Creating The Ideal Work / Life Balance

Jessica Blotter | @Kind_Traveler
kindtraveler.com

Remember when business travel and working from home meant plenty of free time and a bottomless expense account? Yeah. Neither do we.

Times have certainly changed since the two martini lunches of yesterday. And in a world dominated by the need for constant connection to email, work/life balance has gotten exceedingly difficult for travelers and the home entrepreneur.

So how can you master the ideal work/life balance? We asked expert and home-office superstar Jessica Blotter of Kind Traveler to help us answer just that.

HOW DO YOU SEPARATE YOUR HOME FROM YOUR HOME OFFICE?
Striking a balance between home and work can be challenging when working from a home office. Similar to the thought behind Virgin Hotel’s chamber design distinctively separating the bedroom from the vanity area and bathroom, you need to create designated areas to promote focus, concentration, and inspiration in your home/work area. For the living spaces in your home, it’s important to surround yourself with visuals that inspire while keeping things organized to promote relaxation and detachment from work.

Another tip for creating balance: It’s important for entrepreneurs to create regular fitness routines out of the house – preferably a routine that integrates both mind and body wellness. Since the entrepreneurial life can often be riddled in stress, anxiety, and perfectionism, yoga can be a wonderful tool to reduce stress and create a healthy mindset. Getting out of the house frequently, getting lots of fresh air, and taking frequent walks are all simple ways to help create work/home balance.

DID YOU INVEST IN YOUR HOME OFFICE TO INSPIRE YOU?
When I moved from Santa Monica to Manhattan Beach almost three years ago, I knew that my living space was also going to be an office to host the startup phase of Kind Traveler. I made sure to choose a space that had high ceilings, lots of bright, white light, wood floors, and was walking distance to the ocean. I knew I would be spending longs days and nights in my space so it was so important to find a place that I loved but that was also affordable. Being walking distance to a local coffee shop or having direct access to the shore or even a woodsy walking trail, can make all the difference when it comes to surrounding yourself with inspiration.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO WORK ½ OF THE TIME AT HOME, AND ½ AT AN OFFICE SPACE?  DO YOU LIKE ONE BETTER?
Kind Traveler’s digital team, BLEND, is based in downtown Los Angeles. When we partnered with them to help us create the technology behind KindTraveler.com (launching this summer), they generously offered a co-work space as we agreed to assist in its design and development (my partner and co-founder is also a graphic designer).

 Assisting in this process required spending a lot of time in their space! We loved having the variety of working at their office however now that we’ve grown our front-end team to 8 people (including 2 interns!) in recent months, we are looking at options to rent our own office space. There is a new collaborative workspace with individualized offices catering to entrepreneurs and startups opening in the heart of Silicone Beach in Playa Del Ray (ctrlcollective.com) this summer. We are exploring rental options and look forward to expanding into a dedicated office as we grow.

With KindTraveler you can donate to a choice of top-rated charities to benefit the local community while getting great deals on your next trip. To learn more, visit KindTraveler.com.