Although traveling has become more accessible than ever before, few full-time employees take advantage of their time off benefits, i.e. Paid Time Off (PTO) and sick leave. Hours of PTO are left on the table each year only to be unused, rolled over, and/or lost by December 31st. The COVID pandemic has shifted our priorities, as well as the career values of full-time employees. As for myself and many others, a work/life balance is at the top of my list. What does a work/life balance mean to you? Studies have shown 79% of U.S. employees in the year 2020 and 2021 placed a priority on effectively managing or balancing their personal and work commitments. Even though employees may say they value and want a work/life balance, many don’t utilize mental health and self-care options that are available to them.
Traveling has become a major part of my life and one of my practices towards obtaining peace and prosperity. I became hooked on traveling, when I first went abroad to Japan during my junior year of college and participated in a cultural immersion program. The freedom and joy I experienced from the 5-week long program introduced me to the wonderful world of traveling and experiencing different cultures. After that I knew whatever career I entered into, it would either involve traveling or would give me the flexibility to travel.
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Benefits of traveling while working full-time
Your job/career is not your life, unless you want it to be. If you love traveling or want to travel, you can! “I’m too busy” should not be the excuse. Guess what, we prioritize the things in our lives that are important to us and that add value to our lives.
Prioritize your work week so that you are not sitting in the house after you get off work. Try breaking up your daily routine by visiting your local park and going for a walk/hike, enjoy Happy Hour at a restaurant where you haven’t dined before, or attend an outdoor summer music festival.
Traveling to new places, whether local or abroad, helps ignite passions you never knew existed. As a result of my visits to Mexico and after attending a local hike and wine event during the 2020 pandemic, I was inspired to start a business hosting my own Hike and Wine Excursions. These excursions provide full-time workers opportunities to connect with other people and enjoy experiences locally instead of having to wait for vacation. Vacation-like excursions can be found at your own backdoor!
Be Intentional About Your Career/Job Choice
Let’s be honest, not everyone can just quit their job on a whim, travel the world and live the glamorous Instagram life of a digital nomad: a person who earns a living online and can telework from anywhere in the world. However, there are jobs, more common now than ever before, that still provide you the flexibility to work and travel.
Gig economy jobs like UberEats, Instacart, Shipt, etc. and part-time jobs allow you to create your own work schedule. You can make money when you want and still travel during your down times.
Studies have shown that during and after the COVID pandemic of 2020, more than half of the American full-time workforce worked from home (WFH). Many full-time employees still either WFH or combine some kind of hybrid telework (a few days in the office and a couple days at home). This shift in the way we work has benefited workers in many ways. Workers are less stressed about having to commute to work just to sit in rush hour traffic, or being micro-managed in the office. We have more time dedicated to our passion projects and time spent with loved ones. Most importantly, we have more time to travel!
Teaching abroad is my absolute favorite and most highly recommended way to work full-time and see the world. Whether you are teaching English in Spain or South Korea, you are now “abroad” in another country and closer to countries nearby that may be on your travel list. During my full-time teaching job in Japan I visited ten other prefectures throughout Japan (similar to a state in America), and I was able to travel to 3 other surrounding countries; South Korea, Taiwan and The Philippines. How was I able to accomplish that on a limited budget, working two jobs?
Top Six Traveling Techniques While Working Full-time
Travel during long weekends and holidays; that way you don’t have to take any additional days off work. I take many of my trips during the weekend when there is a holiday on a Friday or Monday. In Japan, they enjoy a long holiday in the first week of May called Golden Week. It’s a series of national holidays in the middle of the week that I always took advantage of to travel by train to another prefecture.
If your company offers PTO save them, but make sure you use them. For the months when there is no public holiday, I would use a day of PTO here and there just to expand the length of my weekend and take a trip. Travel points, miles and other benefits are those extras that can accumulate and be used to help supplement the cost of your trips. There are many credit cards that offer travel benefits, such as Capital One and American Express, where a percentage of what you spend is converted to miles that can go towards flight tickets.
Booking.com and Hotels.com are travel websites that offer discounted travel accommodations. The more you use the website to book your hotels, the more perks you earn such as a purchase credit, additional discounts, and free hotel stays.
Join a local travel group if you enjoy meeting new people and discovering new places and spaces. Meetup.com and Facebook groups are great platforms to find local groups, get involved in upcoming events, and stay connected with the people you meet. Many of my Hike & Wine Excursion participants have discovered my events from my event posts on various local Facebooks groups.
Wanderful is more than just another travel group - it is a global community of women who love to travel, share travel tips and inspiration, and offer a wide arrangement of events. This year they hosted their first annual outdoor festival in New Orleans called Wanderfest. Women from all over gathered to enjoy music, guest speakers, shop an all women’s travel marketplace, and much more. I’m a member of the local DC Chapter where we gather each month to fellowship at a restaurant, a member’s home or some other venue.
When was the last time you’ve been on a road trip? By car is one of my favorite ways to cover a lot of ground and my favorite mode of travel. You would be surprised to discover the unvisited gems in your own state. For the most part, every state has a government website that advertises the tourist highlights within that state.
The point is you have no excuse! There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage, so start somewhere. Traveling comes with its own unique degree of satisfaction. It’s time to change your routine, step out of your shell, and travel!
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