How to Travel While Working Full-Time

If you work full-time – you know the first thing you want to do is relax after a long day. If traveling is a dream for you – you have to find time to weave in planning for your adventures. Sometimes this means pushing through being tired or taking red-eye flights, but these sacrifices are worth it in the end! Your planning and time management throughout the week are the only things that can make your adventures a reality. The main principles to incorporate are: Saving money, leveraging time, and focusing on the essential things in life. Each of these plays a role in how to make the most travel while working full-time.

No. 1 Take Time To Make a Bucket List

‘Why is this necessary?’

I hear you loud and clear: You don’t want to be spending tons of time making lists. Ask yourself, ‘How often do I find myself dreaming of a faraway destination, but never actually go?’

Bucket lists are the start of your planning!

One of my biggest bucket list goals is to do a full-on camping weekend. This requires planning for gear, campsites, and weather considerations. + Ev’s full support because I’ve never camped before! Lol deciding want kind of vacation you want is half the battle. The other great thing about a bucket list is realizing there are some things you have no desire to do. I know people who don’t like to hike or be in the outdoors. Weird, but those aren’t experiences they don’t need to waste their time on. Decide what you want so that you’re not spending your time on unfulfilling vacations.

Adding experiences with certain people to your bucket list is another great way to look at your planning. Having a picnic with Ev in front of the Eiffel Tower,  That’s not something I want to do with a bunch of kiddos ya know? That means we’ll either be prioritizing that trip before we have kids or waiting until later in life when our kids are grown and don’t need us anymore. {AKA – we won’t be inviting them because 18 years is long enough to wait for Paris with the hubs!}

See here for a few more thoughts on how to plan the trip that’s right for you. 

No. 2 Limit Unnecessary Time Off Work

There’s only so much time off you can earn at most jobs. Personal, vacation, etc. – you’re probably looking at three weeks or so? (And that’s being generous!) Avoid unnecessarily wasting your PTO by getting a planner and scheduling things at times that don’t require you to take PTO. You save all of that time for the things you really want to use them on – relaxation and adventure. Something I try to do is communicate with my boss about making up missed time. If I need to take 2 hours on a Tuesday, I can make up those hours on Wednesday.

To be able to take advantage of a situation like that – becoming a reliable employee and getting your work done is crucial. Building trust with your employer allows you so many more opportunities! One of the ways that I’m able to leverage my time off work is also by taking care of things that still need to be finished while I’m away from the office. If I have to sit in a waiting room for 40 minutes before a doctor’s appointment or I’m in the car (while Ev drives) for an hour – there is time for me to get things done.

PLANNING TIPS FOR SHORTER TRIPS

#1. Pick locations within 8 hours driving time and make a 3-4 day weekend of the area.
#2. Pick destinations less than 2 hours away for day trips!!

Two other important tips for limiting unnecessary time off work: mobile hotspots and flexible work schedules.

Get a Mobile Hotspot

For the best and most reliable wifi coverage to get things done: we use the Skyroam Solis X for unlimited data. It’s cheaper than buying a data plan with any of the major cell phone networks and more reliable than a cell phone hotspot. (Not to mention that wifi-tethering to your cell phone drastically drains the power and can ruin your phone battery.) The best thing about Skyroam’s mobile hotspot is that it works internationally, too – so you don’t have to buy a separate device for your international travels or when working in the US!

Remember: While it’s ok to do some work on the road while on the way to a destination. You’ve just gotta turn that part of your brain off when you’re not working. Use the wifi for something creative or save your data plan and completely go without for a weekend. Whatever you chose – just make sure you’re making the most of the trip that you worked so hard to go on.

10% off code: MYCOLORFULWANDERINGSSKYROAM

Flexible Work Schedules

There are two main ways to leverage your time off work.

The first way that I’ve read about – is asking for more time off work instead of a raise. Sometimes time with a company means more time off along with a raise, but not always. By asking for more time off instead of a raise, the employer has nothing to lose. You’re probably thinking- ‘I could use a raise though?’ and that’s true… but we’ll get to the ‘more money’ conversation! I have yet to try this tip because it seems scary! I’ll report back if I do try it! **Bawk Bawk – Inserting chicken noises because I’m a total chicken!**

Back in the ‘Limiting Unnecessary Time Off Work’ section, we discussed making up your time for necessary things like doctor’s appointments, etc. What if you overall had a flexible schedule? What if you worked 4 x 10-hour shifts, or over two weeks worked an extra 0.89 hours a day to make up for that three-day weekend you need in a couple of weeks? Making up hours for time off work is one of the most important ways Ev and I travel while working full-time. Ev works from home, and I work in a lab – but we both need to manage our time correctly so that I can take as little time off as possible. By doing this – we manage to take five short trips and one big trip every year!

