When I applied for #driveyourlife, my thoughts were 'why don't you just try that' and had a very strong 'just do it' attitude. Of course I was very surprised when I got the message I'd be in the race and to be honest I really did not know what to expect, considering this in retrospective: Even If I had concrete expectations those would have definitely been surpassed by now, sure thing. We've seen and done so many things in the past weeks, that most of the times it was hard in the evenings to realise and reflect - scrolling down my camera roll on the phone now feels to me like seeing photos and videos of the past couple years or months, when in fact it was only some weeks ago - truly a workation marathon I would call it.
10 weeks of travelling, 10 weeks of growing, exploring and getting out of the comfort zone, of laughing, organizing, fire-fighting, packing and meeting people - and not to forget: all of this while working and being on the road - with my sister, which was the cherry on the top.
The mission was clear: proving that working from everywhere is possible - and I think we have not only proven to ourselves but also to everyone else that this is the case - the statement is obvious: it does not matter where we work but how we work and this at the end makes the difference.
#hybridworkplaces do not only offer for exploiting the full flexibility given in balancing work and private life but to me personally this also entailed a true motivation and productivity booster. The fact that being able to work from inspirational places I always wanted to visit, surrounded by people I love and sharing these precious moments together has truly been my highlight of #driveyourlife. One thing I realized throughout this trip: Being given flexibility by employers is also a matter of trust: Having talked to so many people among different co working spaces or at random occasions, I've seen that even after 2+ years of corona pandemic, more flexible and adaptable working models are not really a matter of course - it is a bonus and definitely a privilege that requires trust - from both sides, employers and employees likewise.
#whathaschanged
Now upon return, I was often asked how working from other places differed from working at home or in the office. Well, to be honest it was not really different as a kind of routine had established already right within the first days at the beginning. Our working routine was pretty much the same, we just did our normal jobs - simply from different places! However, the great difference lied in how we spent our free time - instead of meeting friends, going after our hobbies or just netflix and chill our plans encompassed sight seeing, connecting with people, experiencing, learning and being fascinated by things most of the time. Well, and eventually, this is what we wanted to show: Everything is still the same - same job, same team, same performance - with a tiny difference in locations and mood. ;-)
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