[Podcast] Overcoming Career Burnout and Finding Work-Life Balance with Ali Pruitt Transcript
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Episode Summary
Ali is an expert at helping remote workers be productive and create more work-life balance so they can enjoy the full benefits of working remotely. In this episode we talk about creating boundaries at work, how to stay productive on the road, what newbies get wrong about remote work and common misconceptions, overcoming loneliness, managing working from home, and creating routines, workflow, and habits that support a balanced lifestyle.
Connect with Ali
→ Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-pruitt/
→ Connect with Ali on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullyremotewithali/
→ Visit her website: www.fullyremotewithali.com
Get the FREE Offer
→ Download the FREE Remote Career Playbook here: https://bit.ly/RemoteCareerPlaybook
Connect with Kate
→ Ready to land a remote job so you can create more freedom and flexibility? Get on the waitlist for The Remote Career Accelerator: https://bit.ly/RCAwaitlist
→ Follow Remote Career Coach, Kate Smith on Instagram @theremotenomad
Speakers
Ali Pruittl, Kate Smith
Ali Pruitt, Workflow and Process Improvement Expert
Ali Pruitt is a seasoned remote work traveler aka digital nomad, with over 10 years of process and workflow improvement experience and 4 years of traveling the world while working. She created Fully Remote with Ali in June 2020 with freedom, flexibility, curiosity, and growth as the company's core values. She has been featured in We Work Remotely, Association of Virtual Assistants, and The Creative Startup Academy.
Ali has worked from the town of Machu Picchu, the coast of Mexico, the healing lands of Bali, the beaches of Jamaica and Fiji and so many others. All while constantly leveling up in her remote work career. This life has also allowed Ali to have unbelievable adventures that she likes to call “just another weekend in my best life”.
Early on in her remote work journey, Ali recognized that to really enjoy the freedom and flexibility of remote work, it needed to be managed and work needed to be as efficient as possible. She mastered that, kicking ass at work and at living her best life.
Ali has become extremely passionate about helping others in the transition to embrace the fully remote lifestyle in the way that works best for them. She believes when you’re able to #getshitdone and unplug from work, you have more time to focus on what’s important – you!
→ Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-pruitt/
→ Connect with Ali on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullyremotewithali/
→ Visit her website: www.fullyremotewithali.com
Kate Smith, Remote Career Coach, Speaker, and Remote Work Advocate
Remote Career Coach and industry thought leader, Kate has helped countless professionals break free of the 9-5 and create more freedom in their lives by showing them how to successfully land a remote job. Her expertise has been featured on BBC, Fast Company, CNN, Atlas Obscura, GlassDoor, and many other major publications and podcasts. She was named 'The 100 Most Influential Remote Experts' by remoteweekly.io, and she’s even worked with the country of Estonia, as a digital nomad community representative, to create the world’s first digital nomad visa! After breaking free of her corporate 9-5 job in advertising, she landed a full-time remote job doing online marketing before launching her business. After successfully going remote herself, Kate's now on a mission to help other ambitious professionals create more freedom so they can live life on their terms too!
Follow @theremotenomad
Transcript
Kate Smith 0:02
Welcome to The Remote Nomad Podcast and this is your weekly escape from the nine to five grind. Every week we interview industry experts from around the globe on remote work, landing a remote job, the digital nomad lifestyle and mastering your mindset. Prepare to be inspired as you learn how to create a lifestyle with more freedom and flexibility. I'm your host and remote Career Coach Kate Smith.
Kate Smith 0:26
Do you want to land a remote job so that you can have more freedom and flexibility download the free remote career playbook inside you'll learn the exact six step framework that I use to help clients successfully landed Remote Jobs in less time and without all the overwhelm. No experience required. See link in the show notes to download this free offer or head over to www.theremotenomad.com/freegift.
Kate Smith 0:48
Welcome everyone. Our guest today has been working remotely and traveling the world for four years, she is a master at helping remote workers be productive, get shit done, and achieve more work life balance so they can enjoy the full benefits of working remotely. And really so they can live their best lives. She has been featured in we work remotely association of virtual assistants and the creative startup Academy. She has over 10 years experience and process and workflow improvement. And she believes when you're able to get shit done and unplug from work, you have more time to focus on what's important, which is you. I'm excited to welcome Ali Pruitt on the podcast today. Ali, welcome.
Ali Pruitt 1:28
Thank you so much, Kate, thanks for having me, I'm looking forward to our chat. And remote work is life for me. So I'm always excited to talk about remote work. So look forward to it.
Kate Smith 1:41
Absolutely. And I'm really excited to have you here today for a few reasons, I found that, you know, with COVID going on, a lot of people are now working from home working remotely for the first time. And a lot of people are struggling to find that balance, especially work life balance when a lot of people are stuck at home, and how they can navigate that. And then, you know, we have these new digital nomads new remote workers as well. And I remember when I went remote, I really struggled with finding that balance and almost feeling like I was always on and with work and really learning how to disconnect. And so with what you do, I think will be really helpful for people that are making that transition so that they can really make the most of this lifestyle. And I think even today, if we explore, you know, some of these, these this work life balance before COVID. And what people can expect as we come out of COVID as well. And you're just saying, You're in Mexico, and they're they're slowly starting to open everything up, which is amazing. I'm still in lockdown. And but before we dive into everything, Ali, I really just love for you to share with our listeners, your journey to going remote how you got started supporting remote workers, and how you're helping remote workers thrive.
