For years, my work schedule has dictated most of my travel life. (I bet you can relate.) Even though I technically “work for myself,” I’m often required to be onsite at jobs.
For example, I work part-time as a freelance photo editor. An agency hires me for individual events and I work onsite at all sorts of award shows, concerts, and charity benefits.
January and February are always very busy. That’s the traditional Hollywood award season (Golden Globes, Oscars, GRAMMYs, etc). During this past awards season (which was condensed into five weeks) my toddler pretty much knew me as “That Dude She Sees for Five Minutes During a Couple of Days Each Week.”
The late summer and fall months are generally busy-ish, too (MTV Awards, Emmys, American Music Awards, holiday concert tours). Those months are difficult for travel, too, as I neither need to be in L.A. for work or available to travel with my client.
But all of my bookings dried up, thanks to COVID-19. And editors I know who are working the handfuls of events do so from the comfort of their own homes, thanks to remote capabilities.
And it’s not far-fetched to think photo editing jobs will become remote, at least for a while.
The good thing is, I can work from home! No more getting dressed up in tuxes; long drives home at 2:00 AM will be history; and I’ll have plenty of room to stretch out at my own desk, as opposed to the cramped workspaces of a press room. Plus, I’ll have more time to see my family.
The bad thing is, I can work from home — and travel jobs will likely become few and far between. If they even return.
There is a silver lining, though.
I Can Work from Wherever I Want – Home or Away!
Remote work means I can say “yes” to a job and do it pretty much anywhere. No more planning my life around having to be available to stay in Los Angeles or possibly travel for work.
I can enjoy a working vacation with my family somewhere else in the world. Or if I find some outstanding mini-vacation mileage run, I can chill out in a hotel room while working for a client and creating more content for this blog!
Let’s Examine This More
I think many of us will have opportunities to work from hotels, lake cabins, the beach, or wherever we want. (The bad news, of course, is that it’s on our own dime or points. #FirstWorldProblems)
What do you think the benefits and pitfalls may be?
And in the coming weeks, we’ll examine a few more work-from-hotel-or-anywhere-else topics.
— Chris
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I did that last week from my timeshare in Orlando before Labor. Went there on Sunday afternoon and left on last Friday afternoon. Didn’t miss a beat except for a couple of hours when I stepped out for lunch.
I think working remote is great overall but a possible pitfall for me is justifying the salary I have when there’s a possibility someone cheaper in another part of the country or world who can do the same work but for a fraction of pay.