No. 3 Leverage National Holidays

I’m going to write a full post on this one because it’s so important! Leverage the national holidays you automatically get off work. This is just another strategy for maximizing the time you already were going to have off work. In many companies, you’re required to work the day before or the day after a holiday to get paid for the national holiday. How do you work around that? By fully utilizing ‘weekday’ travels. Weekday travels are amazing because usually, the attractions are cheaper than weekend tickets. They’re also considerably less busy!

I’ve heard people say they don’t like to travel at those times because they’re so expensive. They don’t have to be if you go to places that aren’t as frequented during major holidays.

There are a million places to go besides the lake or the beach for the 4th of July. Do the trips other people won’t think about during those times! Things like visiting museums, bourbon tours, and hiking are not going to be as packed during the fourth. The biggest takeaway here: Go to the places less traveled on National Holidays. Also, remember that national parks have free days, and sometimes those coincide with federal holidays. Click here for more info on great national parks to visit. 

Book Business & Professional Development Trips

Professional development/business trips are dull, for the most part. Are you in a classroom or conference room in a hotel all day and pretty much brain dead by the time you get out? But if you want to make the most of being in a new place – mentally shut off your business brain and explore! Something I’ve done to maximize my time on business trips is to use the time around the actual working hours to hit some of the highlights.

If you have to drive, for example, miles are miles. But since I’m already driving – I specifically request training that starts on a Monday or ends on a Friday. This way, I can take advantage of the weekend around them, because I’m already driving the miles I already have to, (and then use the miles to my destination as a write-off).

Pick A Subject In the City

When I (Shelbs) travel for work, I don’t have a lot of time to explore. By focusing on one area like Mural Art, I have a sense of direction. Each city has it’s own vibe, so I make it a point to look for the best art in the city. In Louisville for example, we have over 100 gorgeous murals! In Cincinnatti they have an impressive hand art sculpture near murals inside of a foodie district, and a coffee shop (mural outside) where they grow trees indoors! I set my camera up on a tripod and took this picture of myself to remind myself to keep an adventurous spirit even when you’re tired! I’m so grateful for those memories now because it was my first ‘solo’ trip, and I loved it!

No. 4 Be Ok With Traveling Alone

If you have the time and the money as a young person – go. People your age may not be able to travel with you for time or money reasons, but you’ll regret all the times you didn’t experience something new and expand your mind a little bit. As I look back – the best trips I’ve ever taken were the ones that made me feel a little bit nervous, scared and lost. It forced me to figure things out without cell service and without a phone in a couple of instances. If traveling alone intimidates you as a woman, you’re not alone. There are a TON of blogs out there about solo female travel including Be My Travel Muse, and World of Wanderlust.

Those experiences may not sound warm and inviting – but I can tell you they’ve made me a better traveler. Not to mention more prepared for life in general! Traveling alone doesn’t always mean across the seas either. It could just be walking down a new street in a new part of town and exploring a new coffee shop. Take 10 minutes to savor a new flavor of tea or a new kind of muffin. You’ll find yourself enjoying that time just to explore what makes you happy. Then when you can go with others, or a spouse, you’ll be able to share what you love. 

Life Hack: Sharing the same experiences you’ve already had alone with new people can create entirely new experiences!!

No. 5 Create an Easy At Home ‘Flow’

The more you focus on your work-life balance – the more focused you’ll become on what truly matters. Soft and silky workout clothes from Lululemon are seductive guilty pleasures – but that doesn’t mean you need them. If you can start telling yourself you don’t need x,y, and z – you won’t have to work as much to afford the lifestyle you were keeping up.

You can start to focus instead on creating the life you actually want. Your life can also be much less stressful if you don’t have as much stuff.

Which one is easier: Cleaning a 5000 sq. ft house… or a 2000 sq.ft. house…?

Clearly the 2000 sq.ft house right? So what do you do with the time you’ve saved yourself not working to afford or cleaning the extra 3000 square feet of house you didn’t need? You save money for that trip to Thailand you can probably afford to go on now. Or you can start connecting with your family and friends in new local restaurants that you can afford to eat in now because you aren’t house-poor.

Concepts like minimalism and saying ‘no’ to overtime aren’t acceptable in the US, but working full-time can really drain you! For more on how to find your balance, see here.

Get a Planner

Invest in the concept of a planner. I know it’s not an easy way to live life to have to write down everything, but I really can’t tell you how much time, ‘time-blocking’ has saved me. I write out my schedule for the day and I know that I’m going to get things done. For more information on time-blocking, here’s a great article from Entrepreneur.

The reason it’s so important to have a planner comes down to one key element: discipline. You cannot get life things like laundry and dishes are done, while also planning trips, and spending quality time with people you care about. As much as you might want to live care-free and not think about your schedule, no one ever gets anything done without a little planning. 

