As I adjust my seat to be in a more comfortable position to write this long due post on ‘Why I don’t Quit My Job For Travel’, memories worth 10 years at work floats before my eyes. I remember my first day at work on 29th March 2010, with no expectations I walked the corridors of Amity International School. I had no intention of continuing with a teaching job, that was then. 10 years down the line, I love my job and would never exchange it for anything else. I have been working at the same organisation since I started, so its still my first job.
I developed love for travelling when I started earning my own moolah. It started with a trip with friends and the wanderlust never went away after that. After a year of traveling with friends, I realised I can’t travel with friends [story for another time], so I explored solo. But never ever, I imagined leaving my job and taking up full-time travelling. Once during the initial years at work, I found trouble in paradise and everything seemed against me, I wanted a change in job but never leave my teaching job even then. I enjoy teaching and love the fact that I work for an organisation that values my contribution.
Why You Should Not Quit Your Job For Travel:
1. Money Matters
No matter what you say, you need money to travel. Without funds how will you travel? People who say, you should have a zest for travel and it will happen on its own are lying to you. There are many influencers who wrote about travelling without money by hitchhiking, begpacking, relying on others for stay and food and basically taking advantage of other people’s resources. I like to pay for the services I avail, and not take a favour from others.
I am not saying that travel bloggers do that, they get free stuff as assumed by others but remember that in return they promote the brand/organisation etc. So basically its not free as they are giving their services.
Also, if you don’t earn how will you support yourself and your family. I can talk about myself here as I support my parents completely plus share responsibilities with the mister too. I do not have a back-up to support me financially. So, earning and having a stable job is essential for my survival.
2. Sense of Stability
Not everybody is comfortable with not having a full time job. Remote working, part time work and volunteering seems very fancy but for how long will you be able to sustain yourself? When you have a secure job, you know that at the end of the month, a specific amount will be transferred to your account and you plan your finances accordingly. Just imagine the uncertainty where you don’t know whether your client will pay on time or how much work you will get each month.
3. Keeps you Engaged
Being engaged means that your work matters to you and you want to grow in your field. Having a commitment towards your work ensures satisfaction and boosts happiness. It is important to have a purpose in life and having a job that taps your potential gurantees productivity and motivation.
Mental health studies have shown that people who do not have a goal in life are vulnerable to feel lonely, suffer from feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness and undergo social alienation.
4. Monotony of Travel
Don’t know about you, but I get tired of travelling sometimes. The thrill of travelling and experiencing the unknown is very seductive but after a while one craves for familiarity. Its quite monotonous to travel everyday, for me travel is a breather I take when I get tired of my job. But if travel becomes my job then I have to find out something else which will act as a stress buster for me.
5. Travel Fatigue
While travelling, we want to experience as much as possible and explore everything which can be mentally and physically exhausting. If you take up long time travelling then you will budget your trips, so just imagine travelling in local buses/trains, waiting for things to happen and comprising on your comfort can be really taxing.
It happened with me so many times, that in the middle of the trip I had abandoned it and headed straight for home. This one time, when I was backpacking in Nagaland and it rained non-stop while we trekked to Dzukou Valley completely drenched. It was so cold at the room where we slept that the night seemed endless. Upon returning to Kohima, I cried due to exhaustion and told Doulos to book my tickets for Delhi. I was supposed to go to Majuli but I cancelled and left my friend Amit to go there on his own.
6. Miss Out On Routine
Having a sense of control is crucial. Routine gives you discipline and frees your mind from stressors. To meet your life goals and fulfil our aspirations, you need to have a sense of schedule. As it harbours, positive emotions, social well-being and cognitive development.
When you don’t have a job, life can get pretty unpredictable. Some of us might be okay with that and would live for that thrill. There are also others, who even when they don’t have a full time job, can manage to maintain a routine. As for me, I get lazy and unproductive when I don’t have a schedule to follow.
7. Travel won’t solve your problems
Running away from your problems is never a good idea. I have met many people who travel as a means to escape conflicts. I was one of them! I started travelling to run away from my deep seated issues but eventually I learned to love travelling as a way to experience life and not escaping it.
