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FOMO or Stay Home? How to Travel While Working Remote

The Betts Team
June 2, 2022

Companies everywhere have discovered that remote work improves work-life balance, and going into an office five days a week is no longer necessary. The ongoing pandemic has changed the world and given workers commuting hours and face-to-face meeting hours back into their lives. 

If you can work from home, you can work from anywhere! Remote work trips can give you a break from routine and a fun getaway without using up days off. The opportunities to combine travel and work have never been so widespread. Traveling can feel like a getaway from real life and responsibilities…but remote work still needs to get done even if you are having the time of your life. Remote work trips are not the same as vacations and have limitations to them. Here are four tips to best travel and get your remote work done. 

Communicate with colleagues 

Whether you are traveling for one day, one week, or even one month, telling your colleagues that you are traveling while still maintaining work responsibilities is essential and necessary to stay connected comfortably. Although this might feel counterintuitive to what “getting away” should feel like, your work is following you on your trip which means technically so are your coworkers (virtually!). If you are too afraid to tell your boss or colleagues that you are traveling… you are working at the wrong place! 

Being transparent from the start can let your colleagues know that you might be in a different time zone or unavailable for specific periods of the day. Instead of your colleagues thinking you went MIA which can come across as unprofessional, save time and effort and let everyone know you will be traveling to x for y amount of days/weeks. Lack of communication can hinder team cohesion. It is better to over-communicate than leave your peers in the unknown and have to pay the repercussions for it later. 

Pack appropriately for remote work 

Last-minute meetings can always occur even on the go. Make sure you bring along a presentable shirt or business casual outfit for face-to-face meetings and have a proper zoom background ready to use. Chargers, hotspot devices, noise-canceling headphones or earphones, spacious backpacks, and anything necessary to work remotely need to be part of your packing list. You do not want to take a zoom meeting in a Hawaiian shirt or end up having to miss an entire week of work because you don’t have WiFi. Pack, pack, pack everything you already use when working remotely at home while still leaving room for travel clothes and souvenirs. 

Create a work schedule ahead of time 

With remote work, no one is physically there to tell you what to do or what not to do. You have to be very disciplined and follow a schedule to ensure you are productive and meeting work deadlines. While traveling, it is easy to sleep in or be distracted by fun activities. It is best practice to set your work schedule ahead of time and have backup times dedicated for work just in case things like layovers or exhaustion hinder being able to work. 

Finding a workspace in a different city or country that fits your needs might be difficult, especially if you have a list of demands to work correctly. Researching ahead of time for spaces like coffee shops, public libraries, and other places with WiFi and a work ambiance will save you from scrambling last minute for a place to work at. Mapping these places and having backups will ensure work is being done on the go and meetings can be held in the environment best fit for you.  

Setting the correct boundaries 

The last and most important tip while remote work traveling is simple. Know your boundaries and stick to them! Unless you are working on a deadline, limit your work time and make sure you enjoy your personal time limit. Do not sacrifice meal times, sleep, and staying clean to fit everything you want to do in a day. Again, this should be a fun and relaxing experience and should not cause you extra stress. 

During your work time, you might experience FOMO. You might want to give up on work and have a late night out. This will only make work harder the next day. Keep a pace and set clear boundaries like working until 3 pm or limiting the times you eat out weekly. If you can’t shake the feeling that you missed something you really wanted to experience, make a mental note of it because there is always the holidays! 

You’ve made it to the end of this article and can now work remotely and travel at the same time. Follow all four tips, and you will find yourself balanced and able to enjoy your travels. Remember to manage your time and explore new opportunities. Visit bettsrecruiting.com to join our network and explore new remote work opportunities with great flexibility. Safe travels!