Devi on "workation" (workcation) in Bali

Being born and raised in Indonesia, and now working in Germany, makes it challenging for me to visit family and reunite with old memories in Indonesia due to distance. Take for example a 2-week vacation. At least 4 days are likely to be spent on flight travel + jet lag due to the time difference. That leaves 10 days to really enjoy the holiday at the destination. For the tourists, that might be enough. But for me, who wants to do trips + visit extended family (yes, we are family-oriented; this is our culture) + take part in Balinese cultural ceremonies (yes, I am Balinese, but grew up in East Kalimantan), 10 days is too short.

Therefore, the concept of workcation is incredibly attractive to people who have similar backgrounds to mine. Workcation is working while on vacation, combining both work time and leisure time. Early 2024, after getting the approval from the office, I took a break from my usual workplace, while still working full-time anywhere remotely – i.e., doing a workcation.

A whole month in March 2024 was dedicated to being in Indonesia. It was a hectic month for me - in an amazing way. After approximately 20 hours (including transits) of flight from Cologne/Bonn Airport to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (Bali), I finally arrived in Indonesia. The first 2 weeks I spent solely on holiday. Travelling with my parents and siblings around Bali, meeting extended family in Bali that I had not seen in a while, and together celebrating Kuningan and Nyepi (Silent Day) – both are religious ceremonies for Balinese Hindus.

And like any other person in the world, after the holidays comes the usual routine - working.

The workcation started after 2 weeks of full vacation. The first day was quite tricky to adapt due to the time difference of 7 hours (CET vs WITA). Bali is 7 hours ahead of Germany, which means my working hours are from 15.00 - 00.00 WITA (08.00 – 17.00 CET). Which also meant that when the family gathered all together in the evening after a full day of activities, I could not join them freely.

Another challenging thing is sleepiness. As someone who has a protocol of going to bed around 10pm local time, still having to work around or beyond that time reduces productivity. Holding a meeting while feeling drowsy? Trust me, not the best experience.

However, as the saying goes - where there is a will, there is a way. There is a problem, there is a solution.

I changed my strategy starting from the second day by trying to complete routine work by the afternoon local time, and then using the time in the evening only for meetings. Meetings were scheduled as early as possible so that there was no need to hold them in the evening. Of course, communication and negotiation with other meeting participants played a vital role in this arrangement.

If evening meetings were inevitable, I could use the time between meetings to catch up with old friends, go on a short sightseeing, enjoy a hearty dinner, or take a short nap to replenish my energy. Just set an alarm or reminder to avoid missing appointments. My advice: use the work time settings on your laptop and mobile phone, while use the local time where you are on your watch. This makes it easier for us to control the time difference of the meeting schedules.

Of course, this strategy could not be applied all the time. There were times when I had to keep working at night. But it can be compensated the next day by waking up later than. Once again - there is a will, there is a way 😎

Oh, did I already mention something about the weather vs the internet? Apparently, they are highly correlated in several regions. Rain and storms can severely disrupt the quality of internet connection. It also does not help that March is the rainy season in Bali. Topography, surrounding buildings, and infrastructure differences between providers can also affect the quality of the internet. So, make sure to ask the locals which provider is best to use in the area. And do not forget to have a backup plan for the internet. During my stay, I always had a portable Wi-Fi modem and smartphone (hotspot) near me in case the connection from the router fails.

For me, the solutions above fit perfectly. Working as usual while spending a little bit more time with family before going back to Germany. I was also able to travel to East Kalimantan (±1.5 hours flight from Bali), the place where I was born and received my education until high school, to celebrate my nephew's first birthday on the weekend. Yup, apart from Bali, I also visited old friends and extended family who live in East Kalimantan. And the following weekend we went on a culinary tour (Oh, how I miss the food!).

Working remotely while on vacation is not as easy as one might think. There are several obstacles that may be considered trivial, but must be given extra attention and planned carefully for an optimal work environment. If we can overcome these obstacles, workcation will provide an unforgettable valuable experience which we never knew could be made possible.

Finally, I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to my teammates and colleagues. Without your support, I would not have been able to go through workcation wholeheartedly.