I returned from the land of pasta and wine not too long ago and I had some time to reflect on how this affected my outlook on remote work and life in general in and outside of my business. This wasn’t a typical trip. I don’t even think I can call it a vacation as I chose to explore what it would be like to work remotely in another country and nonetheless, to launch our whole new rebrand, too, because why not?

Thankfully, my business is built on the remote work approach as our team is spread out across the U.S. and Australia so we already had a great deal of systems and processes in place. But it’s a whole different ball game when you’re the one jet setting off to another country and constantly moving from one place to another every four or five days while navigating time zones, client calls and a rebrand.

That’s a lot, right?

But…I’m writing this to tell you that it all worked out. And I even returned home feeling reinvigorated as a writer and creative.

“It’s not possible,” you might think. But with some prep work ahead of time and my openness to embrace a new meaning of work-life balance, it turned into a trip I’ll never forget.

So, I decided to put pen to paper and reflect on the steps I took to prepare for our trip, the shifts I made while in Italy and the results that ensued. Whether you’re an entrepreneur curious about taking your work to another location or you’re looking for small shifts you can make in your business to breathe new life into your creative side, this blog post may surprise you.

Shall we?

1. I planned ahead of time and prepared my team.

Prior to taking off, my team and I had weekly meetings where one of the main agenda items was preparing for my time in Italy. Because I wasn’t going to be unreachable, things like putting “who will be the main point of contact while I’m away” wasn’t an issue. Instead, we focused on elements such as:

• Setting up an ongoing email auto-responder to let clients and incoming inquiries know my responses may be delayed due to timezones.
• Adding buffer days in project timelines to leave enough time for my team and I to connect, review deliverables and turn around edits.
• Blocking out days on my calendar that I knew would be travel days (i.e. Days where we’d be spending most of our time on trains to get from one place to another, checking into our hotels, or checking out.) These were all days where I wanted to give myself enough breathing room in case things didn’t go as planned. 
• Scheduling in meetings where my Studio Manager, Lauren and I would continue to connect each week and to run through the week’s projects, studio initiatives and team progress.
• Connecting with my writers ahead of time to make sure they had everything they needed to continue to knock out project tasks as well as what to do if they couldn’t get a hold of me.

“I adjusted my mindset before we left with the idea that this was a remote work trip and not a vacation.”

And suddenly, the need and rush to get EVERYTHING done that typically happens before a big trip floated away. I didn’t need to get everything done because my work was coming with me.

Little did I know that this would challenge me in more ways than I could have anticipated.  

2. I warmed up to a new outlook on work-life balance…eventually.

The day we arrived in Florence, Italy, we had most of the afternoon and evening to settle into our hotel, shower and do some sightseeing before we let the jet lag hit. Whenever we arrive at a new place where we’re working against jet lag, we try to stay up as late as we can into the evening to get into a regular sleep schedule! As soon as we arrived in our room, we were dripping in sweat from carrying our bags (carry-ons only!) from the train station to the hotel, the first thing I did?

I opened my laptop.

I didn’t take time to survey the room to look at its intricate designs.

I didn’t look out the window to see the rustic architecture of the city of Firenze gazing back at me.

I didn’t pay any attention to my husband who was expressing how grateful he was that we made it there safely and how excited he was to explore this ancient city.

All I could think about was…

What did I miss?

Were there any urgent emails from clients or ClickUp notifications from my team I had to address?

Were there any fires I needed to put out?

There was nothing. Not a chirp of notifications, pings, or emails from clients.

Because I worked for a portion of the flight over, I already addressed the day’s inquiries, project updates and to-dos. 

Because we were 8 hours ahead of the west coast and 6 hours ahead of the east coast, everyone was sleeping. 

Because I had prepared for this travel day and blocked out my calendar, there were no calls or team meetings.

A wave of relief overcame me and I quickly realized that this trip wasn’t going to be much of a trip if I let my work and the need to open up my laptop like I just did control me.

