A few weeks ago, I spoke on a panel at Hostelling International Boston – “Travel as A Young Professional” – about how to find time to travel while building a career. I asked my fellow panelists – all incredibly inspiring and accomplished professionals much younger than me! – to share their top three tips on how they’ve done it, and here is what Kevin Diamond had to say.
1. Integrate
Don’t let it be a “this or that. It can be both – integration as opposed to just a balance of one or the other. It’s less a matter of ‘work’ or travel, but a blending of the two. How to make it happen:
a) Negotiate for time off if you are an employee.
b) Create ways to work remotely if you work for yourself.
In either option, see how travel supports your work and improves your personal and business growth.
You can find ways that travel will support you and your employer if you work for a company. If you work for yourself, you can see how travel will benefit you as an entrepreneur/freelancer – events, seminars, conferences, and meeting idols in the field are all ways that travel will support your growth. Seek what will serve you.
2. Don’t stick to the status quo.
Everyone is unique. And each of us has a different situation. The way you travel will be different than the way your friend travels.
List out what you need in order to travel. Some options might be that you want: paid time off, health coverage while traveling, business travel, or work travel where you take on a paid gig abroad. For others it might be: extended time off, friends in different places, totally random itinerary, flexibility, and zero commitments.
Find what aspects you want/need when you travel. And create for yourself the best travel opportunity that will serve you.
3. Dream big.
Don’t settle for less than what you want. Whether it’s a longer stay, a paid accommodation, a working gig, or an exciting/socially good/fulfilling endeavor, chase that, and don’t settle until it shows up for you. If it’s not a “Hell yes!,” it’s a “Hell no!”
Kevin Diamond, is a designer, entrepreneur and educator.