Ali Pruitt 2:57
Yeah, sure thing I'd love to. It's a long story, but I will keep it short, I'll just talk about the highlights. So for me, I experienced the burnout and the stress before getting the remote job, which you know, it doesn't matter for the office or working remotely, stress, And burnout is is definitely a thing. And there was definitely a point in my life for a couple years that I was just going on adrenaline and I was actually causing internal health issues. I didn't even realize that at the time. But to this day, I'm still working on healing. But yeah, stress and burnout, I was I had no boundaries, work, life balance just wasn't a thing. And my life work extended to all aspects of my life. I definitely had issues with seeking approval and validation from leadership. So I'd never said no to them. And after a couple years of that, I just, I got I was just so stressed, so exhausted, and in complete desperation for a change. And I had a moment I had taken a trip to Malta because I just needed to escape. And I was there and it was one of those moments kind of walking by yourself and having that inner dialogue of like, you know, being so exhausted, don't know what to do, what should I do, and just getting so frustrated with myself. And I had this moment of like, well, nothing's going to change unless you change it. What do you want to do? How's that I don't even know what I want to do. So it took a little bit of time for me to sort out what I wanted. And I knew that, at that it through that, that that little bit of a journey there that I wanted to find another place to call home. So I started looking for jobs. And then I realized, you know what, no, I don't want a job to determine where I live. I want to be location independent. So I started looking for a remote job, so that if I moved, let's say to Dallas, Texas or wherever, and I didn't like it, I could leave and not have to do the whole job hunting thing again. So I did that. And I spent a few months in Dallas enjoyed it. And then I decided to do a trip to Fiji and New Zealand for three months. And that was an amazing trip and it made me realize how easy it is. It just took the the understanding of freedom and flexibility to a whole nother level. So I was traveling around experiencing, I mean, New Zealand, beautiful Fiji as well, you know, and just really enjoying my life, but I really didn't want it to end. So I didn't actually know what a digital nomad was before getting the remote job at but during that time I I realized I had become a digital nomad, I learned a little bit more about it, and really just embraced that lifestyle. So I went on to do that for the next three years loving life. And, and you know, having so much freedom and flexibility. And then COVID hit and I lost my job. So I did not want to look for another job. That was the biggest reason at first. And I wanted to keep this lifestyle. So I took some time off chatted with friends. And during my time as a remote worker, I had helped friends and acquaintances to either transition their company to fully remote, or just help them to have the confidence and the know how and the resources to go fully remote, become a digital nomad moved to their country or whatever. And every one of those people came to me and said, This is what you need to be doing for people. You love this lifestyle. You are, I had one ex co worker, say I don't know how you did it, you did the job of two people. You kicked ass at work and you kicked ass at life. So you need to teach people how to do this. And I thought that's that sounds like a great idea. So a year ago, almost actually, next week will be a year, I started fully remote with Ali. And yeah, I love helping people to make that transition to get shit done to live your best life basically, is what I say. I think, you know, as you mentioned early earlier on, it is difficult to kind of manage, you know, manage your time to unplug is also difficult to just manage the freedom and flexibility. Sometimes we can enjoy the freedom and flexibility a little too much. And then our job suffers, right? We don't want to lose our job. So. So I do help people with that and to balance and it's just it's been an amazing experience the last year.
Kate Smith 7:42
Amazing, that sounds incredible, and especially Fiji My goodness, that sounds amazing. And I think a lot of people listening to your story can relate to that the stress, the burnout, the exhaustion, and even the fact that it can have an impact on your physical health that can have an impact on your mental health. Those are really important things. And, and, and even just, you know, with COVID, and losing your job and using that as an opportunity to help others so that they can make the most of this remote work lifestyle. When you when people come to you Allie, what do you find is where do you find remote workers are struggling with the most when they they're first getting started with remote work, because it's a huge difference. And maybe you can talk about that as well, the difference of going from a nine to five to remote work and where these new remote workers are really struggling when they're making that transition.
Ali Pruitt 8:38
Yeah, so I think with the clients that I've worked with, one of the biggest struggles is, is unplugging from work. And then also feeling guilty. When they do unplug. You know, when you go in nine to five, you're there, nine to five, right? Whether you have something to do or not. Typically, when you don't have something to do for a bit, you go and you chat with friends or something, when you're working from home, you are more productive. So you are going to actually end up having even more free time in unit the commute as well, saving time there. And so there's this sense of like, I should be working, I need to be working. But you know, a lot of times people are kind of at the point where they don't, you know, they they're caught up, they don't you know, they don't have another meeting for two hours or something. And they really they could take a long lunch, you know, they could go for a walk, they could, you know, different things like that. And they feel guilty for turning off. They feel like they have to stay online that entire time and stay plugged in. So that I would say is the most most common thing that we work through. And it's a it's a mindset shift. You know, it's helping them to understand that you know that the freedom and the flexibility does allow them to walk away and not to feel feel bad about that. Also, one of the things that I really encourage my clients to do is talk to Leadership and Management, you know, make sure that the expectations A lot of times, especially with the way we've transitioned to remote and companies not being ready, a lot of companies don't even realize the expectations that they need to communicate. And if it's unclear, am I supposed to stay logged in from nine to five? Or can I leave? You know, just go ahead and have those conversations, because more than likely, you're not the only person who's thinking that and get the ball rolling with that conversation, make sure it's very clear. You know, and everyone has different times that they they like to work, you know, and so if a manager is emailing you at, let's say, 7:30, 8 o'clock at night, that doesn't mean that you have to respond right away, right. But if that expectation has been been has not been made clear, then there's that pressure, okay, I need to respond, I need to respond.
