As we inch closer and closer to the end of our year abroad, I wanted to take some time to organize my overflowing thoughts, lessons learned and ideas and get them out on [digital] paper. Here are some things I’ve learned from our remote year and will be holding on to for a lifetime:
Routine is not my enemy
I left home because I was dizzy from the routine I was spinning through each week, each weekend, each day. I felt this survival-instinct to physically jump off this cycle, like it was some sort of endless broken ride at the county fair. So I got off.
We get to London at the end of April 2018. We spend the first week googly eyed, gawking at every red double-decker bus, eating at every trendy restaurant in sight, slithering into every candle-lit bar we passed, going to bed late, waking up late, whatever. It felt like vacation. We were riding all the rides at the county fair.
That sh*t got old, fast. We still had jobs to do. Bodies to keep healthy. Souls to keep sane. If I didn’t get my hands on a lettuce leaf I was going to lose it.
So we got a gym membership, got back to work, found a cafe to work at every day, bought some arugula at the grocery store and cooked dinner. We re-built a routine for ourselves and it quickly felt like home again.
Routine is no longer my enemy or the broken ride at the fair. It now feels more to me like an old friend riding life with me, making the sharp turns, the seemingly endless hills and the bumps feel less jarring. I will come back home with this positive mindset and embrace routine with open arms and an open heart.
I am a Type A person, and I am [finally] proud of it
I wanted to be a creative Type B person so bad. I wanted to have art and clutter and a beautiful mess of a life. I wanted to go with the flow. Sounds so romantic.
Newsflash: I am as Type A as it gets. I need a plan. I need to know. I can go with the flow, only when I’m controlling “the flow”. Excel sheets and lists and timelines are fun for me. They calm me and excite me. Not so romantic.
However, throughout this year when we’ve been on airplanes every other week, moving to a new country every month, and trying to fit in every restaurant reservation, experience and hidden gem we can, my plans, lists and seemingly endless research have guided us and given us the most amazing experiences. I am so thankful for my planning abilities. I’m good at it and I finally feel proud to be a Type A in both my personal, travelling and professional life.
I’m still working on going with “the flow” and embracing the unknown. I’m getting better at it.
It is possible to intertwine work and travel
Having a career while also trying to travel the world might sound totally overwhelming. I agree, it does sound scary, impossible and unnatural. Of course not every career has the flexibility for remote work. However, every person has the flexibility to switch up their career path whenever they choose. We are not stuck on one road to success, in one desk or in one type of job.
My story: I was fortunate enough to convince my boss to keep my current project manager role and work remotely, but up until two weeks before we got on a one-way flight to London, I didn’t have her blessing. For one year, I was interviewing and applying to other opportunities that offered remote positions. If I hadn’t got to keep my job, I know I would have found another path. Today, I am able to successfully do my work because I simply have access to a laptop, WiFi and I hold on tightly to my self-discipline and determination to get my work completed.
The secret that I’ve learned this year is this: With a positive attitude, unwavering self-discipline, very clear and tangible goals, and access to today’s technology, we all have the ability to intertwine travel and career even if it’s just for a limited amount of time. We just have to be willing to take the leap, work hard and remain flexible. My success story has given me so much hope, peace-of-mind and excitement as I continue to build my career.
There is so much more of this world to wander and it’s right at my [our] fingertips
There are so many beautiful cultures, people, ideas and places this planet has to offer us. In one year abroad, Keith and I will have barely scratched the surface of two continents. I realize that this is more traveling than some people do in their lifetime. I am fortunate, privileged and thankful. I am also driven, curious and feverish. The travel fever is higher than ever and now I know how to cure it.
I will be coming back to the states with a new curiosity to explore the world right in front of me. America, California, the Bay Area and San Francisco are parts of this world worth wandering too. Day trips, weekend trips, long lunches in small towns, a picnic in a new park are incredibly beautiful adventures too. My eyes and heart are open to it all.
