HR Shares 4 Tips for Smarter Workations
Ready to take your office to a new location?
Workations are having a moment. Sipping chilled Sauvignon Blanc on the hotel balcony as the sun warms your face after indulging in a delightful spread of fresh fruits and creamy cheese from the local market at your chosen destination sounds like a dream doesn’t it. If your brain is getting bored working from the same Airbnb kitchen table during the week of a workation, no matter the downtime you should try switching it up. Sitting on a balcony with a dreamy view, at a cosy café in the morning, co-working space in the afternoon, or getting inspired during a poolside brainstorming session. Different environments bring different vibes, and fresh vibes bring fresh energy.
Did you know 46% of office workers have embraced this new norm of workations. With 1 in 4 seeking a better quality of life and 80% finding relief from burnout, perhaps it’s time for you to redefine work-life balance. Where would you choose for your next workation?
After choosing your next workation, how do you stay focused and productive during a summer work trip? Here I share 4 underrated and easy-to-follow tips to help you stay focused, creative, and one step ahead, without sacrificing the whole “workation” vibe.
Work during quiet hours
Your golden window of uninterrupted time, without Slack texts, emails, and whatnot, is while everyone else is sleeping, scrolling, or sightseeing. Early mornings and late nights are your most productive window. No pings, no loud Zoom calls, zero distractions. Just you, your work, and your full focus.
Besides, depending on your time zone vs. your team’s, you might be able to sneak in deep work while everyone else is unavailable. So swap that midday hustle for some quiet early morning sessions – or whatever non-peak groove works.
Use travel time for extra productive thinking
Travel time doesn’t have to be downtime. In fact, being on flights, trains, and ferries is a perfect excuse to disconnect from meetings and dig into some much-needed big thinking. No Wi-Fi? That can actually work in your favor! Jot down ideas, brainstorm projects, map out your goals – whatever your brain’s been too busy to do lately.
Pro tip: keep a tiny notebook or your Notes app handy. You’d be surprised how many good ideas hit when you’re 30,000 feet in the air with no distractions in sight.
Prep your setup like a pro
Nothing disrupts your flow faster than bad Wi-Fi or a forgotten charger. Before you head out, test your hotspot, download offline backups of key files, and make sure you’ve got your gear – adapters, headphones, chargers, the works.
Scouting work-friendly spots at your destination is yet another way to streamline your processes.
Know where the solid Wi-Fi is, have a backup location, and steer clear of being the one scrambling for a charger in a noisy café with no signal.
Keep your work/life boundaries sharp
It’s easy to blur the lines on a working trip. If you don’t set boundaries, work will bleed into your personal time and suck the joy out of your trip.
Block out active hours, and just as importantly, block out downtime. In your scheduled ‘unplug’ time, go sightseeing, take a nap, relax – just make sure when you’re done for the day, you’re really done. Protect your rest time like your productivity depends on it, because it really does.
Written by Avery Morgan, workplace productivity expert and Chief HR at Edubirdie