Kate Smith 10:53
I love that I think that's such an important skill, when you're going remote is is just communication and setting those expectations. And, and it's I imagine a lot of people place that on themselves. Like you were saying, they have this mindset that they have to constantly be connected, when the reality is, that may not be the expectation, but there's just no communication happening. And you had said something really interesting, when we were in discussion about even doing this podcast, and I think this relates really well, you said freedom needs to be managed to be enjoyed. And so you have all these new remote workers where we've just talked about to have more freedom, they're not commuting. And and they have this that yes, always having to be plugged in. And I think we'll dive into that a bit more as well of just what people can do in terms of, of managing expectations and communication and all that. I kind of want to just shift gears a little into, you know, when people come into this freedom, like I remember when I went remote and, and it was almost like a blessing and a curse with all the freedom because I was just like, I don't even know when to work, show work in the morning show work at night, I don't know. And then I felt like I should always be working or or never working. And I just I didn't know how to manage that much freedom, it can be a bit overwhelming. So I'm curious what your what you mean, when you say freedom needs to be managed to and to be enjoyed. I think a lot of people will be interested in hearing more on that.
Ali Pruitt 12:16
Yeah, sure thing. So I'll start off with one story, there was someone that I was helping to kind of make that transition to digital nomad, this is when I was employed. And we had a few calls and you know, gave him the confidence and the information resources he needed. And he decided to take the jump any. And so he traveled around a little bit in Mexico, and then actually met up with me and wahaca City. So that's one really great thing that I love about the freedom flexibility as you can still meet up with co workers and people like that. So we met up and hung out for a bit. And then he went to the coast to Puerto Escondido, which I love, but the internet sucks, I can't spend time there as much time as I'd like. So he goes down. And I said, Be careful, like, has this way like pulling you in, it's a kind of like, never Neverland down there. And I said, just be careful because, you know, you might get sucked in. And well over a year later, he's still there, he did lose his job. While there. And, um, you know, I think that you do need to be careful with the freedom, especially when you're not used used to it, you know, like, you can jeopardize your job, the one thing that is allowing you to have the freedom and flexibility. And so, you know, just like you need to manage your time at work, you really do need to manage your time in life as well. You know, make sure that you are one giving yourself enough time for yourself. But also make sure that you're still giving work enough time as well. And, you know, I think when you're looking at it that way managing both, you know, that you you take off that stress of losing your job of you know that the unknowns of what happens if you know, I lose my job. And so you can really, again, fully enjoy your life. I think also because it gives you so much more time back when you are managing it well, that it gives you the opportunity to, you know, I think trial types of new hobbies, focus on yourself. And I mean, that's been the biggest thing for me why I absolutely love the freedom and flexibility of remote work is because of the amount of time I've been able to focus on spend on myself. And I feel like I'm the best version of myself right now because of it. But I also again, kind of had to manage that freedom and that flexibility. And now I'm at the point where I mean, I have been for a few years now, but I really enjoy my life again because I've learned to manage it. So
Kate Smith 14:53
Yeah, it's almost like being a kid in the candy store when everyone's getting started. They're so excited and you can you can get caught Up, I've seen people get caught up in so much of the travel, lifestyle part of it, especially when you're in, you're traveling to a location where there are a lot of tourists, and that can be really challenging when they're there. They're on vacation. So we're like, come out, let's go out tonight. Let's go. Absolutely. So yeah, what sort of tips or things should people keep in mind when, you know, they are new to this lifestyle, and they're kind of getting swayed or feeling a bit torn between Okay, I know I have to work. But I really want to go and explore this country what I have to get my work done, and they just feel like they're constantly You know, when they're working, they're stressing about not enjoying a place. And when they're trying to enjoy a place they're stressing about work. What's your, what tips or advice do you have around that of how to manage that?
Ali Pruitt 15:44
Yeah, the first thing that I tell people, it because it's so funny, when when someone says to me, yeah, I want to, I want to kind of test out the digital nomad life. So I was thinking of doing two weeks in Medellín. Two weeks? That is not a test, that's a vacation. You're not gonna have any time, I mean, you'll have very little time to really enjoy the place. And I actually I did have a friend Meet me in meta gene. And he booked for two weeks, I told him, it wasn't going to be enough. And he really struggled with with work with doing enough work while he was there, because he was like, well, I, I want to enjoy this place as well. And so that's the first one that a lot of people don't realize, you know, you really want to give yourself enough time in a location, you want to think, okay, Monday through Friday, I might have a long lunch and evenings. But you know, you're going to probably stay in town, you know, maybe meet up with a few friends, things like that. And you really have your weekends, maybe long weekends, for exploring. And if you have vacation time, you can kind of work that out. I've also suggested a lot of times, like, three months tends to be a good, good timeframe, two to three months at a location. And if you can kind of work it out. So you can have some extra vacation time in each location. So you have an extended period of time where you can really just just connect and enjoy that place. So yeah, that's that's usually the first thing that that I tell people.
