Unless you are lucky enough to have a flexible job or have retired with a bit of money, it is truly difficult to find time to travel. Hours of deliberate destination planning, making sure to not take days off of work at a critical time, and arranging who will watch your pets (or plants if you’re a plant parent) take effort well in advance of the actual travel date. In this article, I’ll talk about how I incorporate personal travel into required trips for work.
It’s easy to get caught up in the emerging digital nomad craze where it feels as though travelling the world is impossible unless you are a social media influencer or travel blogger. While it’s true that those jobs make it much easier, in reality such careers involve a completely different lifestyle than the typical 9-5, and it can be quite difficult to make a living. Most of us naturally end up in a structured position with specific daily working hours, which seems to work great for many people!
However, I am not one of those people. I get bored if I stay in one place too long, which negatively impacts my health. And by ‘too long’ I mean that I need to go on a little adventure at least once per month or my mental health starts to suffer. So, I have had to learn how to spice life up quite frequently in a way that aligns with my normal weekly responsibilities.
Recently, my full-time job has been particularly demanding. The weekly hours have drastically increased, and the work itself has been much more intense. While this has included travelling around the UK, the 16 hour days have left little time to rest or enjoy the adventure – a feeling I know frequent travellers-for-work often experience.
In order to navigate this stressful time, I took the opportunity to work within the situation. Instead of choosing the option to train six hours home late on a Friday evening just to train six more hours back across the country that Sunday, I opted to simply stay put. Not only was this financially cheaper for my company, but it provided time to explore! I took a little day trip to Linlithgow, an adorable Scottish town famous for its’ palace, loch, and absolutely stunning church all situated within walking distance of the high street.
If I had chosen to travel to Linlithgow or surrounding areas from my home, it would have been ~150 GBP (~193 USD) just for the train tickets, plus accommodation. Instead, it only cost me about 25 GBP (33 USD) for train tickets from my company-situated accommodation and for the day’s worth of food.
I also employed this practice when I was near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the northeast of England. My job had sent me to the area for about a week, during which I took the time to explore a nearby beach and town during the evenings when I had a bit more time.
Again, if I had made this trip from home, it would have cost around 100 GBP (129 USD) just for round trip train tickets, plus ~40 GBP (52 USD) for accommodation. Instead, it cost me literally nothing as my company was already paying for me to be there, but I was able to take the opportunity to explore a brand new area.
While this practice may seem simple or obvious, it is easy to get stuck in a work-focused headspace where you forget to take the time to live and explore. Of course, it can be a challenge to learn how to fit adventure into such a busy schedule of responsibilities, but, within reason, it generally comes down to prioritizing what is important to you. I find it easier to add travel into my schedule as I do not have a family to take care of, while someone with a family might find it more difficult to do so. If this is something you are struggling with, find ways to make the system work for you instead of only you working for it. Easier said than done, I know. But it’s always worth some thought 🙂
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