Working and traveling at the same time?
Yes, it is possible. But in the beginning, it isn’t easy. You need to divide your days smartly. We didn’t drive on one go from Finland to Hungary (Budapest), so we already had our first trial week in Poland.
1. Daily routine: set your working hours and stick to them!
After we left Finland, we had to establish a daily routine. Based on Katalin’s initiative, we started to work around 7 am every day and finished around 3 pm. It was quite sustainable, so we decided to keep a similar pattern during our out-of-Finland times. Except for a few days, it was perfect so far!
We have to work from Monday to Friday, almost 8 hours per day, which strongly affects our travel and daily routine. We work, eat lunch at home, and in the afternoon we have time to go outside to do sports, have a walk, take pictures, explore the city, eat out or have a drink somewhere.
2. Create your own office space
Both of us needed a spot in the flat where we could work without disturbing each other. A comfy chair and a suitable table are the best. Right now, we work in the same room. Karol, on an office desk with a good chair, I am on the sofa. But earlier, I was working on the kitchen table as well.
My favorite workspace would be in my hammock, but I am not sure if the owner would appreciate it if I install some nails on the walls. Now I have to stick with the more conventional ways, and this way, it is probably easier to use a mouse.
During the last year, as we travel with our RV (and add two kids to the equation), it is a real challenge to have my own spot. Maybe one day, both me and Karol can have our own dual desk in the RV. Fingers crossed!
And one more thing that I haven’t realized earlier: I talk to myself. My colleagues in the office never told me, but it maybe explains why one of them started to sing regularly.
3. Have a reliable internet connection if you work online
I have to stress this out. In Poland, we had issues with the wifi, which was terrible. I would like to look-up some code or read some explanation, and the internet is gone for good. Great. And I need it much less often than Karol needs it for his work. He needs to be online constantly. If you need stable internet for your job, make sure you’ll have a decent connection.
It is pretty hard to get a good internet connection, even in Europe! You must read the reviews for hotels and hostels because it is not enough if it is listed as an amenity. You may have a problem even with opening your emails as the speed is so slow. Going to a friend or family member’s place could guarantee better internet, but we don’t have friends (yet) worldwide, and probably they would not like it if we stay for a month at their place and as it turned out not everyone has wi-fi! Luckily, in Budapest, we had no complaints! 🙂
Couchsurfing is similar to the above-mentioned, so for a while, we did not surf anywhere. Lately, we have often used Airbnb for our travels. It is a website where you can rent flats/rooms at quite a cheap price, good if you have a spare room at home or if you want to travel somewhere. It seems quite affordable for the longer-term (a month) as well. It still requires messaging the hosts, asking them about the internet speed, and reading all reviews. For emergency options, we checked different mobile internet options.
4. Have days off
Have resting days, do sports, meet with people, and have some time for yourself.
We keep Saturday and Sunday for days off (unfortunately, not so much flexibility in this sense… not yet, at least). On weekdays we still go outside to do sports (for me jogging and swimming), go for a walk, take pictures, explore the city, eat out or have a drink. We try to live a ‘normal life.
And we need to be among other people as well to have stories to share with each other. Can you imagine spending your working and free time only with each other? Probably, in the beginning, it is fine, but believe me, you need your alone time as well! ALone time also includes activities, which you do with others, without your significant other.
It is a good option to do something with local people as well, either some sports or any other hobby. You get to know a bit more about the locals, their life while you still have fun doing what you like.
5. Travel slow!
Slowly for us means that we stay at the same place at least for a month. We tried to change the place every week, but that was too much. You work for 5 days, and you use your days off to relocate and explore? No thanks! We need weekends to explore without moving to a new place and find out everything from scratch. We don’t travel to see only the must-sees and then change places. We would like to see (a bit more) how people live their daily life, how a city is besides its downtown area, and so on. For example, this way, we explored Sarajevo and its surroundings and Albania.
Remember not to make a full itinerary for all your days. Otherwise, you will fall into your bed totally exhausted every evening, and soon you will not enjoy the travel anymore. We plan weekend trips and some afternoon programs, but the best is to leave room for improvising! For example, today it is raining, another day, we are simply lazy and don’t wanna force ourselves to do something when it does not feel right. On the other hand, sometimes there is a sudden good idea, it is easier to fit this way.
+1 And as the very last advice: try to focus on your work and not on social media, emails, and news. That is the hardest part for me.