Kate Smith 17:09
Yeah, I love that. And that's so true. I remember when I first started, we were in a new country, for a month. So we're hopping to new country every month. And it seems like that would be enough time. But I was just so exhausting and trying to manage work and trying to see a place because like you said, the reality is, is you pretty much have your weekends and maybe some time after work. And I think that's an interesting thing for people to consider is that, you know, you're still working a full time job. It's not like vacation mode, right? And on that note, why don't we dive into what this lifestyle is really like. So a lot of people right now are working from home. And that's challenging. And I love to, you know, we'll dive into your take on how to manage that. But as we see, you know, borders are starting to open up slowly people will be able to travel, what is the reality of this lifestyle, because I think people are in a bit of a mixed state right now some people are working from home, they don't fully understand the true benefits of what it means to work remotely and travel the world. We've talked about some of the challenges. So what does that really look like? What is the difference from, you know, the nine to five to what life looks like as a remote worker? And then maybe after that we can dive into just managing the challenges of working from home. So yeah, if you can just share the the lifestyle differences even. And even just like the style.
Ali Pruitt 18:33
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So yeah, COVID remote is nothing like true remotes. True remote. I mean, in COVID remote, you don't really get to experience the freedom, you may be experiencing the flexibility. But the freedom, yeah, I mean that to be able to, like, you know, I say just pack your bag and throw your laptop and as a little bit more to that. But, you know, pack up a bag with your laptop and go to another country and work there for a couple months. is you know, that's that's freedom. And I know, that's not everyone's goal. And, you know, at the end of the day, it's what is I say you're fully remote lifestyle dream or your goal. And and just imagine if there were no roadblocks if there were no COVID you know, what, what type of life would you want? And for the most part, you mean you could probably have that life, you know, so I tell people, you know, Dream Dream big. I even getting the remote job. I didn't think my life would look like this. You know, I was just looking for home. And you know, now I've I've traveled to multiple countries and met so many amazing people. And I will say this one thing that I see a lot of is that remote companies struggle with, with innovation and and creating like a sense of, you know, community with their team. So I think that the innovation part, you know, that they lack in innovation, or that they struggle with with the innovation is just companies that aren't? Well, again, we've been in COVID. So you haven't really been able to embrace the freedom. But I think when you can get to that point where you can, and you're meeting other people, you're not in, you're off the same office, meeting the same people five days a week, and then your 2x, two days on the weekend, you know, you're catching up on errands, maybe visiting friends and family, very, you know, much the same almost every weekend as well. You know, it's hard for me to imagine that there's more inner innovation in that environment, that space than there is with, you know, encouraging your employees to go meet new people to travel to have new experiences. The people that I've met the other digital nomads, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, like, I've been able to sit across the table with them and discuss and chat about things, get advice, new ideas, and I when I was a remote worker, I would take those ideas, you know, back to the team. And just, again, constantly being in different environments, different spaces, you know, the curiosity, the creativity gets going. And that's where innovation happens. So I think I may have gone a little tangent there. But I did want to share that.
Kate Smith 21:21
No, I think that's important. And I think a lot of people, you know, the big difference of working from home is a lot of people are feeling that loneliness. But the reality is, when you're out there taking full advantage of the freedom and flexibility, you're meeting these interesting like minded people, you're working from inspiring locations, and not just enhances your productivity. And it's really different from working from home, it has so much more to it. And like you said, you bring that back to your company, you're surrounded by all these, you know, interesting, talented people, and they're all sharing these ideas that can really help with your work. And what would you what tips would you have for people that are currently having to manage working from home during COVID? Do you have any advice for those people? You know, eventually we'll come out of this. But for the meantime, it's it's been a struggle for some people, do you have any tips or advice of, of managing that work life balance when you're working from home?
