I’ve been in upstate New York for a few days now. This was originally supposed to be my summer vacation. I had gotten a bit stressed, and anxious to get out of the city, so spending a week hiking, trekking, and just being outside seemed like a good idea. However, with a looming deadline at my job, and a very demanding side project, I’ve actually had to work most of the time I’ve been up here!
This has mean that I haven’t been able to be fully present in the moment. Instead of sleeping in, I’ve woken up super early to do some AirPair sessions with an expert from India. Instead of eating dinner with my friends one night, I was stuck on a conference call. Instead of joining my friends on an all-day 23.7 mile walk, I was regulated to just being their driver so I could work during the day.
Even though I’m obviously not on vacation (and thus not having to take any vacation days!), in a sense I still feel like I am. I’m out of the city, and in a wonderful cottage. All my city routines have gone out the window. I’m cooking and eating good healthy food instead of scarfing down chipotle and a protein bar. I’ve visited a few farms, an antiques store, and even made time for a 15 mile hike on Saturday! I’m having a really good time, and am very glad I’m here. Even though I have so much work to do, it somehow feels way less stressful just being here.
This is kind of what I imagine life could be like if I worked remotely full time and traveled, which has long been a dream of mine. I would still be able to generate income and have purpose through work, while also getting to see and experience new things, places and people. Besides getting permission to work remotely in the first place, balancing work and play while on the road seems to be the most challenging aspect of it all. What these last few days have shown me is a template of how I can achieve this. For that reason I’m really grateful that this vacation turned into a working vacation. Hopefully there will be many more of these workcations to come in the future.