My name is Kelvin Scotts. I’m an American living in Chicago, but my heart calls the world my home. I love travelling, and I travel as much as possible.

But I want to travel more. More play, less work. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I don’t want or intend to quit to become a permanent nomad. I just wish I had a much better work-life balance.

It’s something I’ve thought about for years. And over the last year or so I’ve been doing less thinking and more doing. It’s mostly about achieving a better work-life balance. That’s tricky, and something that will vary from person to person. But it definitely is possible to do — for everyone.

work life balance

And that’s what this blog is dedicated to. Lowering the mundane, raising the adventure. I discuss places I’ve been that I think you’ll be interested in visiting as well, how to save money when travelling, and how to balance your travels with the other parts of your life. I’ll start off with a few tips on how to achieve a better work-life balance.

Finish work by 6 pm

Most days when I’m working from home I’m sat in front of my laptop at 8:30am and I won’t leave until around 9pm with an hour for lunch and an hour for dinner. That means I’m ‘working‘ for about 11 and a half hours each day which is just ridiculous when you think about it.

Lately I’ve made it a practice of finishing up by 6 pm, regardless of what’s going on. Laptop closes, business is done for the day.

No 24 hour a day social media

When I say business is done for the day, I mean all social media too. I don’t think there’s much of a difference going from a chair to a sofa just to play on your phone and update social media. I know I for one stare at my phone way too much. This has become a mindset that more and more of us have fallen prey to in the last years, but it’s so much better being present, in the moment, than letting your mind wander. That means stop with the all day and all night Facebook and Twitter.

Get outdoors and get some exercise

It doesn’t have to be long, strenuous workouts. Just do something. And do it outdoors. Get some fresh air. Really move around. Even if it’s just a long stroll.

Start small and build off of that

I think it’d be unrealistic to think that all of a sudden I’m going to get a perfect work-life balance just from writing this post. I know it takes work, but I’ve got to be open to changes in my life knowing they’re for the better, knowing that it’s worth it in the long run. I’m not completely there yet, but I’ve made changes and the results are positive.

That’s just a small start. Please take a while to browse my blog to get ideas on how you too can improve your life by getting out there!