The art of balancing your career and wanderlust is not always easy, but it is certainly can be done! One of the most common questions I get asked by my family, friends, and even colleagues is how I do it? I define success in life by having great balance in all aspects of my life not just by my title and my income. The truth is that I am equally as passionate about my career as I am about my desires to explore the world. To prove to you that balancing work and wanderlust can be done, not only am I going to share with you what I have found to be the most helpful in managing my travel goals along with work, but I have also asked five women to share with you what is key to establishing, and maintaining a healthy work life balance. These women are in all in varying stages of their careers, and they have successfully infused their passion for traveling into their lifestyle.
My favorite words to live by are “Where there is a will, there is a way” so I simply make it happen. What does that mean exactly? What goes into making “It happen”? Well that’s what I want you to get out of this post!
Over the last five years I have been with the same company. I have been able to visit 15 countries to date, and at least 10 new cities across the US while I worked my way up through my organization. The most important thing in my opinion is working for an employer who encourages you to use your PTO and have a healthy work life balance. If this doesn’t sound like your situation, then take slow steps in proving that you CAN manage both successfully. I have found that the more I prove myself to be a person that can be counted on at the office, the more support I receive from my manager.
Best advice – Get your work done, and don’t let your absence for a few days be an excuse for not doing your job. Leading up to all of my trips I make it a point to work twice as hard, so that I cover the work I would be doing while I am out. I will work ahead on any deliverables that are due the week I get back since I know I will probably be a bit tired upon return. Prep work and prioritizing is key! I also recommend making it a point to let your manager know that you are designating a point of contact for your clients and internal team to use as a resources while you’re out. This shows them you’re on it even while you’re away!
Something I have always done a great job at is taking my time off when it is seasonally acceptable. I am in sales, Q4 is our busiest time of year. That being said it’s very important for me to be focused on work and not trying to squeeze in another a weekend getaway. Keep your industry’s seasonality in mind! It won’t go unnoticed.
As far as how I manage to afford so many trips in a year? I guess it just goes back to where I see value in life. I am not a big drinker, or a shopaholic so I am not spending my disposable income in those ways. It also makes it a lot easier to justify the cost when I truly believe that one of the most rewarding things in life is to see and experience another part of the world.
I pride myself on Maximizing my PTO. Something I have done consistently over the years is to schedule my trips around holiday weekends. Although it will be a bit pricier to travel during those weekends, you do get an extra free day to enjoy your destination for a bit longer. If your company offers a volunteer day as part of your PTO plan, use it! I went to Thailand last year and spent a day at an elephant sanctuary. Instead of logging a vacation day, this could qualify as a volunteer day.
To actually save money on travel, I love to travel in the off season when I can! Not only is it going to be less expensive, but it also allows me to enjoy the city I’m vising with less crowds. I also stick to 1-2 airlines/alliances so that my points add up to free flights sooner!
I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world. – Mary Anne Radmacher
Jennifer of @ontheroadwithjen
I work as a procurement manager at a food company in Chicago where I’ve been employed for almost 9 years. Not only do I have a lot of PTO (24 days) but since I’ve worked for this company for so long, I no longer feel guilty about using my time off to its fullest. I’ll receive another 5 days off at my 10-year anniversary which I’m very excited about!
The culture at my company is amazing and our leadership stresses the importance of work/life balance. I encourage people to choose to work for companies that support this as well. I truly believe that work should revolve around our lives and not the other way around. When I’m in the office, I’m focused on my work and so that when I leave, I never have to take my work home with me. Plus, research shows that those who have more work/life balance are happier, more productive employees in the office! I have seen a lot of companies start shifting towards a more flexible work life (ie: working remotely a few days a week or having half day Friday’s) which can help you reach your travel goals.
Prior to a recent promotion to manager, I worked from home on Friday’s which made taking long weekend trips very easy. Even though I no longer work remotely at all, I still try to take at least 1 trip per month and 1 week-long trip per year. In 2019 I went to 9 U.S. cities and took 1 International trip. At this point in my life, I’m more of a budget traveler and I’d rather take many small trips than just one expensive trip. I typically opt for budget-friendly choices even if that means not flying with my preferred airline, taking public transit at my destination, or staying at a less expensive hotel. The money that I save making these choices can be put towards the cost of my next trip. Managing a busy travel schedule and my travel blog outside of my career is truly a labor of love but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than be the ones you did do. – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Sarah of @sarahnmalley
Traveling the world is something I’ve wanted to do since I was old enough to understand the concept. I moved across the country to start my career in sales with Adobe after graduating from college in December 2018. I’ve been working in-office from 9-5 for a little over a year now. For me, one of the most important factors in deciding what company to work for was work-life balance. My company values and understands that we all have lives outside of work, and taking time for yourself is so important. We have two company-wide shutdown periods: one week in July and one week in December. These are the months I plan my international travel around. In total, we have 24 PTO days a year.
