Mix work and travel in the new world of bleisure

Remote work is opening the door to a new approach to leisure.

You can now move seamlessly between work and leisure, thanks to remote work.

By 2025, estimates predict that more than 40 million Americans will work remotely. These workers will be introduced to one of the best benefits of telecommuting: the freedom to travel without taking vacation days.

Sometimes called “bleisure”, a catchy mashup of business and leisure, this form of travel will likely become a nearly $US3 trillion ($4.4 trillion) industry by 2032. Yet getting bleisure right can be challenging. While remote work may enable you to watch the sunrise from exciting venues, you still need to be productive or you risk disrespecting the freedom that comes when your organisation trusts you to hold yourself accountable.

I’ve worked from all over the world, and I understand how challenging it can be to juggle the desire to explore with the reality of accomplishing work tasks. It helps to establish some practices to keep yourself organised and your performance level on track.

Define what you want
efine what you want to get out of your travels and out of your job. Remote work enables you to choose your own adventure and design the types of work and work-life balance that are best for you. When exploring what your remote lifestyle should look like, ask: What would be my ideal day-to-day work life? How does it feel and what does it resemble? Do I work better alone or with a collaborative world around me?

The more well-thought-out your goals are, the less friction you’re likely to encounter when structuring your days.

Create a supportive structure
When you come to an office to work, your company handles all the structural details. You arrive at a certain time, sit in a specific place, attend meetings, make phone calls and leave when you’re supposed to. As a telecommuter, that responsibility (and your itinerary) is now entirely in your hands and you should consider this before you book plane tickets.

The simplest way to avoid burdening yourself or your colleagues is to construct a detailed plan. Know where you’ll be and what you’ll be doing the whole time you’re travelling. When making your plan, take some time to study your daily schedule and mentally map out where you’ll need to be and when. How much time do you need to transition workspaces? How far apart are these locations? Will there be a place to charge your laptop and headphones?

While it’s impossible to plan for everything, you should still have an A, B and C plan for the major aspects, such as multimedia power sources and secure internet access. I also recommend waking up early so you can set aside time to create your game plan and get into the right state of mind.

If this sounds like a lot of planning, that’s because it is. Bleisure isn’t about making your work life easier – it often creates new challenges. But that extra work also allows you to travel and create new experiences while maintaining your full-time career.

Overcommunicate with colleagues and clients
While you shouldn’t gloat about taking a work trip to paradise, you should communicate with all stakeholders about your remote work setup. Be respectful and honest. I always communicate my availability and average response times in advance and on multiple media channels (via Slack, one-on-one texts or live meetings). I highlight when I’m available and will respond immediately, when I’ll respond in an hour or so, or when it could be a half day. This prevents my co-workers from getting worried and questioning when I’ll respond to their messages.

You shouldn’t forget that you do have to be available. People need to be able to connect with you when you say they can; the onus is on you to deal with your jet lag or find a more stable internet connection than the one at your resort. “Sorry. I’m not available until 3am” isn’t travelling while working – it’s a vacation. Respecting that difference is critical to ensuring you’re not putting your burden of travelling on to your team.

Hold yourself accountable for meeting expectations
Working outside the office can be distracting, whether you’re at home or on the beach, but that doesn’t give you the right to slack off. Your job is to remain productive for the greater good of your employer. Remember, respecting the relationship you have with your company matters. I feel more invested in a company because of the freedom, trust and responsibility I receive. Manage yourself as if someone’s watching, even though you’ll be alone.

Another way to keep yourself focused is to travel with the accountability tools you need, including business operating system mechanisms, project management solutions and reliable dev­ices. Make sure you’re able to update everything regularly and track your progress. That way, your colleagues – and boss – can see at a glance that you’re moving ahead instead of losing ground. Be honest with what does and doesn’t work for you regarding deadlines. If you’re constantly saying yes to deadlines you can’t reasonably meet, you’re jeopardising the trust of your company. Sometimes it’s best to work from a stationary place or even the office, but that doesn’t mean travel is always impossible.

Does your business have an off-season when travelling is more attainable? Even a short travel stint can refresh your outlook and drive away burnout.

Travel with people who understand remote working
When working remotely, it can be easy to lose the human element that makes work enjoyable. You miss out on small talk in the office. Being isolated can lead to burnout and feeling drained. But by creating a collaborative work environment with friends, remote workers can experience new energy levels.

Explain your commitments to your travelling pals to ensure that you have similar positive outcomes. For instance, you may want to establish times of the day when you need to set aside for Zoom calls or other business matters. There’s nothing wrong with putting boundaries in place. Remember that business is the most critical part of bleisure.

Remote work isn’t for everyone, but don’t shy away from making your jetsetter dreams come true if you want to explore work-life freedom. Just be proactive and respectful to your colleagues so you can effortlessly balance time on your laptop with breathtaking cycling tours in Tuscany.

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Pam Kosanke is the chief revenue officer for EOS Worldwide.