-fun trips, here are my recommendations for an optimized trip as a remote worker.
Planning Your Time Off
Whether you plan to work from your remote location or take some time off, planning ahead to ensure minimal disruption to work is essential. Using digital calendars and scheduling tools such as Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook is the best practice, as your clients can clearly see the agenda. Instead of emailing everyone individually, your calendar will show your expected time off or unavailable hours.
However, working on important projects and having tight deadlines might entail more detailed communication. In that case, you can use project management software like Asana and Trello to update status messages, communicate with your team, and keep communications as concise as possible to avoid getting lost in long email threads.
For my trip, I found that setting an out-of-office response for my email was a life-saver. Instead of replying to dozens of emails every day and explaining the situation, I could just let everyone know that I was offline for the time being. The automatic response also specified the exact date I’d attend to all emails to manage expectations.
Financial Management
Keeping track of your expenses during the trip is just as important as planning them in advance. You cannot know the exact amount, but you can set an estimated budget based on your earnings, yearly plans, and obligations. Moreover, distributing the expenses evenly instead of spending a large sum will be much easier on your wallet.
My regular practice every year is using Skyscanner to find affordable flights months before the vacation. The app automatically tracks the cheapest options for your destination, and the prices tend to be lower when you book in advance.
In addition to booking my tickets early and tracking my expenses using tools such as Mint, I ensure that I take care of all my business-related expenses beforehand. You never know if you’ll run into unexpected expenses while away, so you want to take care of your monthly tax payments, utilities, co-working space membership fees, and any additional obligations beforehand.
Staying Productive While Traveling
Getting into that hustle mindset away from your usual work setup can be challenging. This is why your accommodation should be work-appropriate. I like to ensure that the apartment is far from the city noise when using platforms such as Booking. This will ensure that I get my work done, have no interruptions during meetings, and get some much-needed sleep.
For those who prefer to experience local life by working in cafes, noise-canceling earbuds such as Bose QuietComfort or Earfun are a must. These will also be a lifesaver on those long flights you want to snooze through.
I often find that scheduling a short and to-the-point meeting on Zoom will solve an issue in 30 minutes while going back and forth via emails can take hours or even days. If you don’t feel like getting in work mode completely, simply request a cameras-off meeting so you don’t have to change out of your bikini.
I also swear by Notion, a productivity app that lets me stay on top of my tasks, especially when my schedule is hectic. It can also be integrated into your workspace, allowing you to connect your projects, docs, and meeting notes and have them all in one place. Notion’s Travel Planner is especially beneficial if you want a productive travel experience.
Leveraging Technology for Seamless Travel
Speaking of Zoom, leveraging technology during your travel, whether working full-time or tying up a few loose ends, is crucial. A portable Wi-Fi hotspot like Skyroam is a game-changer, especially if those claims about great internet on Booking are a fraud. Furthermore, portable internet allows you to get work done from your favorite remote beach bar or a cruise without relying on public Wi-Fi that tends to be corrupted by potential scammers.
I also tend to rely on cloud storage solutions like Google Drive, allowing me to share docs with my team and even work offline if my connection isn’t optimal. Once there is a stronger signal, the content you worked on will automatically upload.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a spontaneous person, you may not be fond of detailed, premature planning. However, to take care of your professional affairs properly, you may want to leave spontaneity for the leisure part of the trip.
Yes, work and pleasure do mix, as long as you have all the right tools under your belt. In addition to investing in the right apps and tech solutions, remember that financial planning and clear communication are crucial to your bulletproof remote working strategy.