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How Travelling Affects Your Mental Health
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8. Enhances self esteem
Knowing one’s self-worth is needed to build confidence. Having a job makes it easier to have a positive psychological identity and gives a sense of belonging to an organisation. Being appreciated at work, getting the approval and attention of your colleagues are powerful tools in increasing self esteem of an individual.
How you can Travel with your 9-5 Job?
1.Club holidays to travel
Clubbing your weekend with other public holidays can give you enough time to explore nearby places. Do not think, ‘What will I do in 3 days?’, Come on! You can definitely explore a city in a day or two. Some of my best holidays were done in 3-4 days, also keep in mind that you don’t have to see everything when you visit a place. Pick and choose, see what suits your taste and only cover those places on your vacation.
How I do it:
I follow this rule religiously, as soon as the school calendar comes I scan the document to see which all holidays I can club together. Also during the CBSE board exams, I ask for invigilation duty that falls on a holiday so that I can utilise the ‘Comp Offs’ later.
You might also like to read this:
Bija Mandal, Khajuraho – An Ode To ASI
The Vyala of Khajuraho Temple Complex
2. Take a vacation every three months
Invest on yourself and the best way to do it is to take a vacation every three months. Research has shown that people who travel every three months are more effective in their work as compared to those not taking one. The stress of performing and work related pressures can get you real soon and it will exhaust you and decrease your efficiency. Travel time-off periods should be made mandatory in all organisations for better quality of work-life balance.
How I do it:
I try to take a vacation every two months at least. When I don’t travel, it just makes me stressed out and I feel my efficeincy decreases. I usually travel for long stretches in the month of January, March, June, October and December. Other than that whenever I have even a two-days off I go to a nearby place to de-stress.
3. Take a Holiday between shifting jobs
Taking time-offs between job change is a good way to catch up on your travel plans. Unwind before you jump boats, it will give you time to reflect and set new expectations from your new organisation. Sometimes, we get so caught up with our work schedule that we miss out on things that matter the most. Taking a break between jobs will help you re-connect with yourself and your loved ones.
4. Stop procastinating
Two days or a week, for some people time will never be enough for a perfect vacation. Stop making excuses and go pack your bags. Taking a vacation is not about seeing new things or covering all the tourist spots, its also about a change of scene. More than anything, the change of scenery rejuvenates and motivates you. Procrastinating and saying that you will go next week, next month, next year or you don’t have enough money will always stop you from going. Overcome these hurdles by rationally assessing your day-offs, finances or any other reason that you have been giving yourself.
If you are procrastinating, thinking that you can’t travel alone then I would suggest that you google ‘Solo travel’. You will be overwhelmed by the search results, so many people are going on trip all by themselves, from a 18 year old to a 65 year old, men/women, teachers/ social workers/ journalists/ corporate employees with full time jobs, sometimes it feels like everyone is travelling!
How I do it:
I plan my finances well, I will save up for my upcoming trip by not going out to socialise or cut down on shopping or taking the metro everyday to work. I like to travel alone but this was not the case when I first started venturing out. I used to wait for friends to accompany me, wait for their holidays and travel to places they wanted to go but I stopped doing this when I travelled solo and loved the experience. Solo doesn’t mean that you are travelling in isolation, you end up meeting so many people and experience more as compared to when you travel with friends.
5. Look for jobs that gives travel opportunities
Finding a job that gives to ample opportunities to travel is another way to include travel into your life. A friend of mine, who was a Marine Biologist in Brazil quit her job to travel and took up work with Cruise ships. Another female traveller I met in Ladakh from Spain, is a research scholar who is pursuing further studies on scholarships in different countries.
Where there is a will, there is a way! Thats all I can say to summarise.
Pin in for later:
I identify with this so well! Very valid points about having a full time job and being able to travel. I too wait for my company holiday list at the beginning of the year and accordingly plan vacations. If a public holiday falls mid week, I work and use the ‘comp off’ with a long weekend. I even did a trip to Arunachal entirely with comp offs 🙂
Thank you for your feedback Nadine. If you have a will, there will always be a way.