Welcome to The World Incorporated’s Desk Departure series! Monthly tips to show you that it IS possible to travel the world with a full time job. Throughout this series, you’ll learn:
How to travel the world without sacrificing your career.
How to travel more with a full time job.
How to maximize your vacation days.
How travel can advance your career.
How to depart from your desk so you don’t waste your paid time off.
If I had to pick a single word to describe 2017, it’d be “uprooted.”
An uprooted year for me, meant I experienced a bit of a travel fail.
Like the pattern of ocean waves, I’ve watched my vacation days begin to finally accumulate, only to watch them ebb for weddings, holidays, and other personal obligations. Of course, every vacation day used was beautifully spent and worth every minute, but in terms of travel, my PTO was not leveraged for a true, solid international trip or weekend vacation. In fact, I used a total of seven (7?!) vacation days this year. A part of me feels like a massive failure – I’m a travel blogger who writes about traveling more with a full time job!
Such a clickbait post title, eh?
After a few months of keeping it “show ready” and vacating the premises with cat-in-tow on a short 30 minute notice and hearing crickets after showings and open houses, we sold our house.
Finally.
You may not have heard of Sewah Studios before. That’s okay; I never had either. Until my weekend trip to Marietta, Ohio. And while most people (like me) may not have heard of Sewah Studios, I guarantee that most people have seen their creations. (more…)
As a travel blogger with a full-time job, I’m always seeking destinations that can be explored in a weekend. Bite-sized trips to see new places and learn new things are a smart way to travel without using your vacation days. [I call these Power Trips]
Marietta, Ohio is a destination easily experienced in a weekend.
The first settlement of the Northwest Territory, Marietta is a midwest city with a long history — from the native Hopewell tribe to the early pioneers to the modern day Mariettans who preserve and honor this long history.
For the weekend wanderer looking for small town charm, here’s my list of where to stay in Marietta, what to do in Marietta, and where to eat in Marietta.
[[Oh, and if you like ghosts, a weekend in Marietta is a perfect destination for ghost hunting.]]
It neared midnight when I arrived to Marietta, Ohio — still, silent, sleeping.
The only sound, the wheels of my carry-on, rhythmic against the lines of the sidewalk.
Bleary-eyed, I checked into The Lafayette Hotel, a historic riverboat-era hotel built nearly 100 years ago and rode the elevator to the third floor.
Maybe the hallways narrowed and leaned, or maybe 5.5 hours in a car tipped my balance. It was during the walk to my room when that eerie feeling washed over — feeling completely alone, but watched, attempting silence, but every creak echoing down the hall.
Dare I think it? Is The Lafayette Hotel… haunted? (more…)
I drove home, trying to figure out what it was. You know, it.
The it that summarizes a destination. The it behind the reason people visit.
Some places have stunning natural landscapes with mountains that scrape the sky. Others are home to epic battles where heroes were made. Some places boast towering skyscrapers that wink down to the concrete and steel that shape a bustling city. Big things that define a place. The its of the world.
But as I drove home through the foothills of appalachian Ohio, I stretched my brain to figure out what is Marietta, Ohio’s it? (more…)
The plan was simple. Dallas to Austin. Austin to San Antonio.
But then we heard a rumor. “You may see bluebonnets while you’re on your way.”
Bluebonnets. Oh.
Shortly on the road, I began to notice small patches of blue and orange. And curiosity got the best of me. Bluebonnets. The state flower of Texas. Native to the Texan prairie/hill country. Peaks in the spring in April. Bluebonnet capital and bluebonnet trail and bluebonnet festival located in Ennis, Texas.
It was April. We weren’t too far from Ennis.
I looked at my husband, Eric. “Wanna take a detour?”
This is my friend Lara.
She’s a south Florida wedding photographer and getting married herself this summer.
As her Maid of Honor, I knew I had to plan something special for her Miami bachelorette party — this is a girl who has pursued higher education in England, explored democracy in Botswana during an election, spent a summer in Ecuador, and has traveled many corners of our beautiful world and shared it with others through her photographer’s eye.
No pressure.
Welcome to The World Incorporated’s Desk Departure series! Monthly tips to show you that it IS possible to travel the world with a full time job. Throughout this series, you’ll learn:
How to travel the world without sacrificing your career.
How to travel more with a full time job.
How to maximize your vacation days.
How travel can advance your career.
How to depart from your desk so you don’t waste your paid time off.
Last week I returned from a business trip to Texas. Though confined to the walls of a resort and convention center, I did manage to have a few hours for Texas barbecue and a visit with family.
In October I attended my first industry conference for work. And you bet your luggage tags, I made time for personal exploration too. I spent a majority of my time working, but figured out what to do in Boston with limited time while stuck on a work trip.
These days they’re calling it “bleisure” — the blurred lines and fusion of business travel and leisure travel.
There are two things you’re fighting here: Time, the world’s most valuable resource, and Purpose, the reason for how you spend your time. Because most of your time will be spent for work and the reason for your visit is because of work, squeezing in that personal travel can prove challenging.
Here’s what you can do to make personal travel an extension of business travel.
First, let’s talk about mindset.
If you’re like me, a workaholic who is overzealously obsessed with travel, you may get stars in your eyes when you find out you’re going on a work trip. And if you’re like me, you may feel instantly guilty, “Wow, I get to go to Boston and not have to pay for my trip there.”
And then you may begin thinking, “Well, gee, if they’re paying for my transportation, lodging, and food expenses, I should dedicate 100% of my minutes to work-related activities!”
And then you work until midnight every night. Simply because you’re at a hotel in Boston.
I see travel for work as a perk, a benefit. I love traveling, so it doesn’t feel like work. That’s why I felt guilty.
But there are SO many business travelers who view business travel as an inconvenience, a burden, a chore. It takes people away from their families, their home, their routine. It’s a disruption. It can be exhausting. It’s not as glamorous as it seems. These people simply travel for work, get the job done, go home. They don’t necessarily care about having time for a hop-on hop-off trolley tour of the city they’re visiting.
Work trips and business travel are a matter of perspective.
Remember, when the work day has concluded and the job is done, you’re allowed to explore, just like when you walk out of your office back home. Give yourself permission to enjoy yourself. Don’t feel guilty.
Keep in mind that you’ll have the entire plane ride to get work done too.
What’s the earliest you can arrive? How about latest to depart? How much of your day is committed to business? Can you integrate some of your travel-to-dos with business, like a working lunch at a local eatery listed as a ‘must try’ in your destination?
Say you want to stay an extra day beyond the conference or business trip to explore. You’re on your company’s dime, how are you going to make it worth it? Remember, the value of your visit needs to exceed the cost of your visit.
When you want to extend a work trip and don’t have valid business reasons to do so, open your wallet and pay up for the extra night in the hotel, per diem costs, and difference in transportation costs. It’s the moral thing to do.
Just ask. “Hey Boss, I’m looking forward to attending the conference in Boston next month. Since I’ve never been, I’d love to extend my trip an additional day as a vacation day. In fact, if I stay through Thursday instead of Wednesday, the flight is $150 cheaper.”
Just be mindful that your extended day could fluctuate transportation costs. Leaving on a Friday could be vastly more expensive than leaving on a Thursday. Play with flight schedules and your extended stay could result in a more affordable flight. Bonus points if your extended stay saves the company money. If your extension results in a more expensive flight, offer to pay the difference.
How have you extended a work trip for personal travel?