Ali Pruitt 22:15
Yeah, obviously, in the current situation, and every time we were talking about this, obviously, every country is handling it different. Right? Mexico is very wide open, and Canada is not. So you know, it's the tips that I give, I'll do my best with but everybody is in a different different place as far as how they can embrace those tips. But I would say, you know, like, the one Okay, let me backtrack. So the one thing that was many things that remote work has allowed for us. But one thing is, it got rid of the commute, which we often use to compartmentalize our work self from our lifestyle, right? And would that commute gone? We're now finding like, we are just one even though we were we, you know, we attempted to compartmentalize ourself, we are just one person. And the what I feel like this working from home does is it actually reveals the roadblocks and challenges that you have at work. like not being able to set boundaries are also roadblocks and challenges you have in your personal life, not being able to set boundaries, because that was definitely a thing for me. You know, I didn't, it wasn't just, you know, leadership and authority that I had no problem saying no to, you know, I had a problem saying no to most everybody in my life, because my boundaries were so poor. And so what I would really encourage people to do is to really, you know, reflect on your days, reflect on your weeks, what are the roadblocks or the challenges that you're facing, and look at how that might be affecting you in your personal life and, you know, vice versa, and use this time to really work on yourself. You know, I'm a big fan of therapy, I've never met my therapist in person, I meet with her virtually and she's amazing. I lots of resources and books and other Another great thing about traveling is i've you know, been exposed to different ways of healing based off of different cultures. And so that's been amazing as well. So I'm a big fan of, you know, personal growth like that. So I would say if you do have the time you know, while while at home, really dig into that stuff, you know, this is really an opportunity for you to grow and really prepare yourself to like, fully embrace the freedom and flexibility in an amazing way.
Kate Smith 24:34
Yeah, I love that. And I think it really comes down to making the time as well. I think everybody can make the time and like you were saying that investment in your personal growth. You know, we have this slowness going debt going on around the world. And for so long. Everyone said I don't have time now we have all the time in the world. Right. And really, yeah, a great time I believe Yeah, to dive into those those personal development PR growth. You talked about boundaries a few times? What was that journey? like for you? And do you have any tips for people? Because I do feel like there's a lot of people out there that really struggle with setting boundaries, they are petrified of the idea of saying no to things. So do you have any tips around how to manage developing that skill?
Ali Pruitt 25:22
Wow. Okay. So it's been years of developing this skill, it does not happen overnight at all. I think it's like, kind of, they say, an onion, you know, there's different there's layers to it, you know, each time you think, Okay, well, I just did a really great job with with setting that boundary, then, you know, another situation comes, you're like, Well, I didn't do so great with that one. But I am a big fan, I have learned to become a very big fan of kindness and compassion towards yourself. So yeah, make sure I was to be kind to yourself. But I would say one, you know, the resources, the therapists, things like that have really helped me, one of the biggest things that I took away from a session with my therapist around boundaries was I, when I said before, when I used when I thought I had good boundaries, it was really more like, I'm going to let somebody treat me a certain way. And I'm gonna let someone treat me a certain way. And I'm going to keep letting them treat me in a very negative way. And then I get to the point where I've had it. And I say, deuces, and that's it. That's my boundary, right? That's not healthy. That's not setting. So setting a boundary, you need to clearly communicate that to someone early on what your boundary is. And if they crossed that boundary, you go back to them and say, Hey, I told you this was a boundary, I told you, you know, what would happen? And kind of, you know, give them some grace, right? And then keep it going. And then if they do it again, come back and say, Listen, I told you this was a boundary, you crossed it again, it's been great knowing you. But you know, this is going to this is going to be where we part ways. That was more on the relationship aspect we were specifically talking about. But I do very much think that when when we have a problem, setting boundaries, we do take that approach, we let it happen, let it you know, let it continue. Until we get to the point of like, Okay, I'm done. And it can get ugly, and all of that. And it doesn't have to be if you just clearly communicated ahead of time. Now, it can be very difficult. There's a lot of fear around that fear of rejection, not being accepted. And you know, that those are also things that we need to heal, and will your, you would be surprised how much of who we are and how we are comes from our childhood, you know, when we think, Oh, this is just how I am or you know, that I'm like this. So why do you do that to me, you know, right. And there's a great book, it's called running on empty, it's about childhood emotional neglect. And that was huge. For me, it was a book that I read last year during lockdown. And it really talked about a lot of different areas the boundaries was, was definitely one of those and how you allow people to treat you. So.
Kate Smith 28:17
hat's amazing. I love First of all, that you set a proper definition of boundaries, because I think some people may have this thought of again, taking it, taking it, taking it finally standing up and leaving instead of getting clear on those boundaries in the first place. And communicating them and knowing that it doesn't always have to be ugly, because if you're communicating that upfront, it can be a very, it can be a challenging conversation, but it doesn't have to be an ongoing conversation. I think that's Yeah,
Ali Pruitt 28:47
I will end real quick. I think one of the reasons why it's so difficult for us to have those conversations up front is also a lack of self worth, which is something that I experienced as well, to be able to know that you are worth being treated a certain way, and not being treated, you know, in a negative way, and being able to communicate that so you know, if that is a difficult, you know, if you're really struggling to have those conversations, you might want to dive into self worth and self love.
Kate Smith 29:17
I love that that it's definitely I'm sure this helps a lot of people understand like, okay, what's at the core of this issue? I have a problem setting boundaries, maybe actually have a challenge with self worth and need to explore that some more. Yeah. So we talked a bit about you know, investing time into your personal development, therapy, all of that, what are some routines or self care or healthy habits that remote workers can integrate so that they can balance their work life and yeah, their work and their life, their work life and then real life.
