Going to a place for work where most of the people just would go to vacation - can that work? - an enjoyable self-test.

As a freelancer, I am generally free to decide: who I work for, when and also from where. I have to admit that this is one of the biggest advantages for a freelancer. So I decided to try it out. 2 months ago I decided to "workate" from Portugal, remotely for my customers, but also being for myself and concentrate on developing my brand, my strategy and my homepage.

That was the plan. Besides, enjoy the local culture, see some friends and enjoy working. Looking at the photos I have to admit that working like this has really advantages. But you can't have customer meetings in public - you can't do operative work in public where you have always the phone in your hand.

As a result I spent 5 out of 7 days "workation" in a small apartment by myself. I just allowed myself going out for some time in the evening or/and when I needed some food. The rest of the time I have spent in a room that could be anywhere in the world.

The other 2 days were when I was doing some strategic work by myself. I decided where I work from, I decided the times of the day, I also decided when I start and when I finish my work. That is good but also a challenge because I was the only person telling myself that I am here for doing work and I expected a result from myself by the end of that trip. I am happy to say that I was satisfied with the result.

As my workation now is almost coming to the end, I can say when it works and when it can't work:

1. You have to be determined and being able to focus no matter what is around you
2. Confidential work or phone-calls is nothing for being in public
3. A different environment can be inspiring. People around can be distracting or inspiring. For me the whole week was fortunately inspiring.
4. It is definitely not vacation. When I am in vacation, of course I can work from time to time, but the recovery is in focus. Workation is work and the result counts. A good food at the end of the day is just a bonus. People need to be focused not to mix vacation with workation. 

In a nutshell it was just working from another place with more possibility - either for focusing on the result or the possibility being distracted.

Would I do that again? I think yes, not very often, but when I have to be strategic by myself.

Have a great day and keep your targets in focus 😉