How Travelers Can Balance Work & Play

Guest Post by Toby Israel

This week we have a guest post from Konverser Toby Israel. Toby is the Storyteller in Chief at NuMundo—an organization that connects people with eco-friendly, sustainable travel experiences. Keep reading for Toby’s perspective on work-life balance and for a special offer from NuMundo for the Konversai community.

Do we even know what “work-life balance” means in the United States of America?

At least 10 million people in the U.S. work more than 60 hours per week. Approximately 34% of workers don’t take a single day of their paid vacation in a given year. Of those who do take vacation days, 30% find it difficult to relax because they can’t stop worrying about work. 

It’s no wonder people living in the U.S. feel burnt out, over-stressed, and disconnected. All work and no play—we know how that story ends.

Global trends show us that there are other ways to live, however. Many European countries offer 30-hour work weeks and exponentially more vacation time. Outside the U.S., we encounter a multitude of approaches to work—and play.

My personality tends toward excessive productivity. I have a habit of prioritizing work over downtime. Meetings over meals with friends. Deadlines over dates.

Luckily, my heart loves connection and play, and the two tendencies balance each other out.

As a digital nomad and remote worker, I’ve experienced every imaginable work environment over the past six years. From painfully hip city cafes to jungle co-working spaces, and from friends’ couches to moving trains, buses, and boats—if it has an internet connection or a power source, I’ve probably worked there. What’s more, I’ve lived immersed in dozens of different cultures, all with different approaches to wellness, work, and relaxation. 

Through all of this variety, I’ve honed a few essential techniques for balancing work and play.

6 Simple Ways to Balance Work & Play

Include “Fun” on Your To-Do List. It’s not the most spontaneous approach, but it works. Including items like meditation, yoga, journaling, or social events in your to-do list or planner concretizes the intention for self-care or play and turns it into action. Furthermore, giving space to our commitments to our self—alongside work obligations—sends a clear signal to the brain that these activities hold equal importance.

Take Small Breaks. The human body simply was not designed to sit at a computer for eight hours straight. The pomodoro technique is one good approach to both maximizing focus and improving wellness. Set a timer for 25 minutes of uninterrupted workflow, then take a five-minute break. Those of us who work from home can jump straight from the desk chair onto our yoga mat or into a mini ecstatic dance session. Those working in offices or public spaces may need to tone down their break time and opt for something quieter like deep breathing, a walk around the block, or a chat with a coworker.

Stop to Eat. This has been one of the hardest principles to integrate into my own work habits. As a long-time patron of cafes that let you sit for six hours to steal their wifi, I fell into the habit of continuing to work when my food arrived. However, mindful eating is too important to our physical and mental health to push aside. Let’s be real, most of us only need 10 or 15 to fully enjoy a meal. So we can afford to close our laptops, lean back, and savor every bite of that time. The food tastes better, and our focus will be renewed when we clock back in.

Cowork. It’s easy to fall into bad habits—slouching, scarfing down food during calls, sitting still for hours—when there is no one to hold us accountable. Rather than segmenting “work time” and “play time,” we can bring playfulness right into our work life through coworking. Check out NuMundo’s impact center directory for some unique coworking spaces around the world!

Connect to Nature & Community. Coworking in lush, natural surroundings is more fun, more productive, and more sustainable than any other setup. When I can work outside in the morning, it balances out computer work in the afternoon. When I’m part of a self-reliant, sustainable community, I feel aligned and well. Humans were never meant to sit all day inside. If we can, shouldn’t we find a way to bring our work into nature, and play into our work? Coworking in nature and community may be the simplest path to living that dream

Take real vacations. Even with the best work-play balance, we still need to totally unplug sometimes to tune into other aspects of our existence. Take those vacation days—every last one of them. (And if that’s not enough, take a sabbatical and travel to intentional communities, permaculture projects, or eco-retreats until you truly feel restored!) Remember: Life is about so much more than work. So be sure to make time to live it fully.

How do you balance work and play in your life? I’d love to hear about it! Share your tips in the comments, or better yet, share them on Konversai! Konversai is a global Knowledge marketplace that connects knowledge providers and knowledge seekers on any topic of interest through one-on-one live video conversations. Offering yet another way to balance work and play from anywhere in the world, sessions on Konversai take place at times that are mutually convenient for both users involved, all from the comfort of your home, your office, or anywhere else you have an Internet connection. Knowledge providers can charge for their time, and knowledge seekers can enjoy a personalized session with a live human being on exactly what they are looking to learn on a particular topic. All users are encouraged to be both knowledge providers and knowledge seekers on any and as many topics as they wish—the only limit is your imagination.

If you want to connect with Toby one on one, you can find her on Konversai! Talk to her about travel planning and her experience as a digital nomad.

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Want to make every moment live? Join the NuMundo team for a perfect balance of work and play: ten days (or five) of co-living and play in the Costa Rican jungle. Escape winter for a strong dose of sun, saltwater, and fresh, wild air. Start your day with yoga, community, and nourishing organic meals, with plenty of time afterward to just do you.

We’ll take care of the plans, the vibe, and the tribe. You bring you. Learn more and secure your spot here. We’re offering our friends at Konversai a special discount! Enter the code KONVERSAI at checkout for $100 off!

Edited by Pavita Singh