As the world slowly started to open up in Spring 2021, and the reality that our remote work setup would not last forever, I knew I needed to take advantage! When I was considering places to work remotely for an extended period of time, I kept going back to Hawaii. I worked remotely on the island of O’ahu for six weeks, all on NY-working hours (a 6 hour time difference). I only took three days PTO from work when my mom was in town. Other than that, I was all business during work hours! My Airbnb had great wifi and a comfy bed, so I was set. Here is a glimpse into a day in the life working remotely in Hawaii!
2:45 am – Alarm
The dreaded alarm. My workday would start at 3:30 am, so setting an alarm for a bit earlier would allow me to snooze once or twice. All my life, I’ve been a fan of the snooze button. I cannot imagine a life where I wake up with my alarm on the first time! I’d then grab my phone and slowly wake up by checking on emails that may have come through or scrolling social media.
3:30 am – The Workday Begins
And just like that, the workday has officially begun. I’d start my day just like any other: slowly but surely. I’d usually lay in my bed in the pitch black while I slowly answer emails or tend to the quick tasks that I can knock off my to-do list. Thankfully there were no work fire drills that required me to wake up any earlier!
5:00 am – Coffee Run!
One thing that I didn’t consider, was that there was no place to get coffee at all hours of the day here! Starbucks and McDonald’s wouldn’t open until 5:00 am, so that first hour and a half of work was rough. As soon as I could, I’d grab my keys and get to the nearest drive thru for a much needed energy boost (and usually a hashbrown too).
6:00 am – Bathroom Zoom Calls
My “afternoon” Zoom calls would usually start happening around 6:00 am. My Airbnb had quiet hours before 7:00 am, and I shared walls with two other units. Therefore, Zoom calls from the bathroom were a frequent occurrence!
I’d pop a squat on the toilet (with my pants up!), put my laptop on the counter, drop on a virtual background and no one was the wiser. In the bathroom, I’d at least be further away from the shared walls where my neighbors were sleeping and could talk a little more freely.
Totally reminded me of the scene in The Parent Trap where she took mysterious calls from her bathroom at odd hours.
9:00 am – Laundry
I think I did more laundry on this trip than I have in my entire life. Everything get so dirty here with the my trips to the beach, so I found myself washing clothes 3-4x a week. Sand gets everywhere and sea salt sticks to your clothes like glue, so I’d constantly be washing my bathing suits, towels, and clothes. My bed sheets were also washed a few times a week because once you get sand in them, you can never get it out!
10:30 am – Pack for the Day
As my workday started to wind down, I’d start packing up my gear for the day. My plans for the day would vary, but it almost always included a stop at a beach. I’d get my bathing suit put on under my clothes and pack up my towels and a change of clothes. I’d always make sure to pack up a beach chair, snorkel gear, and my floatable inner tube. Sometimes I wouldn’t know which beach I’d be heading to that day until I got in the car and went wherever my heart told me to. Always good to be prepared!
11:30 am – Quittin’ Time!
11:30 HST, meant it was 5:30 pm on the East Coast. Aka: quittin’ time! I’d wrap up a few loose ends and log off for the day. I have email on my phone so I would monitor it the rest of the day, but I’m thankful that my team rarely expects me to handle anything outside of working hours during our slow seasons. I’d grab my packed bags and keys, and hit the road! My Airbnb was about 5 minutes from the closest beach (Kahala Beach), and about 10 minutes from Waikiki, and there really was no normal day. Some days I would stay local, other times I would venture to other parts of the island. Ko Olina, Ka’a’awa, and Waimanalo were frequent destinations for me!
12:00 pm – Lunch
If my plan was to hit a local beach, I’d usually grab something from my go-to spots. The Barefoot Beach Cafe was my classic stop near Waikiki for a killer Kalua Pork sandwich. There is so much parking nearby (easy to get lucky with finding a spot), so even if this was a quick stop on my way to another beach, it was easy to do. In downtown Waikiki, I’d love stopping at the Maui Brewing Company for their amazing Huli Huli Wings, or down the beach at the Steak Shack for some good, classic takeout.
Admittedly, if I were making the drive out to further parts of the island, time was of the essence! I would usually just grab a quick bite at a drive thru or pack some snacks for me to eat along the way. Don’t come for me!
1:0o pm – Beach, please
My goal for each day was to get my ass on a beach as soon as I could after I logged off of work. On most days, I was able to do so by around 1:00 pm. This is when the UV index is usually at its highest (11) and I’d be able to really get my bronze on. My afternoons would be as relaxing as I’d make them. I’d usually relax on the beach for a few hours, constantly going between laying out on the sand and taking dips in the ocean. I downloaded tons of audiobooks and podcasts to listen to while I laid out, and if I just so happened to fall asleep and take a nap- well… God’s plan.
If there was work that absolutely needed to get done, I would bring my laptop along with me and work from the beach! Since all beaches in the state of Hawaii are public, if I went to one that was near a hotel or resort, it was very easy to connect to their guest WiFiand work. Here I am working from Ko Olina, using the Four Seasons internet!
4:00 pm – Dinner
Around 4:00 pm is when I would start to pack up from the beach and start to make my way back home to wind down. Depending how big of a lunch I had, dinner could be anything from a quick grab-n-go stand, to a bigger meal. It all depended on the day! Whatever it was, I would usually just try to get something to hold me over for the next ~3 hours until bed. I’d also use this time to either stroll around Waikiki and do some shopping, or maybe walk around a new town, or take the long scenic drive home. This was the start of my “chill” time, so I tried not to do anything too stimulating.
5:30 pm – Wind Down
By 5:30 pm, I’m usually arriving back at my Airbnb for the real wind down time. This would consist of a nice hot shower, turning off the lights, closing my blackout shades, and watching some TV. It would be a little strange doing so while the sun was still up, but by this time it would be just starting to set, just like I was. I always told people back home that I was rising and sleeping just before the sun.
7:00 pm – Zzz…
My goal each night was to have everything off by 7:00 pm, in attempts to be fully asleep by 7:30 pm. This would allow me to get a solid 7 hours of sleep each night. It really wasn’t too hard to do, since I was up so early each day. Also, the sun and fresh air can really knock it out of you. Falling asleep by this time was never something I struggled with!
Then, at 2:45 am the next morning, we’d wake up and do it all over again! An experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
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