Ali Pruitt 29:53
Yeah, so a morning routine is so important, the way you start your day. It really sets the tone for your day. But of course, to start your day, well, you need to end your day well, so they go hand in hand. And I'm a big fan of having an end of day, work wrap up, as well as some sort of end of day life wrap up, you know, instead of doing them all at once, because, you know, you, you don't want to allow your work to kind of carry over into your life and then right before bed, kind of wrap up work and life, you know, go ahead and wrap up work at the end of work, disconnect, and then enjoy, and then have, you know, your, your sort of end of end of life, end of day wrap up. So you know, in the morning routines, I think, well, setting yourself up for success is really important, like so, if you are plugging your phone in on your nightstand, nightstand, you're not really setting yourself up for success, if you're, you know, spending time on your phone. So I most nights, I plug my phone into an outlet in the living room. And when I go to bed, I leave it there, and then I go to bed, I do keep a pen and paper next to my desk most nights as well. So that, you know, because when I lay down, and my brain is relaxed, all of a sudden, you know, for typically before something would would register in my head, like oh, I need to look that up, or I need to you know, so now I just kind of write it down, get out of my head. And then the next day I follow up on that. And you know, in different people, I mean, meditation is always a great thing, I always encourage that. But in the mornings, whatever works for you, as long as you have some dedicated time to yourself, that's what's most important. You know, getting up and jumping on your laptop, in your PJs, again, you're not really setting your yourself up for success there. When I help people with blueprinting, their schedule their calendar, and I always say put your personal stuff on the calendar first, before your work stuff that you come first, you know, and that's reflected on on your calendar as well. And then yeah, and again, the end of day wrap up, I've got a technique that I teach my clients, it's kind of layered. And the purpose is to make you feel good, feel like you've accomplished something in the day, as well as unplug and shut off and walk away from work. So.
Kate Smith 32:26
So it really seems like there. I think a lot of people always prioritize and put work first and they get in this work hustle mode, and from what I'm hearing from you is really to thrive is giving yourself what you need and time for years.
Ali Pruitt 32:42
Absolutely 100%. If you are not good, you're not healthy. If you're not if your energy level isn't high, then you know, you're not bringing your best self to work. You're not bringing your best self to your life, you're gonna get mediocre in return, you know, like,
Kate Smith 33:00
Yeah, and I love what you said about the phone too, because we were talking about boundaries. But that's almost like a physical boundary with devices, not even just people but what we're connected to and that disconnecting and you know, having a space where it's like, Okay, I'm going to sleep, this is a separate space phones in the living room, that's a separate space for that and making those, I guess transitions between your day, we talked about working in pajamas. So I want to talk about this for a second. Because I think a lot of people working from home for the first time are doing just that their their their alarm goes off, they grab the laptop sign on for the day working from their pajamas. Why is this a bad idea? And what should people be doing?
Ali Pruitt 33:43
Okay, so I will have to admit, for the first probably two years of my remote work career. I did that a lot? I did. Yeah, it was definitely taken me some time to learn to balance and manage and all of that stuff. But it's, you know, everybody is different to this day. Sometimes I still do work in my in my house clothes, and things like that. But I still have my morning routine, right? So I'm not one of those people that actually need to like, put on my face and put on it, you know, a nice outfit and all of that. But if that's what you need, then awesome. But it kind of just goes back to what I was saying. It's like how do you want your day to go? Like, what is the tone that you want for your day? And is getting up in your PJs while laying in bed rolling over picking up your laptop? Is that really, you know, like the way that the the rest of your day goes? like is that working for you? You know, so I'm a big fan of like daily reflecting and like so if you're noticing that the days that you're doing that your energy is low, maybe you're not productive. Things just didn't really go as well then maybe you need to start your day off for yourself instead.
Kate Smith 35:00
I love that I think that's a really great tip for everybody is is just really starting with awareness. If something's not feeling, right, really trying to identify and pinpoint, okay, what's not feeling right? And if it is, okay, well, I'm in my pajamas working on my laptop, and I'm feeling sluggish in doing so maybe it is okay, getting up working somewhere else, whatever that may be. So we talked about a few things people can do in terms of, of work and in terms of life in terms of really just making the most of their day to have more of that balance. Is there anything that we haven't covered, that you want to share in terms of how people can really just thrive in this lifestyle and really show up and do the best for their work, but also get to really enjoy the great benefit of remote work and enjoy the lifestyle aspect? Is there anything else that we haven't covered that people should keep in mind when, when trying to create that balance? So they can really thrive?
Ali Pruitt 36:00
Well, we've covered a lot, I think, yes, I'll tell this story, I have a batch of two clients that are not big fans of the blueprinting the schedule, so when I showed them both early on, when when working with them, they were like, Oh, no, I don't want to, I don't want to organize my day like that, that that goes against the freedom and flexibility of my life, you know, and I was like, no worries, we can work this in a way so that it works for you. And both of them, you know, through a couple of sessions and helping them to find a way that works for them. But they're still blueprinting in a way, and again, in a way that works for them. They absolutely love it. And they love it because they are more productive. And they do have more free time. You know, and so that's the thing that a lot of people I think, you know, maybe aren't realizing, you know, if you want the free time, if you want to enjoy it, you really do need to get your shit done at work, right? So how do you how do you do that you learn techniques to be productive, you learn techniques, to manage your time you learn techniques to be organized. And if that, you know, maybe you feel like that doesn't really settle with you, it doesn't mean that there isn't a way to make that work for you and your work style.
