Week Notes S0E8 A year on the road
Originally published on Medium on August 24, 2018.
Lessons from jobbing consultant
As I near the end of my year in the big smoke and prepare for my year(ish) on trails less travelled I’ve been pondering lessons learnt.
I won’t pretend that working away from home hasn’t been tough, yet I think (nay hope) that the experience has been beneficial.
We’re wired for routine
The more you adhere to a routine, the more your mind comes to rely on that routine to manage stress, mood and energy levels. Think of it as a river, optimising it’s route across a plain, digging deeper and deeper over the year as water ebbs and flows.
Working away from home by its nature breaks your existing routine at the very time when your likely under increased stress dealing with new responsibilities and relationships. Therefore try to establish new routines when you land; whether this is exercise, cultural activities or social drinks with colleagues on a regular cadence. Don’t be passive, but work out what you need in your routine to maintain your energy levels and carve out protected time for you.
Loneliness is a killer
As above, so below; we’re social creatures at heart and it’s easy to not realise how much we rely on close relationships whether these are friends, colleagues or romantic to handle the stress of day to day life.
Working with sociable colleagues can partly offset this, but by the nature of project work they are likely only to be short term in nature and scope limited to the work or context of the project. Hence as with our need for routine, finding time for regular chats and fun with others isn’t a luxury but a necessity.
For larger cities Meetup is absolutely brilliant for finding people with a similar mindset, as are regular club nights at sports centres or climbing walls.
We need remarkably little stuff to live
I’ve been living out of a 40L duffle (Osprey Transporter) for the past year, and with few exceptions such as a needing a thick winter coat during the Beast from the East I’ve very rarely missed anything.
That 40L can take work clothes for a week, evening ware and my climbing/bouldering shoes with ease. Sure I’m not the sort of person who needs 3 sets of Chinos and a sports jacket for every occasion with me at all times but still it’s reinforced how little ‘Stuff’ we actually need for day to day life.
A few tips:
- Roll clothing up rather than fold = far more space efficient
- Think multi-use; shirts that look smart on their own, or casual over a t-shirt
- Lightweight trainers crush down to nothing and can be used as casual around town shoes as well as the gym
- Fast drying sports tops can be easily rinsed and dried over night rather than carrying gym ware for an entire week
- An iPad + good keyboard is as good as a laptop for 90% of day to day jobs
- Noise cancelling headphones are a Must have item for long distance public travel.
It’s made me consider my purchases in far more depth. What item will I take out of my pack, to fit the new item in? What benefit does it bring me when I’m away from home in the week? Are my existing possessions ‘good enough’?
We need living space
When I first started working away I used a variety of hotels, yet found all of them claustrophobic as if they were (arguably very posh) prison cells.
After a couple of months I switched to using serviced apartments which come with a living room and kitchenette. Immediately I felt more relaxed, with a space of my own to cook, work and chill in.
I’ve actually found hostels far more relaxing and chilled than hotels over the past few years travelling. Something about having all the facilities to cook and look after oneself gives me a sense of belonging rather than relying on others to cook, clean and launder.
Splitting your energy between multiple places is tough
Getting up to speed with a new project, colleagues and locations is tough.
Constant travel across the country (nay world) is tough
Maintaining relationships split by geographic distance is tough
When I started working away I thought I could keep all my plates spinning across project work, company work, home life and ‘away’ life. I was a superman with unlimited energy to throw at every challenge life gave me.
It took 2–3 months but eventually I hit a wall, trying to do too much. Maintaining friendships to same level I had in the past was especially tricky.
Be honest with yourself and those around you that you can’t be there in the same way as if you simply working/living locally as before.
Would I make the same decision to take on this working life again? Maybe not to the same extent (a whole year away) but if you come into it with your eyes open and with awareness of what you need to maintain positive work-life balance, mental health and energy levels it can be hugely beneficial professionally and personally.
Whether I do it again any time soon is another question. I’m going to lean into the travelling life a little more for a time away from work but on my return I think a time in one place will be my target.