Workation is an amalgamation of work and vacation. Therefore, it has the similarities with planning a vacation, but there are some things to consider when you are going to work from another location. Of course, you are going to work at your destination, and just like at home or at the office, it is important that it be a good and pleasant place to work.
A nice workplace
It is very personal what you find a fine place to work during your workation. Some people love to be in a nice working vibe in a nice café, while others cannot concentrate there at all. I myself regularly change my workstation.
My workplace during my workation often depends on what my workday looks like.
If I have a lot of online meetings, I want to sit quietly, be able to hear my colleagues well and not disturb others around me. Then I prefer to sit in my own apartment or a flexi workspace, where I can work undisturbed. On days when I’m busy dealing with e-mails, I like to have some life around me. And besides that, I can really enjoy a good cappuccino and a nice lunch now and then. But I don’t want to do that too often, because then my expenses go too high.
Speaking of those work days. I always plan my next work week well at the end of the week. Preferably on Mondays I do few meetings and want to concentrate on my own tasks and projects. So then I often work outside. Tuesday is often a day with a lot of meetings, so I plan as much as possible on that day and am at a quiet workplace.
8 tips for your workation
That you should bring your laptop with you on workation goes without saying. But as I said, there are some practical things you need to consider for a successful workation. I’ve listed those tips for you.
1. The timing
Do your workload and duties allow you to go abroad? Don’t miss crucial moments at the office and make sure you’re back in time for that face-to-face meeting you really need to attend, or that important event that falls under your responsibility. The latter is very important in my role as event manager, for example.
2. Time difference
In order to meet efficiently with your colleagues online, it is not convenient if there is a lot of time difference. So you have to take into account the time zone you are going to be in during your workation. Therefore, often traveling within Europe is convenient, but if you go straight down there is only 1 hour time difference with South Africa, for example ????
3. Good wifi
A stable Internet connection is crucial so check for good wifi, or make sure you can create a hotspot to fall back on. In Europe, wifi is often fine in hostels, apartments and at flex spaces. You’ll read it soon enough in reviews if the wifi is bad somewhere, so check that out. Outside Europe, it can be handy to buy a sim card there.
4. Be easily accessible
When you are in the middle of the mountains, you are often hard to reach by phone. Not so convenient for your colleagues, your relations and yourself. If you are temporarily unavailable, let your colleagues know in time. Or put it in your calendar and e-mail signature, for example.
5. A good workplace
A decent desk and chair are nice for your work posture. In cafés, of course, you don’t exactly have an arbotechnically sound desk chair, but I don’t suffer from that myself. And I also pay attention to my posture, back straight and shoulders back. That helps! Also make sure there are plenty of electrical outlets nearby, of course having a dead battery halfway through your day is unacceptable. I always charge my phone, wireless earbuds/headphones and laptop beforehand, just in case. A power bank is also handy to bring along.
When choosing an apartment, pay attention to a work table or desk. Often there are enough pictures with it so you can already see if this is present. A decent kitchen table usually suffices for me as well. After all, it’s only for a little while.
6. A quiet work environment
Make sure you can do your work undisturbed and not book a noisy apartment on the busiest street in a city if you want to work there too. I personally find it annoying to be completely dependent on (work) cafes. Although noise-canceling headphones can also do the job just fine. If you do go to a café, check whether you can sit there comfortably. For example, I can’t stand sitting right under the box with too loud music, or right next to the door where everyone walks in and out. Keep in mind that it often gets crowded around lunch time, so your concentration may be a little less. But that is also a time to take a break.
7. Headphones
Nothing is more annoying than your colleagues not being able to hear you properly in a meeting due to disturbing background noise. Or an entire workspace that has to witness your work discussion. So always bring earplugs or headphones. This is also nice when you need to concentrate and can turn on your own music, I think.
8. The right cables
If you enjoy connecting a screen to a workstation, don’t forget to bring the right cables. Classic hehe! I myself also bring an adapter for a fixed internet cable for my Apple, just in case.
Trying different workstations
At home in Utrecht, I also regularly vary my workplace. Especially in the days when you were hardly allowed to go to the office. At home in my uppie, sometimes the walls came down on me and I would go to a flexi-workplace in the city. Also because sometimes I struggled with the fact that my house should be my home and not my workplace. Sometimes I want to keep that a little separate.
Discovering fun places
An inspiring workplace makes me feel immensely nice. For the Utrechters among us, do you know Bunk in the city center? It’s an old church converted into a restaurant, hotel and flex workspace. Fan-tas-tic! So cool when you’re working there. And delicious coffee!
I also love looking for nice workplaces on workstations, both a cute coffee bar and good flex-workplace.
Nowadays those are everywhere. Whether you stay in the Netherlands or go abroad. A simple google search will quickly turn up some great tips for the city you are going to. There are many blogs by travelers with great recommendations. Instagram is also full of cool spots, for example if you search on hashtags like #remotework or #flexplace. Maybe you prefer to use Facebook, there are many groups of working in certain cities, for example Dutch people in Valencia. There, tips are given and asked daily for nice places. I hope you get some use out of the tips! So you see that a workation is really not very complicated, and actually feasible for many people. Even if you are a less experienced traveler you can work remotely just fine. You can also make it as crazy as you want. Go out every day and continuously discover new places, or just book a nice apartment where you can work so you don’t have to leave too much. You can arrange it the way you want. And do you want help with this? Send me a message, I’d love to help you.
