Have you always wanted to experience working from a remote location? After all, many people still don’t know exactly what to expect from remote working. Workation is still a relatively new concept. To give you more insight into a workation, I would therefore like to share what a workation work week looks like when you work remotely.
Choose convenient travel times
When organizing a workation, it is important to also plan the travel days well. Whether you travel by plane, car or train, time is lost anyway in moving from one place to another. This travel time is usually not suitable for work.
Sure, you can do some work while waiting at the airport, but it doesn’t compare to a normal work day.
If you choose to travel by train, for example to Berlin, this still offers some options. Especially for longer distances, trains are often comfortable, with a little table where you can put your laptop. Still, it remains not an ideal working environment. Mainly because of the distractions and often unstable wifi.
Therefore, I prefer to leave almost always in the evening or preferably on weekends. Then no work time is lost. That way you have time to travel at your leisure without worrying about work. The same goes for the return trip. Choose an evening flight or schedule it on a day off.
Creating an efficient workplace
A good remote workstation is important when you start working in another location. It is a good idea to research where you will be working soon. I recommend doing this ahead of time, or at least the day before you return to work. Perhaps you are already renting an apartment with a comfortable kitchen table to work at or a desk. If this is not the case, you will have to find out where there are flex work spaces available or which cafes are suitable for working with your laptop. Take the time to figure out which options best suit your needs and work style so you can create a productive and comfortable workspace.
Effective working hours during a workation
When working during a workation, I usually work fixed hours. My workation work week starts on Monday around 9:00 am. Of course, you can choose to start earlier, say at 7 a.m. if you are an early bird, or at 10 a.m. if you need some time to get going. As much as possible, it is helpful to keep the same working hours as your colleagues and any clients, whether you are salaried or freelance. Since I have regular meetings, they are usually scheduled between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., which means I need to be online during that time.
Tip: If you work from a different time zone, set a primary and secondary time zone in your calendar, then you can easily see what time it is in both places.
I always strive to finish no later than 5 p.m., or even a little earlier if I can make up those hours at another time. At that point, it’s time to go out and enjoy yourself! You can enjoy walking around a city and discovering special places. It is the perfect opportunity to explore your surroundings and enjoy the unique experience that a workation offers.
Flexibility in working hours
More and more you hear that it is important to do your job well, no matter how many hours you need to do so. Of course, self-employed workers in particular have the freedom to set their own hours. In salaried employment, on the other hand, you have a contract specifying how many hours you have to work. For example, if you work 36 or 40 hours a week, you might consider taking a day off during your trip. That way you have some extra quality time to explore a city or go out. Even if you work part-time, you can still take some extra days off. Discuss this with your employer and inform your colleagues that you will be absent, just as you would normally do at home when you take a day off.
For me, whether I take extra days off depends on how busy my work is. I usually plan my workation work week at quiet times, often working 3 days and taking the rest of the time off. As a nature lover, like me, I can enjoy a nice hike on that day off, for example. For this, you often have to be outside the city, so you need some extra time. It is the perfect fulfillment of a day off that I can really enjoy. On such a day it suddenly feels like vacation, while before and after you are just working. It immediately gives you a sense of relaxation!
The vacation part of the workation
Remote working from abroad is ideal for people who like to travel and discover new places. For finding a good balance between work and vacation, therefore it is important to organize your workation workweek well. Just as you make sure you have a pleasant workplace, you also naturally want to enjoy the location where you are to the fullest. You have probably already looked in advance at what you want to do and see. It is helpful to plan which activities you can combine on one evening, for example, so that you get the most out of your adventure.
For almost every destination, you can find online blogs with tips and information, so if you need inspiration, there’s plenty out there. Do you also want to go on a workation with your team, but don’t know where to go? Then read the top 10 workation destinations.
A work week in Stockholm as an example
To give you an example, I describe my workation in Stockholm. I was there for 8 days, with a colleague/friend together. This city had been high on my wish list for years, but I actually found it too expensive. Remote work was therefore the solution! Then I could still go there, but not as a vacation where I would want to be on the road constantly and the costs would be high.
On the Saturday I flew to Sweden. Sunday I had the whole day to stroll around the city center and then have a nice dinner out. I stayed at the Generator hostel, which was more like a hotel. The lobby was super big, had great places to work and a chill background music. So a great place to work this week, and low budget. Monday night we went to a rooftop bar for sunset and drinks. The view was beautiful and you immediately forget you worked that day. Tuesday we went for coffee and work at a nice cafe in the afternoon. In the evening we went to a restaurant we were tipped off about on the other side of town.
Wednesday was a free day, so time to be a tourist. Stroll through the quaint streets, take pictures of beautiful buildings and take a boat ride, because in Stockholm there is water everywhere. Thursday was a busy work day and we only went out for dinner around the corner in the evening. Friday I started an hour early so we could get into town on time at the end of the day. Vrimibo! Time for closing drinks and dancing in a nice bar. Saturday, after a wonderful work week, it was time to go home again.
Want to go on a workation and looking for suitable accommodation? Then check out these workation locations.
