Lisa's Workation Experience on Tenerife

Workation - what is it? A workation is a combination of work and vacation that allows you to work abroad. Sounds good? We think so too! Our UX designer Lisa has already tested our workation offer and shared her thoughts, experiences and tips with us.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THE WORKATION?
It was actually less self-determined than you might think: I wanted to accompany my boyfriend on his sabbatical trip. Nevertheless – since working from home has become part of everyday life for all of us anyway – I am also aware that I can easily do my work as a UX designer remotely – and I wanted to try it out myself. And last but not least, a bit of sunshine and summer feeling in January isn't bad either 😉

HOW DOES A WORKING DAY AT WORKATION LOOK LIKE?
Not so different from my usual working day: I always tried to start quite early to get as much out of the day as possible: in the mornings there are often meetings and coordination with the team and customers. During my lunch break, I was always outside – either in the park – or just on the terrace of our Airbnb. In the afternoon, I worked in a café on a few days – and otherwise from home.

HOW DID YOUR WORKING ENVIRONMENT AFFECT YOUR PRODUCTIVITY DURING WORKATION?
I would say great: but I'm someone who really appreciates variety anyway and likes to have a new environment from time to time. That's why it wasn't a problem for me "not sitting at my usual desk". I also noticed that the working days themselves went by really quickly – which is always a good sign, I think.

WHAT SPECIAL EXPERIENCES DID YOU HAVE DURING YOUR WORKATION TRIP?
I actually sat down to work in the café one afternoon by chance. What really surprised me was that the environment was also very suitable for my work: concentration wasn't a problem and I found it great, especially for creative tasks – which I can do on my own.

HOW DID YOU EXPERIENCE THE COMMUNICATION WITH THE TEAM DURING THE WORKATION?
I think the communication was completely normal: as we always work remotely within the Lemonize team anyway, it was no problem at all. Almost all meetings are via video conference and the daily check-in meeting/morning briefing means you see all Lemonizers at least once a day.

ARE THERE ANY CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED?
Yes, there definitely was: the biggest and most important point for me was the internet; as all files are in the cloud, all communication is online and meetings are via Teams/Zoom, a good internet connection is the basis for being able to work properly. We at Lemonize have thought about this in advance and therefore tested the satellite internet "Starlink". It worked quite well for the first test run: and whenever the internet wasn't perfect, I helped myself out with a hotspot or a visit to the café. Another challenge is that not all accommodation has a perfect working environment with a table, chair and power sockets, so I would pay even more attention to this when planning a workation. And another personal challenge for me was getting up early in combination with a lot of leisure activities, as you still want to experience a lot outside of work.

TO WHAT EXTENT DID THE WORKATION ENABLE YOU TO DEVELOP PERSONALLY AND PROFESSIONALLY?
Professionally: I think the new working environment teaches you a lot about yourself: What do I need to work well? What is important for me to remain efficient even in unfamiliar environments?
Personally: like any trip, I think it's always a great option to see something new, broaden your horizons and get a different perspective.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND A WORKATION TO YOUR COLLEAGUES?
Yes, I would definitely recommend a workation to my colleagues: Next time, however, I would combine the workation with a vacation before or after: I think that way you can experience a bit more and plan longer excursions etc.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL THOUGHTS OR TIPS?
If you change accommodation during the workation, I would recommend not moving on a working day: that was always a bit of a challenge for me. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend starting early so that you can do something in the late afternoon. And another tip: even though I'm not a big fan of having work-related apps on my own cell phone, it's a good idea to set up the most important apps such as Teams etc.: that way, if there really is no internet, you can at least let them know.
And the most important thing (I still have to learn) is to be a bit more relaxed: not everything will run like a normal working day, but that's just as well.