Moving from Vacation Mode to Remote Work Mode

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It has been six weeks on the road in Europe now and I am noticing some subtle and not so subtle shifts in my approach to being abroad. While in 'vacation mode' for the past month and a half, I have been able to be more present-focused, soaking in the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the places I am visiting (Germany, Malta, Sicily, northern Portugal). I have been eager to explore early in the mornings, settle in for a midday siesta, and then explore again at night. I have been content to people watch in the plazas and listen to the multitude of languages spoken all around me. 

My brain has been full of the new things I am attending to - unfamiliar words and expressions, bus and train schedules, familiarizing myself with the variety of Euro bills and coins, tracking my location in Google maps so I don't get lost in new areas. My muscles have been sore in the evenings with all of the daily walking and my yoga practice has been slow and deliberate to stretch out, feel limber again, and to ground myself in a more meditative and mindful state.


As a vacationer, certain things have been important to me - like finding lodgings with a terrace or backyard so I can be outdoors as much as possible, and being close to restaurants and attractions, without being right in the heart of the touristy areas. I have been able to be in a more reflective state for longer periods of time with a greater attention span which has allowed me to read for pleasure, watch educational videos on the places I am visiting, and blog on different topics of interest. (View of Nazare beach from the Miradouro do Suberco)

Now that I have resumed my jobs of supervising associates, seeing therapy clients, and prepping for my Fall classes, I am noticing a return to a more future-focused, multi-tasking mindset that I equate with being in 'work mode' back at home. I am noticing more browser tabs being open at one time, bouncing back and forth between different tasks, thinking ahead to due dates and milestones that I want to reach. I can manage to read a few pages of my novel at a time before wanting to do something else (that is more productive). There is a decided lack of lingering. 

I am not sure this is my preferred mode but it seems this is what I (we) have been taught in the last 1-2 decades of work culture, and I feel a pull towards this way of being.

The things that feel important in my lodgings now are having a good desk / writing table, being close to grocery stores so I can cook for myself, not being too close to loud neighbors and barking dogs that will disrupt my zooms and my concentration. My yoga practice has been a bit more perfunctory in the past 2 days, more to the point, and not as restful or rejuvenating. Perhaps there is an impatience that is creeping in and now that I can name it as such, I can work to question it and regain the more relaxed and mindful state I was in before. 

Part of this experiment in remote work is to see how my brain and body adjust to being in unfamiliar but relaxing and nature-oriented surroundings, while trying to balance, sustain and thrive in my various jobs. Can I be successful as a remote worker and still have the pleasure of lingering over daily discoveries? 

There's more for me to learn about how to make this lifestyle work...

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