A Working Vacation to Central America

On this trip I set out to accomplish one thing: to prove, or disprove, whether or not I could be productive in such beautiful (and warm) lands such as Costa Rica and Panama. Last year, I went to Costa Rica with a similar intent, but failed by a large degree: I arrived, and immediately was drawn to the beauty and spent more time surfing and being outdoors, than on my computer working:)

Why do I want to prove this? Well, I don’t prefer the cold (to say it kindly)… but a large majority of people don’t, either. I think, in a deeper sense, I’ve come to realize: I love being in nature. Humans were born in nature, not concrete jungles, and I think my evolutionary bells are singing: “Neil, be in your natural habitat!” And, unfortunately, Nebraska’s extreme hots, and frigid colds, disallow this on many days

And being 18 days into the trip I can say: it looks optimistic!

I mindfully worked while in Panama a normal work week and can report the following:

1. QUANTITATIVE: I accomplished either the same amount of work that I would have accomplished back home, and perhaps slightly even more

2. QUALITATIVE: Maybe more importantly: I felt better, and more productive because I was working in “my” environment

The experiment still persists until February 6th, where I’ll retro once again, but I’m quite satisfied with the current results. The biggest caveat for me to explore in my journaling: does seeking these external sources for happiness lead me into a hedonic lifestyle?

Whew… plenty to process there for another day, but for now, off I go for a mid-day surf before logging back on later!