I am obsessed with calendars. At any given point in time, I have a few milestones I am tracking – without Google Calendar.
38 days. It has been 38 days since I moved to Sardegna (a 24,000+ sq km Mediterranean island) from Singapore. It was and is a significant decision in many ways.
Clients and collaborators aside, I didn’t discuss my move with most of my professional contacts. I didn’t have the time to answer questions or the energy to process the inevitable reactions. Navigating immigration policies and paperwork for three different passports (ask me about my diverse family!) took precedence.
38 days later, I want to answer those questions and track the reactions associated with my move.
- I didn’t move because I wanted a break from my career or because I wanted to spend more time with my son. Surprisingly, this has turned out to be the first assumption that I need to explain away. I do have a young son but I have worked since he was three months old. Please let’s leave the sexism behind; it is tiresome.
- I am not on holiday in Sardegna. This is related to the first point but needs spelling out. I am always glad to hear about holidays in Sardegna and am surprised to discover that many people I know have visited this island. Sardegna is stunning; come on over if you haven’t yet. I moved to live here though – which means I deal with banks, telephone companies, insurance agents, bakers, grocery stores.
- I have access to the internet here. I am surprised I get asked if I have good connectivity as frequently as I do. I am very sure Sardegna has shadow areas where connectivity is a problem and 4G access is limited. I am also sure Singapore’s infrastructure is way better. But, where I live, I have had my video conference calls without interruptions and lags.
I work from Sardegna for clients in Singapore and elsewhere in Europe. I am thankful that some people never doubted that I could – thank you for the conversations across continents and time zones.
Remote working is my reality now and my calendar is getting as busy as I would like it to be.
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*Sardegna vs Sardinia. It is an endless debate. I happen to like the Italian spelling and pronunciation since it seems truer.
