Tag: work

It’s Not a Vacation! We’re Working When We Travel

So we took this whole month of May to travel from our home in Wisconsin down to Phoenix, out to San Diego, up to Northern California, and end up back up June 1. The main purpose is so we can pick up more of our stuff from storage in Roseville, California. However, since we know so many people, friends and family, in Phoenix, San Diego, and Roseville, we are taking time to visit with them as we travel.

But it’s not a vacation! No, we are working while we travel. We are still doing all our usual stuff. I work as a Virtual Assistant managing client’s social media marketing, newsletters, and blogs and am continuing to do so. We have a web design business we are continuing to run and in fact have received new work as we’ve been traveling.

And Joel’s book coaching and publishing business, Someday Box, has continued. We have one client in the final stages of editing her book, another in the U.K. that we’re working on formatting the interior of his book (in fact we had an international call with him yesterday), and yet another that signed up for the Pathfinding Session and Road Map. We had an hour call with her last Monday while here in Arizona and have scheduled another one this next Tuesday while we’re in San Diego.

So for us it’s business as usual – we did spend 18 months living as nomads with no fixed place of residence traveling and working. It’s no different now except we do have a fixed place of residence and travel less than we did.

When we do take a vacation, we’ll let you know. We do take the last two weeks of the year off from work. This year we may just end up in Arizona for most of that time. Perhaps visiting our friends and family here and taking time to see Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, and Jerome. We did spend out honeymoon in Oak Creek Canyon and this December will be our 10th wedding anniversary!

And this trip we are getting to connect with lots of friends and family – in Phoenix it’s been Terry & Virgie, Dan & Annete, Rod on Saturday, and Sunday Sue’s Uncle Phil. In San Diego we’ll see Sue’s mom, Joel’s brother Brett and his family and Joel’s sister Lynn and her family. Also our good friend Ken. Then it’s up to Northern California to see Tom Bentley, Dave Reffkin, Pam & Phil, the Stephens family, and of course Fiona’s big sister Rachelle!

The final four days of our trip heading home Fiona and Sue will get to drive through Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota – all states they’ve never been in before. Oh, and we’re driving through Yosemite. So that will feel like a vacation – though Sue does have a big transcription project she needs to get finished that week as well. That’s when having a colleague comes in handy. Sue is very grateful to Amy in New Jersey for all the assistance she’s providing in that area.

So, don’t ask how our vacation was! We weren’t on vacation! We were traveling and working and having the time of our lives! Don’t you wish you could do this?

Challenge: Routine

The challenge: maintaining a routine. Many wonder how it is possible to maintain a routine while traveling. There are especially concerns about some sort of routine for Fiona and her schooling. And of course our work. So what’s our routine and how do we maintain it?

We’ve always had a rather flexible routine in our way of life. Important things get done while allowing ourselves lots of spontaneity in life.

One of the most challenging things is arriving at a new place where we know we’re going to be for a few weeks and getting settled in. If we can settle in quickly, in a day or so, we can maintain our routine and get more done. We continue to work on that. One of the first things we do when we get to a new place is find the place we’re going to work and get our computers set up. Next we need to find a place for the books and materials Joel needs to refer to for his work.

Continue reading Challenge: Routine

Why We’re Not Crazy

Amidst all the excitement and enthusiasm, some very real consternation has surfaced among some who know us. Since its source is their genuine concern for us, and since others may well be thinking the same things, I thought it was time to clarify things so y’all know you don’t have to worry about us.

First and foremost, I will never knowingly endanger my family’s well-being or happiness. My primary job is to care for my wife and daughter, in part, by caring for myself.

And the first of the first is our spiritual well-being. Whether or not you share a specific religious bent, you certainly realise that there is more to life than what we eat and what we wear. I know that there are things more important than me, that the Greater Good outweighs my personal benefit, and, by extension, my family’s. We plan to continue, and, if possible, increase our volunteer work, and have plans in place to reinforce ourselves to offset the potential instability traveling can introduce.

Which brings up the second point: stability. Don’t we need a home, a car, a fixed place, to provide our daughter the life a 6-year-old needs?

No, we don’t. What she needs is not things, but people. The love of her family, undivided attention, counsel and guidance, correction and discipline, play and adventure—those, she needs. She does not need to live in the same house for five years, or know that the store is only five minutes by car. Those are luxuries which the bulk of the world lives without every single day. I want her to know that.

As far as luxuries, here’s a sneaky little tidbit: I firmly believe our standard of living is about to experience a serious upgrade. Now, we’re pretty frugal. We live a simple life. But not a life of deprivation. We love good food. We love sitting in front of a great movie on TV. We love good music (and my room full of musical instruments and recording equipment.) We like sturdy fun clothing, and maybe more than anything else, we like sleeping in a nice soft bed.

I’m not giving that stuff up. We’re not planning on using our backpacks for pillows as we collapse exhausted under the hedgerows. That’s no kind of life, and not what we’re seeking.

But we’re not materialistic. We have far more stuff than we could possibly need or will ever use. If we got rid of 90% of it, we’d barely miss it. Even if we decide to call this whole adventure off, that’s still gonna happen because we’re just plain tired of being responsible for all this stuff.

How can we possibly make a living if we’re traveling? Well, my short answer to that is, I sure haven’t been wildly successful making a living by not traveling. My last two jobs disappeared overnight when the companies shut down. Our own companies have started growing, finally, and that’s the very reason travel has become essential. There is plenty of work for us, but for now, we need to go to the work, since it’s not coming to us.

Aren’t we biting off more than we can chew? Not yet. Sure, there’s a banquet on the table. Right now, we’ve simply put a nice salad on our plate. The only thing we’ve committed to at this point is that we’ll be in Vancouver for most of the month of August. After that, we could come home and announce that the experiment is over and we’re done. It’s not likely, but for now, we’re not committing to anything without knowing what we’re getting ourselves into. This is an experiment, and each step is a gentle testing of the ground to ensure that we don’t lose our footing.

Sure; I’ve shared some wild goals here, talking about living without most of our possessions, a home and car, all that. It’s still the plan.

But plans change. We can’t foretell the future any better than anyone else. But we’d rather choose a future and try to make it happen than to simply sit here and let life be something which happens to us.

We’re seeking a simpler life, not a more complicated one. We’re trying to need less stuff and have more time.

We’ve settled on some tentative goals; I’ll share those later. But even those are subject to review and adjustment every step of the way.

Like I said: we know we can swim, but we’re still gonna make sure there’s water in the pool before we jump in.

It’s Work, Not a Vacation

Nice thing about believing that there’s no such thing as work/life balance is that we can mingle the two, or separate them, at will.

Sue wrote a great post at our Chief Virtual Officer site explaining that we want to add a more human dimension to our virtual work. Meeting folks in real life is enthralling; shaking hands and hugging and sharing a meal; seeing the look on their face when they grasp what you’re teaching; showing our daughter that there are real people out there, not just avatars on a Facebook page.

Our goal isn’t to retire with our immeasurable wealth in order to frequent the hotspots of the nouveau riche; our goal is to live, every single day; to work and love and share and learn and live.