There are people out there among us, who, for one reason or another, don’t ever want to settle for a desk job. Working in the same office day in and day out sounds like their idea of hell, all the while staring out of the window and yearning to be exploring the big wide world. We only get one life after all, and more and more people would like to fill that life with adventurous experiences, a million miles from the nine to five grind.

Agness Walewinder is one such person, choosing a different pathway back in 2011 (which is a lifetime ago in the digital age we live in) and so she strapped on a backpack and left to travel the world. Originally hailing from Poland, it was during the fledgling days of her wanderings that Agness discovered that this was the direction her life needed to take. There was no way she could ever return to her previous existence as the travel bug had well and truly bitten.

And so, along with her best friend and fellow globetrotting enthusiast Cez Krol, they set up eTramping.com, a travel website where they encourage everyone to spend smart, keep fit and travel more; with particular focus on adventure trips and unique, memorable experiences. In addition to this, not content with just blogging and as there’s no rest for the wicked, Agness is also employed as a PR and online marketer at Poki – an online gaming platform based out of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Here, she discusses how she balances a busy but exciting lifestyle that many only ever dream about.

A Bit of Background

I was studying languages at Wolverhampton University in England when the desire to roam the globe took hold. I graduated in 2011 and almost immediately headed for China where I taught English for a total of 3 years, on and off. Cez joined me shortly after and it was there that the idea for eTramping was born. Previous to this, I was slogging my guts out as a supervisor in a café to even stand a chance of being able to afford to travel. Anyone who has ever balanced studying and hospitality will know that the struggle is real.

After I’d realized that a regular job wasn’t for me (and indeed for anyone with unquenchable wanderlust who wants to unchain themselves from their office cubicles, dishcloths or otherwise) the hardest moment comes when you actually decide to make that leap. You’ve got to be able to commit to the adventure and throw your all into the venture, because it could come crashing down at any moment. Leaving the safety of a regularly paid and steady job isn’t easy – it takes a lot of courage.

But with the right attitude and a bit of hard work, anyone can take that first step. Today, I have a busy annual schedule that could change at the drop of a hat or could take me anywhere with the wind. It’s exciting, adventurous and often hectic – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Regular Schedule

Currently, as well as the upkeep of the blog and the eTramping brand, I also work 6 to 12 hours a week as a PR and online marketer for Poki – a casual, web games platform with over 30M monthly active users and 250+ additional publishing partners… All the work I do at Poki is completely remote, staying in touch with the team using collaboration tools such as Slack.

From there, we have weekly Skype calls as and when required, regularly keeping in touch with my fellow employees at the Poki playground. I feel incredibly blessed to have found a role in a fun company that I can participate in from anywhere in the world.

And with a clear and concise workflow – it never gets in the way of running my business. There’s also an added bonus that they take all their employees on a team bonding retreat a couple of times a year.

It seems that even when I’m working with a company that isn’t to do with travelling, I’m still actually travelling!

Creating Contacts

When it comes to successful travel blogging, creating contacts is key. Over the years, we have developed a readership of thousands of followers over every social media platform. Our followers are looking for tips and advice for everything and anything to do with travel, from what to pack on a long-term journey, to location guides, to finding the best adrenaline-packed experiences on the planet.

We have built our brand and contacts so we can travel the world with often heavily discounted itineraries. It’s a sort of “we scratch your back you scratch ours” professional skills exchange. From there, all you’ll need is a laptop and a decent WiFi connection – then the world is your oyster.

Organization

There are several tips and tricks you can utilize if you would like to lead a similar lifestyle, but perhaps the most important one is to be organized. Keeping your own journal or schedule is vital to managing work commitments, both with your own brand or business and with any other employer you might have. You’ll never get anywhere if you’re timekeeping isn’t on point – especially when deciding your own hours. I typically spend Sunday afternoon prioritizing my tasks and planning my workflow – usually while sipping an almond latte at my favourite café.

The simple fact is, you have to commit to a regular writing program and stick to it. Sure, you can be flexible, just so long as the work that needs doing actually gets done in the allotted time frame. If I know I’ve got to put in four or five hours of work first thing on a Monday, I can’t go gallivanting off to climb Machu Picchu. In fact, I go for a walk every morning to prepare myself for the day before organizing any daily tasks I have. Like any role or occupation in life, there’s a time to work and a time to play. When you work remotely, however, that’s when they often intertwine, and you get the best of both worlds.

Relocating the Office

Working in a regular office you’d normally arrive in the morning, graft through the day and you go home at night. Yet it’s not much different when you’re travelling the world – it’s just that office might actually be on a beach and you can work when you want.

A “place of work” can simply be a state of mind. And with the technology available to us today, there are many occupations that could easily make the transition to being up a mountain, by a lake or in a European café in summer. If you happen to be skilled in something that isn’t site specific, then why not relocate your office to the world?

Utilizing Travel Time

Airport departure lounges, train and bus station waiting rooms. What they all have in common is they’re great places to cram in some work before I travel. Then once you’re actually in transit, I’ve got more time to put the finishing touches to a blog article, organize some photographs or do some general life administration. You don’t always have to have an internet connection to break the back of some work that needs completing, just ensure that your electrical devices are all fully charged.

Personal Health

As well as the logistics of travel, working remotely and building a brand, a person’s physical and mental condition is, in fact, one of the most important aspects when it comes to achieving such goals. Unfortunately, however, it often gets overlooked. It just so happens that I’m something of a self-confessed fitness nut, and I believe it’s vital to take care of the body and mind in order to be successful in life.

I’m also blessed with strong support from my family and close friends, including my mom, my boyfriend, as well as Cez and Lydia – a close friend, fellow travel blogger and Cez’s partner. Having that network does wonders for keeping me sane and ensuring I never get burned out. Family and friends are extremely important to my wellbeing, especially in this line of work.

And with that, I always find time to exercise while on the road, eat a healthy, balanced diet and keep partying and late nights to a minimum (I don’t drink alcohol so this isn’t so much of a problem). Yoga, regular workouts and plenty of fruit, vegetables, and water does wonders for my ability to manage all my commitments – as it would yours.

Managing the Distractions

One of the main advantages of working in an office is that distractions are limited. That’s what they’re there for, purpose-built places of work so the job gets done. When running a business on the road, it can get somewhat trickier, as you try to juggle the seemingly endless attractive bright lights pulling your attention from the tasks at hand.

That’s where mental discipline comes in. I need to practice a mindfulness, focussing on what I need to complete before I can enjoy myself. You also need to make companions or new friends aware that you’re out of the game until your work is done. It’s not too dissimilar from managing university study. Finding the balance is essential for a work hard/play hard lifestyle.

Working as a Team

Eventually, as your company grows so should your team and you’ll have the luxury of relying on them to pull the weight where necessary. I’m lucky to have always had Cez as my blogging partner and best friend, and we bounce off each other when it comes to sharing the workload. But whatever you do for your remote business, you’re likely to have other staff or freelancers on board somewhere down the line. Unless you’re a machine – you’re not going to be able to do it all.

As with my work at Poki, communication is vital. Having the right apps, software and contacts will make life a lot easier and keep the cogs well oiled. I always maintain a strong online presence so anyone I work with can contact me at any time. When you’ve built a solid team, you still have to maintain it. But if you treat your staff well, they will reciprocate, and many hands make light work after all.

The Future

Hopefully, Cez and I will continue to grow and move in the right direction, building the eTramping brand while attracting more followers, and with that, even more potential to travel to all the places we’ve yet to visit. But after nearly 8 years and counting living this dream, we’ve found that the work/travel balance really suits us, and there’s no reason it can’t suit you too.