Right then and there, I decided I would approach remote work in sprints and I would not let it bleed into this desire and need for exploration. To see, do and take in this new places that were right outside my door.

“From that day onward into the rest of our three-week trip, I worked less, accomplished more, and I felt a whole new sense of fulfillment overcome me.”

Instead of giving myself a whole day to complete a list of tasks, I gave myself 4-5 hour windows every evening to complete my tasks. Good ‘ole Parkinson’s Law—the old adage that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion—was coming into play for me in the most beautiful way.

With the timezones working in my favor, by the time we had wrapped up a day’s worth of museum-hopping, market-shopping and Aperol Spritz-sipping, we’d come back to our hotel or airbnb and I would dive into work. I would connect with my team, have client calls or get to writing. And because I gave myself a small window to get things done, I was extremely efficient with my time.

Each day, this looked a little different. And there were days where I had to leave dinners early or stay up a little later to get something done. Instead of fighting these constraints, I welcomed them and committed to getting the work done no matter what.

3. I listened and learned from others’ stories.

I’d be lying if I said the experiences, people and the places we encountered did not play into this new outlook on remote work and instilling a healthy work life balance. 

From Florence and Tuscany, to Cinque Terre, Venice and Lake Garda, in each uniquely different and charming location, we met small business owners who each had found their greatest passion, turned it into a business, and they were living an incredibly fulfilling life.

• Like the German Venetian couple who welcomes travelers onto their boat to show them the islands of Venice through their own eyes.
• Or the American who married an Italian, bought land and started their own lemon farm and bed and breakfast in a small town near Cinque Terre extending their warm hospitality to travelers near and far.
• And the chef who uses her parents’ home on the shores of the largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda to invite individuals in to learn about the benefits of homemade organic food and to how to make fresh pesto, tagliatelle and tiramisu.

Could it be that they live in Italy and everything just seems to be better there? It could be. But of course, as a visitor, things are not always what they seem when you live in a place versus seeing its highlight reel.

But I will say that each person we spoke to had a refreshing outlook on life. They weren’t in a rush to get things done or to get from one place to the next. They did what they truly loved and it was evident in every minute we spent with them.

This new outlook could not have been more well-timed as we approached the announcement of our rebrand. While the past two years of entrepreneurship have been incredibly rewarding, they have also come with a lot of comparisonitis, the continuous push for a hustle mentality and constant go-go-go. As we quickly approached our launch day, I couldn’t help but find myself reflecting on why we created this business in the first place.

I kept going back to the desire to create a fulfilling life.

To be able to travel, work and play.

To be able to work with creatives and business owners all over the world who shared similar beliefs and values. 

We have definitely accomplished an element of the above, but it was refreshing to see how other people instilled these values in their everyday lives and not just in their businesses but with their families, too. There was no right or wrong, this way or that way. It looked different for each of them and yet, they had created these beautiful, fulfilling lives and businesses. This was a gentle reminder for me that…

Business can look different for everyone.

We should continue to revisit our passions, desires and purpose as individuals and business owners.

Exploration can be one of the greatest medicines to reignite your spark.
As you can see, not only did this trip invite a refreshing outlook on my business and my life but in a way, I feel like it was just the dose of medicine I needed to be challenged in and outside my business. Here’s my top 5 learnings from this trip and how to tackle remote work:

• Prepare as much as you can ahead of time and lean on your team.
• Be open to change.
• Plan time for rest.
• Tackle your work in batch sprints (think: Parkinson’s Law!).
• Be receptive to other individuals’ stories and learnings around you.

I’ll leave you with one final piece of advice. If you’re thinking about exploring what it’d be like to travel and work remotely in another country, stop thinking and just go! You won’t regret it, I promise.

-Rachel, Founder & Editor in Chief

Journal Prompts

For those with a pen and a deep inclination.

• What is your viewpoint on remote work?
• If you could live and work anywhere in the world for 3 months, where would you go? Why?
• What does a fulfilling and purposeful life look like for you? Get detailed!