Beat the COVID Blues, Take a Workcation!
My husband and I love to travel. We were planning a trip to Prague when COVID broke out. We delayed it and then ultimately cancelled it. Like most everyone, we stayed home, stopped visiting our favorite restaurants, enhanced our home offices, tried new recipes, and kept our personal contact circle small. As the pandemic lingered on, we like most, started to go stir crazy. And that is when we knew we had to have a change of scenery; and, take a “workcation” (our new term for some work mixed with a vacation). After all, an advantage of COVID was that my work schedule became a lot more flexible with virtual coaching sessions, online leadership development and no more business travel. Suddenly, working from anywhere became liberating.
In planning our workcation, our priorities were to get out of the Florida (our home state) heat, keep my executive coaching business going, and follow the COVID safety recommendations. Given these restrictions we established the following guidelines prior to picking our destination:
- Car travel only. No airports or planes. Arrive within the same day
- Renting a vacation home for our family and/or close (inner circle) friends
- Ability to minimize contact with people not in our immediate group
- Lots of outside activities (e.g., tennis, golf, hiking, fishing, etc.)
- Access to outdoor restaurants
- Internet capability to allow work time
- Avoid a COVID hot-spot and crowded area, like a small town
- Awareness of local restrictions (like requirements to wear masks and an understanding of what was open/closed)
- Open space (e.g., patios) where we could breath fresh air and even wear a sweater!
After exploring various places, and at the recommendation of a friend, we settled on Brevard, NC where we were able to rent a great mountain home in the Connestee Falls development. This gated community caters to an active lifestyle. Within the community, are several hiking trails providing scenic views of mountains, waterfalls, and rapids. We loved the ability to hike in the morning prior to working in the afternoon. The area also has four lakes where we saw families fishing, boating, and playing in the water. The newly renovated club house overlooks the mountain golf course where the views from the outdoor patio were breathtaking. The friendly staff was “over the top cautious” about cleanliness and maintaining the COVID safety rules, which we appreciated. People were active everywhere we turned, playing tennis, golf, bocce & pickleball; and the guidelines for cleaning “touched areas” were clearly posted.
Having just returned from a month of our “workcation” in Western North Carolina, we can honestly say that it was one of the best trips we have taken in our 37 years of marriage. During this restrictive and crazy time of COVID we were able to have some active and relaxing time with family and friends, while at the same time keeping our work priorities going. We plan to return even after the Pandemic ends.
Where will you take your workcation?
