interesthings #7 - Learnings from a workation

In this interesthings: Learnings from a workation, photography on the bike and more.

February 20, 2023

Hi there! Welcome to another edition of interesthings. Today I’m flying back to the Netherlands after 2 weeks of ‘workation’ in Gran Canaria. In this edition of interesthings I’ll share some of my learnings in these last 2 weeks.

As you might know I have a nasty injury on my knee. The MRI came out good, but the recovery is far from optimal. After going out to the famous carnaval of Las Palmas my knee was the worse it has ever been. The night was fun though.

Tomorrow I’ll start with sportphysio and a cycling trainer. Bringing out the big guns.

It’s funny how cycling can become something so far away because I have not (properly) ridden a bike in 3 months. It feels like I will never be back on the bike again, and that feeling is false. I will come back stronger than evere.

This week I’ll share some of my photography gear and a few creators that inspire me to shoot!

Happy reading!

- Mark

Thoughts - Learnings from workation

The last 2 weeks I’ve been in Gran Canaria with colleagues. This ‘workation’ was organised and partly paid for by my employer. Looking back on these 2 weeks I want to share with you some of my learnings while working abroad.

First of all, let’s start with the location. Gran Canaria is arguably one of the most beautiful places I have been to. Located off the coast of Morocco it has a really nice climate throughout the year.

The island is split up, the south side of the island has dry patches of land and the north part has lush tropical nature. We stayed in the mountains on the north side, which was surprisingly cold and wet for most of the days. Some days the temperature never exceeded 13 degrees Celsius.

We went for 2 weeks with a total of 14 colleagues. Some of them went for a shorter periode but most of them stayed the whole 2 weeks. The house was big enough for people to have their own space, but lacked enough working space. The location of the house, 20 minutes away from the big city of Las Palmas made working somewhere else difficult.

For me this meant that I worked and lived in the same place during the day. From experience, that’s not beneficial for my productivity.

These are my learnings from the last 2 weeks:

  • Make sure that your living and working space is not the same. This helps you shut off your work when you are done.

  • Good wireless connection is key, make sure that your accomodation or working space has the required connection for virtual meeting.

  • Our house was in the village of Teror, which is in the mountains and a lot colder and cloudier than the warm coast.

  • Give everyone the space they need, people time to recharge in social activities.

  • You don’t have to do all activities with the whole group.

  • Make a clear plan for yourself in these weeks and avoid having lots of meetings.

  • Don’t rent 2 cars on the same name.

  • People are different from their work selves. Realise this when spending 2 weeks with multiple people you work with.

  • Take days off while you’re somewhere else, I haven’t done this and the last 2 weeks felt like a continuation of work.

In conclusion, I would recommend a ‘workation’ with colleagues. Would I do it again? Maybe if I could bring the bike, but no more than a single week with such a big group.

Cycling - Photography

As you might' have seen on my Instagram, I bring my camera with me on a lot of rides. Shooting pictures gives me the opportunity to show others the beauty of cycling and nature. Sometimes I ride with Rik de Voogd and Ruben Hoogland, both avid photographers on the bike. They have inspired me so much last year to document the world around me.

Here are some pictures that I’ve shot on the bike:

Photography gives me the room to get creative and experience the world from many different perspectives. I will share with you my current gear and some creators that inspire me.

My gear

Digital camera: Samsung NX2 (discontinued because Samsung doesn’t make camera’s anymore). I am going to buy a Sony A7 in the summer.Analog camera: Konica Tomato AutodateCamera strap: Rille cycling strapEditing program: Adobe Lightroom

Konica Tomato and Konica Pop 10 Review - Casual Photophile

Inspiring cycling photographers

Here are some cycling photographers that inspire me. I added their instagram handle, go give them a follow!

If you have a camera, grab it and go make some awesome pictures on the bike!

Things I found.

  • Elon Musk put pressure on Twitter employees because he thought that his tweets were not seen enough. Now everyone sees his tweets on their For You page.

  • NYE in New York is arguably the most famous in the world. I found out that all of the confetti at midnight is thrown by people for the last 30 years. See the video below how this came to be. Such a feel good video.

  • Do you remember the Nintendo Wii message saying you should take some rest? We need this on social media.

Songs - Easy to Love by Armin van Buuren, Matoma and Teddy Swims

Give me a dance track, add spectacular vocals and I will love it. This song from Armin van Buuren is no exception. The ideal song for a drive or working at home. It makes me melancholic about cycling, I want to get back on the bike.

Find Easy to Love on Apple Music and Spotify.

Thank you for reading through this weeks Interesthings. If you have some feedback or questions, feel free to comment on this newsletter. Not subscribed? Press the big blue button up here 🔝!

See you next week!

- Mark