Not to mention that while I’m working.. my planner sits on my desk and reminds me of the things I’m doing this weekend. That visual reminder of rewards for a week of hard work are incredibly motivating. I find take so much joy in working hard and earning those free hours because nothing is hanging over my head. 

What’s hanging over your head right now that keeps you from living the life you want? 

No. 6 Pack Light

Packing light has two advantages: less stress and saves you money. In general, Western cultures are pretty materialistic, so our packing mindset is flawed from the start. If you’re really trying to travel more around a full-time job – start thinking in terms of doing more with less. The mindset of packing a different outfit for every day and packing all of our hair, makeup, and skincare routines- too much. Not to mention that fussing over all of those routines every morning takes away from the time when you could be exploring? 

The other major benefit from packing light is that you’ll probably never have an airline lose your backpack? How many times have you heard horror stories of people checking their bags only not to have them when they arrive. It happens all the time, and you’ll never have to worry about it if you pack less!

Main takeaway: less stressful and saves you money.

No. 7 Take Advantage of Local Travels

Taking advantage of local events is one of the best ways to be adventurous in your home town. Often our hometowns can start to feel stale because we’re just used to it. If you really start to look around though, there’s probably more going on that you know! Every year in Louisville there’s the Derby, Forecastle Fest, Thunder over Louisville, Waterfront Music nights, baseball games and the list goes on. One of our favorite ways to incorporate traveling locally is ‘date Fridays‘. Ev and I pick somewhere new and make a little one hour adventure together. It’s not anything big but we really enjoy it! Those little adventures are more important sometimes than the big ones to keep you from feeling trapped in your city!

But think about it- that’s only one city within our entire state? That means that within a 2-hour driving range, I’ve got Lexington, Bowling Green, and Cincinnati to go to and maybe see all of their events. Local doesn’t just mean your city. To us, it means anything day trip worthy. All the places I’ve just mentioned are day-trip away and have something new for you to see!!

The great thing about exploring locally is that you’re tapping into the ‘staycation’ mindset. You don’t have to spend money on normal trip expenses like hotels and airfare. Planning a whole weekend around an event like Forecastle here in Louisville makes for such an awesome weekend – that doesn’t end in a 5-hour drive home. 

No. 8 Start Early

There are so many benefits to getting up early in your travels. The first and foremost being that I love seeing the sunrise and the way a city wakes up. Seeing the local routines will help you slowly integrate into a full-blown busy city and get your bearings. Our first day in Italy we got up early as the city woke up, I started to feel more at home. It’s how we roll at home in our own city so finding that semblance of a routine made us feel more prepared. You’ll also feel more relaxed than if you just walk out into a super busy street!  

The other great benefit of getting up early is that you’ll get to see trip highlights without the crowds. Overtourism, in general, is a pretty big problem in many areas. As traveling becomes more accessible, places like Antelope Canyon in the US are more crowded than they ever were in the past. Going in the morning helps you beat the crowds and see these sites the way they were intended! (Especially if you’re hiking – you can catch fantastic sunrise glows without the fear of getting lost in the dark!)

In order to take advantage of early starts during your travels, you need to get a good night’s rest. Getting a good night’s rest isn’t always easy while you’re traveling. To make the best of your nights – I highly suggest eyemasks, comfortable PJ’s, and a sound app. Be on the lookout for my favorite travel essentials gear guide! 

Career Transitions

Probably the most stressful part of figuring out how to travel while working full-time is the whole working full-time part. It’s exhausting and to be honest, most employers do not understand needing a break. American’s especially are taught a work until you drop mentality that can be incredibly hard to break away from. We met a couple in Italy that live and work ‘full-time’ in Holland who travel all the time. (Seriously -we follow each other on Instagram and their lives are SO different! They travel all the time because they’re given more time off!)

If you crave a different path – sometimes looking at where you spend the most time during the week (besides being asleep) can be a significant impact. There are careers out there that give you the ability to travel more. 

When I started this blog, it was because I had a sort of awakening within myself that I loved to write and I love to travel. Eventually, I hope to move into a more permanent work-from-home role that would allow me to travel more. The bogging long game isn’t for everyone, so what kinds of careers allow you to travel?

From the travel industry to remote computer-based jobs, to consulting or cleaning – the options are endless. Ev has cousins that live full time in Nicaragua. They focus on their passion for missionary work and support themselves doing web design. You could do this too if you’re computer savvy! (Even if you’re not- there are some great free resources online to learn!)

Don’t Let Your Dreams Slip Away

If you want to travel while working full-time, it is possible. You just need to make some minor changes to get you there! ‘Think small’ is basically the overall theme. From small trips to small backpacks – you can live out all of those daydreams with much less. If you’re looking for a good read with inspiration for changing your life, I (Shelbs) read ‘Love What You Do’ recently and loved it! 

For more budget travel tips see here. Happy adventuring!

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Until next time friends,

Thanks for sharing!