Last week I made a short trip to the small hilly town of Bhimtal with my wife and daughter. Needless to say, I felt my batteries were recharged to the full after the trip. It’s not something I realized for the first time, but it is more of a reinforcement that breaking away from the routine amps up your overall productivity.
Travel is a panacea to the infirmity borne out of daily grinds. Going to work every day and sitting at the same desk, and living each day as a repeat of the last, can be very disheartening and demotivating.
Let’s face it, even if you have your dream job and you get excited at the thought of going to work each day, the routine overwhelms you sooner before you think it will.
In this article, I’m going to discuss why a change of scenery helps you become more productive and why even a short weekend getaway can work wonders for your waning focus at work and life.
Travel and Happiness are correlated
Prof. Thomas Gilovich of Cornell University has conducted 4 different studies on the subject of happiness. With each study, he established that happiness is a derivative of experiences, not things.
Folks who collect experiences are likely to be far happier than those who amass items and definitely happier than those who are stuck in the rut. And, we all know by now that happy employees are more productive in the workplace.
Travel boosts Creativity
I had been grappling with my blog’s content strategy for some time. The weekend trip allowed me to get some perspective on what precisely I wanted to do.
I believe most employees also want their employees to be creative. I don’t mean creative in the sense of drawing things on a whiteboard or writing fancy copies, but creative in resolving workplace conflicts, breaking down hard problems, aligning with organization’s objectives, etc. Well, guess what? Travel can help you recoup your creative juices.
No wonder that many Greek philosophers and European physicists had their profound ideas while they were climbing mountains and gazing at stars.
Travel makes you free
When you’re travelling, visiting the country that you want, staying at a hotel of your choice, and fitting work into your personal life – instead of fitting your personal life into a work schedule – instils a sense of freedom.
The thing about staying at home and going through your paces each day is that you’re trapped. Not literally; you’re trapped in a schedule that doesn’t appeal to you, a schedule which makes you miserable.
Travelling can be a great way to free your mind, reset your mindset so that you think more positively, and significantly lift your mood.
A nonstop work schedule only hampers productivity
Think about a typical workday and how long you spend there; if you were to stay for an extra 2 hours at the end of each day would you be more productive? The answer is no, you’d be no more productive than if you were to stay for your standard 8-hour shift.
The thing is, we subconsciously plan our days and in the back of our mind, we know what work we need to get done that day. In the back of your head you’ll have a list of things that need to be done that day and by adding an extra 2 hours, you’re not going to get anything productive done.
Taking all of that into consideration, doing your work while you travel can make you more productive due to the fact that you’ll have a list of what needs to be done each day, and you’ll shape your work schedule around your travel schedule.
Travel can enhance sense of trust
Mark Twain in his 1869 classic ‘The Innocents Aboard‘ demonstrated that journeys to foreign lands and interactions with a wide range of different people can actually establish a strong sense of trust.
Such experiences can be immense if you work requires you to work with a diverse set of people. For someone who has lived his entire life in Northern India, a trip to the Eastern or Southern part of the country can be an eyeopener. An ice-breaker of sorts. You get into a different culture, you socialize with people who may not even speak your language.
With our workplaces turning increasingly diverse, someone who thinks beyond cultural stereotypes can manage cultural differences much better than someone who can’t.
To Conclude…
I will reiterate what I said at the beginning of this article, and what I’ve echoed throughout, a change of scenery can be incredibly beneficial. Not only will it help you to be more productive in your life and workplace, but it will get you out of a rut, open your mind, and make you a more self-confident individual.
So, if you’re having a rough time at work and are struggling to keep up, take a trip abroad and it’ll do wonders for you!