Full-time employee, part-time traveller!
On average, Singaporeans get about 14 days of annual leave. When you hold a full-time job, your bank account gets filled up but you don’t necessarily have the time to travel. Many of us wish that we could have more travelling opportunities, and some of us may even dream of the stress-free life of a long-term traveller.
But quitting a job to travel the world isn’t realistic for most Singaporeans. We have family commitments and financial responsibilities. Maybe we have a job that we actually like. So how does one live a life of freedom, travel, and adventure while maintaining a permanent home base?
Make Travelling A Priority
If you want to travel with a full-time job, you have to make a conscious decision in making travelling a priority. This means setting a clear goal and fully commit to fulfilling it.
It means not getting sidetracked by shopping sprees and cutting back on unnecessary expenses. It means not giving in to laziness and the temptation to take a day off when it’s raining outside and your bed feels more comfortable than usual.
When you have a limited amount of paid vacation days, every single one is important. And when you have a set goal in mind and something to focus on, the human psyche will naturally work towards turning it into reality.
Yes, your job is important, but seeing and learning about the world outside of our little red dot of an island is just as important. So whether it is to see the northern lights with your own eyes or a diving trip in the Great Barrier Reef, make your travel goals a priority and commit to fulfilling them.
Plan Way Ahead
With limited vacation days, there’s only so much time to work with. Take a look at your calendar, go through the months and plan your trips in advance. I have friends who do this at the start of every year, so with that head start they are able to request and get approval for their days off before any of their colleagues does.
Keep an eye on flight budget and opt-in to receive airline newsletters and updates. Airline sales also pop up from time to time so make sure to take advantage of them! When I have a big trip in mind I like to plan early. For most airlines, international flights open for sale 335 days before the day of departure so I keep that in mind. The best time to book flights however, is a different matter altogether, largely depending on where you are travelling to.
Stare At The Calendar And Strategise
Make full use of weekends and public holiday. Better yet if it’s a long weekend! This is quite a no-brainer, adding Friday or a Monday to your weekend will mean that you have three to four days to make a short trip. That’s just enough time to bask in the sun on a tropical island or visit a city! If you’re looking to make a longer trip, plan smart and you can easily stretch your days by utilising weekends and planning your trips around national holidays.
Of course, you could also sit around in your pyjamas and binge watch Netflix if that’s your idea of a holiday (zero judgements here, I may or may not have spent a few days in Bali watching all of the first season of Stranger Things back-to-back). But you could also make use of that time to explore somewhere that you’ve always wanted to go.
For example, let’s say there’s a long weekend coming up on a Monday and you’re thinking of making a trip. If you schedule your outbound flight to be right after work on Friday evening, take four days off, and book an inbound flight that lands on the next Monday morning before work, you’ll have ten (or more specifically nine and a half) days on your hands. But of course, that’s if you’re willing to be that hardcore – not everyone can tahan going straight to work right after a holiday.
Utilise Your Weekends
Even if there isn’t a public holiday close by, who says you can’t use the two-day weekend to make a short getaway? It’s easy to let the weekends go by as the next one is just five days away, but if you hold on to that mindset, half a year would’ve gone by before you know it. I know an ex-colleague from a previous workplace that slots in a weekend trip every month – that’s 12 different cities in a year, excluding other longer trips that she’s already planned out for herself!
If you do weekend trips, it’s more realistic to go somewhere nearby. Maximize your time by departing on Friday evenings and returning on Sunday nights. Hit the road with your passport as soon as you shutdown your desktop at 6 pm. There are several fare aggregator sites such as CheapTickets.sg that have a page on last minute deals.
You can also find useful 48-hour guides. I know a weekend might not sound like much. It might get hectic and go by so quickly as if it were mere hours, but you’ll be surprised at how much you can cover. And sometimes, a breath of fresh air might just be what you need as a morale boost to keep you going until the next long trip.
Carry Your Annual Leave Forward
Thinking of going on an adventure in Scandinavia? Or maybe journey through several parts of the world using the Trans-Siberian Railway? Either way, you will need more than just a week for this sort of trips. If you’re planning an ambitious trip, there’s a good chance you’ll have to hold out for the year and then blow all your entire annual leave on one long trip.
If your workplace allows it, another way is to roll over your annual leave until the next year. Though it’s been two years now since I quit my full-time job to be a frequent traveller, I’ve been there before, I know how hard it can be to go through the majority of the year without taking a break. Keep your eyes on the prize. Time will pass and you’ll be embarking on your trip of a lifetime.