My first trip abroad was in July of 2019. My boyfriend and I booked a trip to Europe three weeks prior. I was browsing the app Skiplagged for cheap flights out of boredom and found a decent deal to Barcelona from Chicago. We visited Spain, France and Italy in a little over a week. I used rewards points from my credit card to book our shorter flights within Europe which helped offset some of the expenses. My second trip abroad just ended a couple of weeks ago. My two friends and I traveled to Southeast Asia where we visited Singapore, Thailand, and Bali in 11 days. We also used Skiplagged to find these flights. This app is great for getting a general idea of prices, flight times, ideal dates, and the airlines that can take you there – always book directly with the airline though. While I’m always conscious of prices, I don’t consider myself a budget traveler. I need to feel comfortable and safe so I always put that first, but I definitely don’t splurge. Standard hotels, Airbnb’s and economy flights work for me.
My secret is to just say yes. Save whatever money you can from each paycheck and start planning that trip. Do it while you can, while you’re young, and while your responsibilities are still somewhat small. Find a travel buddy to split costs with. I won’t lie – working in sales and earning commission has changed my life. I save most of my commission checks and use them to travel. A helpful tip to ease the travel expenses is to spread out your planning. Book yours flights one month, then your hotel the next, then excursions shortly before you leave. I try to stay away from ‘all-inclusive’ packages because I find them to be the most expensive and restrictive. If you plan far enough in advance, you can spread out your spending and won’t feel like a huge chunk of your money is gone. We make time for the things we truly care about, so save up those PTO days and use them when you get the chance. I would seriously take unpaid time off if I didn’t have enough PTO – this might be extreme but that’s how passionate I am about seeing the world. Don’t let a single day go to waste.
I travel because I’m curious about the world and my place in it. – Unknown
Sarah of @otheplaceswellgo
I’m currently a Corporate Finance Manager. I’ve worked in roles within corporate finance/strategy for the past four years and have been with my current company for two and a half years. In the past 6 months, I’ve visited five new countries and four cities within the states. Most of the time, I work from my office. In my career, I’ve found that face time is crucial to establish strong relationships. It makes it way easier to be efficient and work with people when you do need to work remotely.
One of my favorite leaders that I’ve worked with did a presentation on her career and finding work-life balance. Something that she said that stuck with me is that there is not always a perfect balance. There are going to be times that there is a lot going on at work and that travel falls on the back burner. When I started my current job, I waited six months before I took a trip that required PTO – learning my new role & building relationships was my priority. There are many nights that I leave the office and go to work from home for a few more hours. The key to managing a successful career along with traveling the world is to get your job done, do it well, and build strong relationships with your co-workers so that when you are out of the office, you have people that can cover.
I’m lucky to have an employer that encourages me to use all of my PTO. We have a use it or lose it policy. My work is very cyclical due to the timing of financial earnings & forecasting, so I know what times of the year my team is busy and slow. I always plan to travel during slow periods. One of my biggest pieces of advice (and the biggest mistake I see younger employees make) is to be upfront about your PTO plans and plan. As soon as I book a trip, I share the dates with my co-workers. I also set up a plan to make sure I can cover as much work as possible before I’m out of the office and that my teammates can cover anything that comes up. Something that I always do is send an email update to my team of what items are completed, outstanding, and may come up. If I’m taking a trip that is more than 2 days of PTO, I’ll save out relevant emails my co-workers may need to reference.
Travel is so much more attainable then people think. It requires some planning, being frugal, and some sacrifices. Just like I’m frugal with trips, I make trade-offs to afford to travel as I do. I make almost all of my meals when I’m home in Chicago. To save money on groceries, I buy from Imperfect Produce and Trader Joes. Eating out every day – especially for lunch, adds up fast. I also saved a lot by switching to a job that didn’t require a long driving commute (tolls & gas are expensive), drink free coffee in the office instead of buying Starbucks, and have canceled most of my subscription services.
