A new Perspective
I was listening to a podcast the other day and I heard someone refer to Vanlife as a part time job.
I couldn’t agree more. Everything takes so much longer in a van.
I’m a solo traveller, so not only do I have to do all the daily van tasks on my own, I also have to research, plan and book my trips, drive to my locations, set up camp, plan my photo and video content, edit that content and somehow fit in the client work that actually pays me money to keep travelling.
I feel like I’m working about three and a half full time jobs right now. No wonder I’m not getting anything done.
Today I completed a job for a new project I’m starting that was supposed to take 45 mins, and it ended up taking us 5 hours.
I’m in Mornington Peninsula - its such a beautiful place but I haven’t seen any of it cause I’ve been too busy getting all my work done. After my long and frustrating work day I took a drive to Port Nepean National Park. The sun was going to set in a couple hours and I wanted to SEE some of the Peninsula.
I still had so much to do but decided I needed a break
I parked the van, walked over to the water and sat and watched a cargo boat go by. It was so slow. From my point of view it was taking so long to get through a small section of water.
It felt like my life. I had so much on my plate and here I was working as hard as I could and struggling to cover and clear distance.
The question came up again - how can I navigate all my tasks so I have the time to complete my work and not spend my whole travel adventure sitting behind a laptop screen. That’s when I looked up and noticed the boat again. It had gone quite a distance since I last focussed on it.
It put a lot of things into perspective.
When you stare at something constantly it won’t feel like it’s progressing very far. But shift your attention and you’ll find you’ve covered more distance than you realised. It’s like watching the grass grow. You can never see the movement, but come back at another time and you’ll see the growth.
I have been doing a lot during my travels. When I look back on all the photos I’ve taken, the videos I’ve created, the blog posts I’ve written, all the work completed for external clients and all the time I’ve spent navigating ‘vanlife’, I realise how much I’ve been doing in such a short amount of time.
Maybe it’s time to acknowledge that I’m doing enough with the time I have. I don’t need to be doing more, I need to start appreciating everything I’ve done so far. And so far I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved.
Give yourself a break and take the time to recognise how far you’ve come. It’s not all about achievements or reaching a certain level or point. It’s mostly about the roads you take and the experiences you have along the way.
Enjoy the journey x