Kate Smith 37:17
I love that that is such a great point, I found that even for myself years now working remotely, I am so intense about habits and routines, they are so precise, more precise than working in a nine to five, which is weird, because, again, there is so much freedom, but it's about including those wonderful things in there, too. It's not just packing your day full of work. It's it's giving yourself the time you need for those morning routines in the evening. But it's so funny that you hit on that because I am all about really, I have to be on my like right on top of my habits and routines in order to really thrive. Yeah. And so for those that are they're new to this, or they're working from home or just new to working online, what is what would you say? Is your The first thing they should do to get started with this for creating that balance? If you know, we talked about a lot today, but what would you say is the very first thing that someone should do to get started with this creating more balance.
Ali Pruitt 38:16
Work with me?
Kate Smith 38:18
There we go. Everyone can work with you.
Ali Pruitt 38:23
The very first thing they should do? Well, the very first thing that I that I teach clients when I work with them, is to do an end of day wrap up, which is to reflect on their day, what did they accomplish? You know, how are they feeling about their day? What was the win for the day? Or, you know, a couple wins? Maybe, you know, what do you what do you what needs to move to tomorrow, you know, how do you need to update your your day and your, your, your tomorrow and your week. And, you know, a lot of people I think don't realize at the end of the day, how much they've truly accomplished. You know, a lot of times we have this really long to do list. And one even by creating that and going into the day thinking, Okay, this is my to do list, you're setting yourself up for failure, you're not going to get through all of those, you're going to get through a couple. And so we set ourself up that way, at the end of the day, we look at that list, and we've only checked off a couple and we feel bad about that. You know, and there's no need to because if you actually think about all the things that you actually did, you know, the the the random dm that you got from your manager have a new task that needs to be done today. Right? Well, that wasn't planned, but it need to be done today and then you accomplished it. So I think really just the end of day wrap up and reflecting is is really important for that. I think the first thing that
Kate Smith 39:46
Yeah, I love that just really bringing awareness to everything going on. And I love that you're focusing on the winds and the feeling of the day and not just what you've what you've done because those feelings are so important in celebrating those wins. So often we're focusing on what we didn't do. And we didn't do enough and what got down on my task list when really, it's okay. Well, what wins did I have today? And how am I feeling throughout the day? And you know, that's where we can really identify where things are not going right and where things are going. Right. Awesome. So we do have a question from Instagram, this one's from Christopher Scott, @yournomadicfriend on Instagram. And he's asking, I put it out there on Instagram today, that we're gonna be doing this podcast if anyone has questions for you. And he asked work life balance versus work life harmony. Now, what what I'm gathering he's getting that here is really the difference between, you know, looking at it from a work life balance perspective versus work life harmony. And I think this is a really interesting question. Because I think when we, when we think of work life balance, sometimes we think of it as you know, to, we have work and we have life. And then, you know, has, as he's worded it work life. harmony, is a really interesting concept of really pulling together the interconnectedness of work in life. And I think if anything, today, we've really uncovered that work is not separate from life, they need to work together. And it seems like how you work with clients, and your style is really integrating those pieces of what you need and how you set yourself up in your life up for success and investing in yourself personal development. And so that therefore, you can show up as your best self at work, and how they're just so interconnected. What are your thoughts on this difference between, you know, work life balance versus work life?
Ali Pruitt 41:42
Yeah, I have not thought of it that way. But that's that it's so true. There is, um, I think, work life harmony is probably the next level, you know, past work life balance. And, you know, like I said earlier, and you mentioned that we are just one person, you know, and the struggles that we have at work are the struggles that we have at home. And so showing up to face those struggles to face those fears, to face those uncomfortable things about us, that we face, whether again, it's at work or at home, it allows us to become our best selves at work and home. And, and so I think that that's Yeah, that's where the harmony is, I think that, you know, I feel like, I mean, that's going to apply to everyone across the board, I think just being used to where I used to be a remote worker, and now being, you know, my own boss, being an entrepreneur, solopreneur there is, um, you know, like, when you're just going to work, and you're collecting a paycheck, you know, I think that that's where we're, you know, we're seeing more of like the work life balance in the sense of like, separating it to it as far as like, the activities, the actions, things like that. When you come into being coming an entrepreneur or a solopreneur, or a freelancer, as well, and you are solely responsible for everything, and you're doing something that you're super passionate about, that, that's where I see a lot of people struggle really struggle with, with disconnecting, as well. And I could see, you know, like, it doesn't change the fact like, even though I love what I do, like, I still need to disconnect, I still need to get my brain arrest. When I do that. I have more creative ideas, and you know, have more clarity on things as well. But, you know, definitely like I I'll sit down and have conversation with other digital nomads, and I'm talking about work, also, you know, so again, there's that there's that harmony there as well. And I do see it can be a little bit more difficult for entrepreneurs and freelancers to kind of separate as in like the work life balance, because a remote worker might be able to.
