"Can I move?" the Sundance Kid asks right before expertly firing off two deadeye shots with his revolver. “I’m better when I move.”
This post is different from our usual. Since COVID changed the way the working world operates in 2020, it feels like “working from home” is in the headlines more often than not. Since we are happy to offer our employees the ability to work from anywhere, we wanted to share a philosophical perspective on remote work from one of our longtime team members, Ryan Slone.
My work tether has kept me in the palm of Michigan’s mitten most of my life while my untethered imagination floated on the winds. A few years ago I began socking away funds with the goal of taking a long sabbatical through South America via motorcycle. I was in the middle of planning such a trip when COVID upended everything. Suddenly the world was no longer mine or anyone else's oyster. The shell had closed and there was doubt as to whether it would ever fully open again. Surprisingly, when the shell did open back up, the pearl of wisdom I found wasn’t in the shape I thought it would be.
Before COVID, working untethered from a physical office space was still a mostly novel idea. It was taken as self-evident that the office and one’s work practice were mutually exclusive. But, after COVID, that assumption changed (as is the habit of assumptions to do). For those working in the digital realm, an office became anywhere you could reliably log onto Zoom calls. A kitchen table in the place you hang your hat. Or even, as I found out, atop an Ikea dresser in a one-bedroom rented flat.
Samara, Costa Rica
South America didn’t move post-pandemic but my conception of travel did. Whereas previously I believed travel was something done outside the confines of a career, it suddenly occurred to me the two could be intertwined. There wasn’t much of a difference between being behind a screen in the Rustbelt, Nicoyan Peninsula, Scottish Lowlands, or Île-de-France. As long as my talent, intelligence, and creativity stayed in line with the high standards of my company (CARNEVALE), I could conceivably work almost anywhere.
Once again the shell was open but now, the tether of my career had much more slack (from a physical and software perspective). I started in Costa Rica, spending my on-the-clock hours in a coworking space and the rest swimming in the ocean, reading under palm trees, and buzzing through dirt road mountains on a 190cc motorcycle. Then I went to Scotland and toured the Highlands on another motorcycle. In the mornings I’d hike Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat before starting my work day in my Airbnb. France followed with another motorcycle and more hiking. I’d hit Montemarte’s boulangeries, butcher shops, markets, and galleries all before my fellow Michiganders had their first Keurig cup. I moved and was moved.
Royal Enfield Classic 350, Beugency, France
The ruts of my mind were washed away like footprints in the surf. I found inspiration strolling the same streets Adam Smith, Rodin, and Hemingway strolled. Paris was a moveable feast amongst a smorgasbord of other potential cities and places on our pale blue dot. They were food for thought that changed my conception of what it means to have a work-life balance. My work on the move was good and I was better for the movement.
Montemarte, France
I think about the aforementioned film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, somewhat regularly. Beyond its timeless charm, I find affinity with the tale. Two men fleeing the everyday trappings of their hangups (and holdups) to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Horses, trains, carriages, ships, and even a bicycle carry the outlaws to, of all places: Bolivia. Right up to the film’s iconic finale, Butch and Sundance are planning their escape to far-off lands. I’ve never held up a train before but I have stood on a station platform, ticket in hand, with the sentiment: “I’m better when I move.”
Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland
About the Author
Ryan Slone is a Design Director at CARNEVALE, and has been with the company since 2012. He has designed UI and UX experiences for high-sensitivity mass spectrometry instruments, school management systems, health insurance prior authorization platforms, and global market team coordination software amongst many other diverse digital experiences. Ryan finds his eudaimonia through travel, motorcycles, film, vinyl records, and baseball.