When I’m planning trips, I do my best to leverage airline miles or book deals I find on Scott’s Cheap Flights. I always try to travel in the off-season for destinations because everything from activities to accommodations to flights is cheaper. Doing a little planning upfront to figure out when the most affordable times to visit a destination are can save you a ton of money in the long run.
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us. – Anonymous
Lily of Hungerlust Travel
I work for a corporate insurance brokerage (meaning we provide insurance for companies, not people.) I have worked at the same company since I graduated college, 6.5 years. I travel primarily with my husband, and we usually take 5-6 international trips a year. We also take a handful of long weekend trips around the country.
I am lucky that I have a great relationship with my manager, she even came to my wedding in Italy! She is very supportive of my travel on a personal level, but we both have to manage optics. The tough thing for me is that the places we are going attract attention. If coworker Bob takes a pair of two week vacations to Florida and his lake house in Wisconsin, and spends 10 days throughout the year traveling for his child’s sports tournaments, Bob and I are gone for exactly the same amount of days. But, Bob’s trips are not memorable, so no one remembers or considers him a frequent traveler.
I think the most important thing is documenting how many days you use, and when the conversation comes up of “wow, Lily is heading somewhere again?” you can causally drop into the conversation that you just use your X amount of vacation days differently. You come to work the day after landing from a 15 hour flight. You don’t take Friday off when a friend comes into town, or when you travel for a wedding. You travel on national holidays so your 10 day Thanksgiving trip actually only was 2.5 vacation days. As long as you are inside your parameters, it’s easier to dispel the general sentiment around the office that you travel more than they do.
My travel style is “I will likely never be back here, I am going to save in other areas of my life so I can see, eat, and do everything I want.” So no, I do not consider myself a budget traveler. My husband and I are lucky that we have stable careers and have recently paid off all of our student loans. After tax and insurance, I put 15% in savings, spend 25% on rent, and spend ~30% on travel. I am a huge proponent of booking travel yourself, rather than taking the easy route of booking a big group tour (cruise, contiki, bus tour) or the expensive route of hiring a travel agent. Planning is truly half the joy for me, as I love anticipating my trips and finding small gems every day that I can add to spice up and personalize an itinerary.
I think the best way to manage your full time job while traveling is to alternate between your involvement on each trip. Sometimes, especially at a busy time of year, allow yourself a day in your itinerary to log-in and work remotely for a few hours or even a day. This means you may not need a backup to cover for you, and you don’t burn that person out.
Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.
— Anthony Bourdain
Shashana of @work.and.wander
I am a Project Manager at a Communications Agency, I have been with the company for over 3 years, and just got up to 3 weeks of PTO. Last year alone, I traveled 30 times and visited 5 Countries.
I am able to travel so much because I get to travel for work. Last year, 8 of my trips in were for work. I always extend them, or use the work trip location as a jumping off point to a destination. For example, when I’m in Las Vegas for work, its much closer to Hawaii than if I was flying to Hawaii from New York where I’m based. I have also been known to travel both before and after a work trip, so I get 3 destinations in, instead of just 1. Federal Holidays are a great way to minimize the number of vacation days you take for your trip! I travel on almost every Federal Holiday throughout the year.
I travel super cheaply. I’m not a glamorous traveler by any means. I try to stay with friends and family as much as possible, not only does it save money, but locals ALWAYS know best! If i’m not with family I find cheap AirBnb’s with kitchens so I can cook at least breakfast and some dinners in. I always pack carry-on only unless its around the holidays and I have a lot of gifts to give. I don’t have an airline of choice, but instead always just pick the cheapest and most direct option. I am on skyscanner.com every week searching flights, finding deals, and cheap destinations to visit. For example, in March I’m doing 6 days in London and Paris with my boyfriend. I booked the flights in November after I noticed that from Newark to London every week in the Winter there was a direct flight on United for $125, and flights from Paris direct back to Newark on Norwegian for $150. So, for 2 roundtrip tickets to London and Paris I paid $550! IT WAS A STEALLLLLL!
It is because of these main reasons that I am able to travel so much and not go broke. It’s definitely a crazy lifestyle, but I love it! The adventures that I have are worth it 100 times over! I hope these tips were helpful and I wish you the best of luck in finding your work life blend!
There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” -Jawaharlal Nehru