Kate Smith 43:48
Yeah, it's almost like a progression, I see a lot of people who, once they land that remote job, then they start building up their own business. And it's almost this progression. And, you know, as you develop that skill as a remote worker, you can then take that into other areas, whether you want to do freelance or perhaps start your own business one day. Ollie, we've talked about a lot today. And I want to get into how you can help how people listening today can work with you and all of that. Before we dive into that, I'm just wondering, is there anything else that we haven't covered or talked about today? That you wanted to mention? If not, we can hop into how people can work with you. Yeah, it was a great progress for a lot. Yeah, we've covered a lot easy. I think I think for me, the big takeaway here is really understanding. You know, when we think of work life balance, I think a lot of times people think of Okay, so help me be productive at work. And then it all comes together when, after having this discussion with you really see that it's really a personal journey. And things that happen in work will be a reflection of life and things that happen in life will be a reflection of work, and they're so interconnected. And by You know, setting yourself yourself up and your personal life up for success. Therefore, you're setting your work life up for success. And it's not always driven by work first, like there really is this, this personal aspect of it of really creating a space and environment and a routine and habit that allows you to thrive as a person, I think that's really important for people because so often they just get stuck on like, Okay, tell me how to be super productive and whatnot. But really, like, there has to be this, it's really about creating that balance. And a big part of that is the personal side. And I think we, we often neglect that. So I really appreciate you sharing all of your insights today. And so please share with us um, how, how can everyone listening today? How can they find you? How can they work with you? What does that like? I'll let you just share what that journey looks like working with you.
Ali Pruitt 45:52
Yeah, sure. Thanks. So you can find me on LinkedIn, Ali Pruitt. You can find me on Instagram, and Facebook as well. And I have a website. All of that is fully remote with Ali. fullyremotewithali.com And yeah, so right now I'm focusing on working one on one with clients with individuals, and working with small businesses, helping them to transition to fully remote and helping individuals, you know, make that transition and kind of like you said, a lot of the people that I work with, they their ultimate goal is to become a freelancer or start their own business, you know, but they're the roadblocks of working 10 to 12 hours a day, because they don't have work life balance is really keeping them from their fully remote lifestyle goal, again, whatever that that goal is. And so we what what I do with clients is I call it the fully remote journey. And we start off by assessing their work routine, their workflow, their work habits, and within that also, you know, what are your daily habits just outside of work as well. And that's why I start off with the the end of day wrap up really reflecting on your day, I want them to start to be mindful and aware of how their days are going so that when we come on a call together, you know, they're able to help me help them better. And so we start making those adjustments, I teach them techniques to help them get shit done. And then we start transitioning to you know, more focusing more on their life, you know, what is that goal again? Is it a digital nomads be an expat start your own business, whatever that is. So I have a values exercise that I walk my clients through, and they do to narrow down their three core values and so that all of the goals that they're creating, they're creating through the lens of those three core values. So if something doesn't line up with your value, then we really dig into like, Well, why is this a goal that you have. And so that's really helpful also. So yeah, so I'm doing one on one I am working right now, on a six week program, it's going to be a hybrid of online course slash group coaching. So I'm excited about that should be out the, the end of May. So keep an eye out for that and sign up. And long term, maybe they actually maybe, maybe not too long term, six months, I am looking at doing a project here in wahaca City, where it's kind of going to be like a, you know, a remote tribe remote year where I have a few people come here, I picked them up. And we you know, we live together we do some social things as well. But the whole point, because I know remote year and, and and those are more about the social aspect. This program, you're going to learn my techniques, I'm gonna teach you the ways of being a digital nomad. But it's really to give you the confidence to be able, at the end of that month to go out on your own to whatever country you want, and feel good about that. have the resources, have connections, and have the know how and the confidence to do that. So I'm excited about that.
Kate Smith 48:53
That's amazing. I think that's really important because we can learn and read as much as you want. But as soon as you're in a different country trying to work remote for the first time, it's like holy cow, this is like, what am I doing? How do I navigate this? And there's a lot of fundamentals in terms of just navigating the lifestyle where if you can get that down, you can then apply it to really any country you go to. Yeah, that's amazing. Awesome. So yeah, I'll link to all of these to the new program. And as everything comes out, I'll link below so that everyone can find you. And what I'm really gathering here is you know, there are a lot of people that are struggling facing that burnout, there's just not that balance there. And from what you're saying, you know, in terms of working with you It really just like I get the sense of just like clarity and ease and balance where it's like okay, I can thrive in work, but I can thrive in life as well. And you're really helping bridge that gap from this state of just like tiredness burnout to really thriving and really making the most of this lifestyle, which is really what it's all about is how can we live your best life amazing Awesome, thank you so much for joining us today. I'll leave all of your links all the links below so that people can reach out and contact you. And thanks again for sharing all your insights on how we can create more work life balance and like you just said, live your best life. Now.
Ali Pruitt 50:15
Thanks for having me.
Kate Smith 50:18
Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of The Remote Nomad podcast. Be sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple podcasts, and other streaming services so you don't miss an episode. Share this episode with a friend so they too can learn how to create more freedom and show your support by leaving us a review so we can reach even more people who are passionate about the remote work movement. In the meantime, you can find me over on Instagram @theremotenomad where I share more tips and insights to land a remote job. That's it for today. I'm your host and Remote Career Coach Kate Smith. Thanks for listening.