Extend Business Trips
If your job requires you to travel – that’s great! You’re already ahead of the game. Make it a point to extend work trips whenever you can. I mean, you’re already there, so why not make full use of it?
Flight tickets are also a significant expense and in this case, usually part or all of the flight costs are covered by the employer. You may even save your company some money by offering to fly back during off-peak days instead of over the weekends!
You’ll have to cover the expenses for the non-working days yourself, but you accomplished what you set out to do and more. You got the work done, had a short vacation, your flight is paid for and you even saved the company some money. And if extending the trip isn’t an option this time, you can still explore the city after your work or meetings are over.
Take An Unpaid Leave
If the allocated number of annual leaves are not enough, an unpaid leave could give you extra days to indulge in living life if you can afford it. Pitch it across to your employer as personal development and prove how it will increase your work productivity when you return. Time your travels to be during low season at your workplace and bring up the topic when you feel like you’ve contributed significantly to the company or team.
You never know until you ask. Many employers would be willing to let you go on unpaid leave if it will make you a more efficient and productive employee. Going on unpaid leave was how I managed to take a one-month backpacking trip in Northwest China. You won’t be getting paid in this time, so make sure to plan your time and finances accordingly.
Be A Tourist In Your Own City
Singapore has lots to offer if you look for it. There is always a new cafe, new exhibition or interesting places to explore. It’s easy to get bored with the same old things so whenever I’m back here, I make it a point to treat my days as I would in a foreign city – take a different route to work, pay attention to my surrounding buildings and architecture, sit in a cafe and people watch, go to a new place that I haven’t been to before.
Another way to be a tourist in your own city is to take a staycation! Sometimes we can’t just jet away and ditch everything for a few days, so the next best thing is to duck away into a hotel for a day or two. Granted, it might be a waste of money to some, and it’s not even a real holiday… But let’s take what we can get.
In smaller countries like ours, it might not be as easy to keep things interesting. But I find that it’s the mindset and attitude that’s more important – a willingness to try new things instead of getting sucked in by the same routine, an appreciation for what you already have, and the conscious decision to see the beauty of the now instead of dreaming of another place.
Negotiate Your Work Benefits
Is your annual review coming up? Been doing a good job and feel like you deserve a raise? Instead of getting a bigger paycheck, consider asking for more time off. Often employers, especially those with a tighter budget, will be willing to accept this request instead of offering more money.
Yes, you’re not going to earn more money than what you were already earning, but what’s the point of having a well-paying job if you don’t have the time to use it and explore a different part of the world? At least, in my opinion, it’s more worthwhile to have another week of paid vacation than to have a bigger paycheck.
Make Changes To Your Work Arrangements
I left this at the end because they aren’t necessarily viable options for everyone. Every job is different and what works for one person might not work for another.
Firstly, you could work in an office abroad, but this is an arrangement that is more likely for someone working in an MNC. If there is a good match between your current job skills and a position in an office that’s in a different country, consider discussing with your employer transfer possibilities.
Alternatively, ask for days to work from home. If your job can be done remotely without you having to be in the office, even for a limited time, then it makes no difference whether you work from a cafe in Hanoi or from your work desk. Ask your employer if they could take this suggestion into consideration. If they are not too conservative and you’ve proven yourself to be a trustworthy employee, there’s a good chance you’ll have the freedom to bring your work to another place.
And for reasons beyond my comprehension, the society at large has almost everyone convinced that in order to have a successful life, we have to dedicate ourselves to a full-time job. But if the confines of a full-time job make it impossible for you to adequately quell the inner restlessness for what the world has to offer, then simply stop working full-time and explore other career options – which is exactly what I did, and the reason why I’m writing this today.
Consider your priorities. For some, it might be the motivation to have a certain amount of money, a high-ranking job or perhaps their original roots and family. For others like me, finding the time to truly live life is just as important as having a career that allows you to answer the call of the outside world. And there’s nothing wrong with either! Over the years I’ve met countless people from air stewardesses, cruise ship workers, photographers and English teachers who all shared something similar – they made career switches that allowed them to travel.
No matter what your current situation is, if you want something bad enough, you’ll find some way to make it happen. Even if they are drastic measures like those we just mentioned. Everyone is different, but it’s possible to work and travel more often – you just need to find what works for you and strike the perfect balance.
