In the past year and a half, filled with one lockdown after another, working from the Canary Islands sounded like a dream come true. After lockdown number who-even-counts, I was sitting in my room in cold rainy Brussels dreaming about sipping on a light cocktail on my lunch break. I imagined having my next business call from the beach, seated at a small wooden bar with an almost-decent Wi-Fi connection.
Similar to most people in the past year, I didn’t get to have a proper vacation because of the lockdowns and travel restrictions so I figured working for a month from the Canary Islands was my chance to catch up on rest, sunbathing, and adventures. I decided to stop dreaming and actually do it.
Even though having real palm trees in the background of my business calls was a great conversation starter, spending a month working from Tenerife made me realize it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Here is what I learned from my one-month experience as a digital nomad.
Most people think it’s a real dream to go to a place like the Canary Islands and manage work and vacation at the same time. Perfect weather – not too cold or too hot, beautiful beaches, and plenty of sunshine create the impression that it must be like working from paradise. While this is partially true, the reality is that you are still working many hours. You still have calls, tasks, and responsibilities.
I was in a pivotal moment in my business, in the midst of onboarding new team members and recruiting for key strategic positions. I actually had a higher workload and not much of a chance to take time off.
I was aware that I’d be working a lot but I thought the weekends would be enough for a vacation. They were not and I learned that it is best to plan in advance to have a holiday, otherwise it won’t happen. Work is always piling up and if you don’t plan to take a few extra days off you probably won’t get proper rest.
Time difference turned out to be a double-edged sword. Savion Ray has always been a location-independent company and my team is spread around three time zones – CET, EEST, and GMT. When I went in May, the time difference with Brussels was one hour, which surprisingly made it challenging to navigate. If your business has a dependency on time zones, even one hour can make a difference so it is something to consider.
I’m an early riser and I wake up with the sun but by the time I got out of bed in Tenerife, my team had already progressed with their daily tasks. Have in mind that your body might need some time to adjust to the local time and conditions.
Another thing to consider is the price of the whole experience. It might not be as expensive as other popular “paradise” destinations but you are still paying to live where people usually go only on a vacation. It is true you are still working and this makes up for the costs to some point but spending a month in Tenerife is pricey.
After I’ve covered the myths and the challenges, it’s time to get to the good part. The change of scenery was a great mental break for me. Breathing a different air really gave me the opportunity to take some time and clear my head from all the noise.
The whole experience helped me put things into perspective and make strategic decisions regarding the future development of my company. Changing my work location helped me find inspiration and unblock. If you are going through a mental block, a change of scenery can definitely help you see things more clearly.
When I draw the line, working remotely for a month from the Canary Islands definitely taught me a lot and opened my eyes to both the good and the bad sides of it. I can say for sure it was a good experience and I’d do it again but not permanently. Now I know to plan better in advance and strategically consider a location in the same time zone as Brussels.
If you’ve been a digital nomad even for a while, I’d love to hear about your experience and key takeaways. Feel free to share it in the comments or drop me a line at bisera@savionray.com.