If you think you don’t have any time for travel and leisure because you’re always stuck at the office, it’s time to think outside the cubicle.
It’s not impossible to make time to travel. Consider these tips from a few rebellious, full-time office-goers who offer up their personal strategies for pulling off a disappearing act any time of the year:
Add vacation travel to work trips
“If I was already going somewhere for work for the week, I would extend my trip through the weekend so I could enjoy the city. I would also take advantage of every non-work hour: exploring at night after my meetings, sometimes getting up early to go see the sunrise, or exploring a city before breakfast if I was only there for a day.”
Add work to vacation travel
“If I knew I was traveling for fun already and there was a chance to add a work trip to it, like attending a conference, I would try to do that so work would pay for my travel. And work was fine with that since it saved them on housing and other costs. Sometimes it pays to look for work opportunities near where you’re already planning to go.”
Consider nearby destinations
“I guess in a big city like NYC it makes sense to consider your mode of travel, because if you were going somewhere that could be reached by a train, you wouldn’t have to leave work as early to go catch the train since it’s right in the city. Or if you get out early on Fridays or another day of the week, it’s great to just hop on a train instead of taking an hour to get to the airport.”
Work extra hours
“What I do is work extra hours Monday through Thursday and only work a half day Friday.” You can leave as early on Friday as possible, even directly from work, and return late Sunday night, or even return directly on Monday morning and go straight to work instead of stopping off at home. Just have your bags packed by Thursday night so you can escape as quickly as possible.
Seat yourself apart
“I strategically don’t sit with my team so they don’t know when I come and go. And often, if I don’t have a meeting, I’ll leave at 3:30 p.m. and log into the company’s internal messenger system so they think I’m working and have no idea I’m not in the office.” If you are allowed to work remotely, your boss will never know if you’re at home or a flight away, as long as you’re accessible by phone/email/chat.
Your getaway strategy will depend on the nature of your work and, of course, the nature of your boss. But where there’s a will, there’s always a way to escape.
Learn how to Make Your Dream Trip a Reality with travel hacker and NY Times Best-Selling Author, Chris Guillebeau today.
