WEBVTT - A working vacation beats working on vacation

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that a working vacation beats working on vacation.

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<v Speaker 1>While getting stuck doing unplanned work on vacation is no

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<v Speaker 1>one's idea of a good time. Proactively planning a trip

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<v Speaker 1>where you plan to work remotely can allow you to

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<v Speaker 1>travel more and have more adventures even without a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of paid time off. In my life, there is a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of gray area between working and not working. Even

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<v Speaker 1>when I am on vacation, I often do a little

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<v Speaker 1>work here and there to keep my business running. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that I am willing to do some work

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<v Speaker 1>on vacation means I am willing to spend far more

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<v Speaker 1>time traveling than I otherwise would. Most years, I take

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<v Speaker 1>the equivalent of six weeks or so away. Sometimes it's

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<v Speaker 1>even more. Because I see this gray area, I am

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<v Speaker 1>a bit less fundamentalist than a lot of work life

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<v Speaker 1>balance experts about the idea that no one should be

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<v Speaker 1>working on vacation. For some people, if you are working,

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<v Speaker 1>it is not a vacation. And yes, if someone is

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<v Speaker 1>forcing you to work during time, you are officially supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be off. That is a problem. But what if

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<v Speaker 1>you use the ability to work remotely to take more

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<v Speaker 1>time away, or you do vacation like things even if

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<v Speaker 1>you are not officially on vacation. Here's what I mean.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's say you get fifteen days of PTO and you

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<v Speaker 1>use most of these for real, no working vacations. But

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<v Speaker 1>maybe your family wants to spend two weeks at the

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<v Speaker 1>beach over the summer. Rather than burn ten of your

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<v Speaker 1>PTO days to make that happen, you take two days

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<v Speaker 1>as PTO and work a general workday remotely. On the others,

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<v Speaker 1>you can probably control some of your schedule and make

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<v Speaker 1>these days lighter. If they are in summer, they are

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<v Speaker 1>probably lighter anyway. You could have breakfast with your family,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe lunch too. You could knock off around four pm

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<v Speaker 1>to go play on the beach with the family and

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy the sunset and ice cream. Then you'd take Friday,

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday Sunday completely off to have some more concentrated leisure.

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<v Speaker 1>Or here's an idea, you might take let's say Wednesdays

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<v Speaker 1>as your PTO days instead of Fridays. Summer Fridays are

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<v Speaker 1>often low key anyway, so you might be able to

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<v Speaker 1>be on the beach by mid afternoon. In this scenario,

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<v Speaker 1>yes you are working, but it is a working vacation.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll spend many hours per week on leisure activities and

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<v Speaker 1>enjoying family time and the beach, but you are preserved

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<v Speaker 1>having your PTO time for other things. You get two

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<v Speaker 1>more weeks away than you would likely take. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that's worth having a little bit of gray area between

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<v Speaker 1>work and life. Now, obviously, this only works if you

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<v Speaker 1>can guarantee you'll be able to work remotely. Nothing would

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<v Speaker 1>ruin a working vacation like having to go back to

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<v Speaker 1>a faraway office. If you are traveling with family and

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<v Speaker 1>have young kids, you will need to have someone else

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<v Speaker 1>available to watch the kids during your working hours. It

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<v Speaker 1>also really helps if you have some control over your time,

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<v Speaker 1>so you can confine work to core hours rather than

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly getting an urgent eight pm call while you were

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<v Speaker 1>in line at the ice cream parlor. But I imagine

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<v Speaker 1>for many people who are listening to before Breakfast, a

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<v Speaker 1>true working vacation might be possible. While working on vacation

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<v Speaker 1>gets a bad reputation, a working vacation can make a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of adventures and family time possible, it might be

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<v Speaker 1>worth giving it a shot. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.