Expanding Perspectives
Location hopping and growth
Changing Timezones
As I step onto another plane this week it’s got me thinking about the shift I am walking into. After what feels to me - a long quiet season of holidays and a move into a new year of life, I’m excited for a different timezone, a new lens, a fresh perspective. I can feel the momentum building of what 2026 will bring, and my own travel schedule this year has me considering all of the people who work in different timezones, and the impact new places has on work and the brain.
From someone who has been wellness-maxxing for years, it’s become second nature to observe myself in different environments that I didn’t notice before. Spending time in different countries for longer periods of time each year, creates an opportunity for an expanded identity. The question of - who am I in these new places, compared to who I am at home, continues to pop up for me. It’s an opportunity to reinvent or create a new part of myself in the way I want too.
The Research
I continue to catch snippets of articles or research around observation, perspective and neuroplasticity (what has my algorithm become).
The findings: Working in the same environment reinforces the same identity. Changing environments creates space to evolve it. This is called contextual reframing. You’re doing the same work, but you’re seeing it through a different lens.
Our environments shape how we think. When we work in the same place every day, the brain relies on familiar cues. Over time, those cues reinforce the same patterns of thought. Familiarity can support efficiency, but over time it can narrow perspective. Changing environments disrupts those patterns and introduces novelty, which increases cognitive flexibility and encourages new connections. This is why work tends to feel different in a new cafe, city, or workspace. Perspective widens.
The work itself doesn’t change, but the lens does. You bring the same skills and standards into a new setting, and that shift often reveals ideas or a POV that was harder to access before. When familiar signals fall away, the brain shifts into exploration mode.
In new places you can see your work differently. You see yourself differently. It changes your flow, you adapt and you become someone who looks at situations from multiple angles instead of your default. As someone who likes to observe my own mind, watching this play out is fun for me.
My Environment Switch
When I’m in Europe, the time change reshapes my days. My pacing changes, even though my work does not.
In California, mornings are structured and fast. Early workouts, supplements, coffee, inbox, calls, writing, learning, studying, side projects, life admin. As an American it’s subtly engrained in me to wake up every single day and be productive. It’s funny to see the differences, it’s actually a real thing I’ve experienced when switching to a new country. No one around me wakes up and hits the gym, takes supps, journals, meditates or uses software to map out their calendar. From my experience, they just live.
In Switzerland, mornings are quieter and more spacious. I wake with the sun and start the day with movement, sunlight, and simple rituals. Lemon water, vitamins, a walk. Often Pilates or the gym. I’ll stop by the store, cook or bake something, make a long lunch, and ease into the afternoon.
I usually begin work two to three hours before California wakes up, around 2pm my time. That window allows focused progress before meetings begin. When clients come online, many tasks are already handled. Meetings happen as the sun sets. Dinner goes in the oven. I wrap my day much later and it ends calmly with tea and a book. Then I do it again the next day.
The pacing is nearly the opposite of my routine in California, but the level of intention and consistency is the same. I just have to downshift. I keep the pieces of my routine that make me feel like me, but life moves slower there and I have to slow down too. Working across time zones requires planning and ownership. At the same time, the change in environment creates awareness and perspective that supports growth rather than maintenance. Both rhythms demand discipline. Both support productivity.
Working in a different location is a byproduct of other personal choices I’ve made, not a conscious decision to shake up my routine - but in doing so, I’ve found that there are benefits beyond the personal. Expanding my identity as someone who now works and lives differently than before, gives me the opportunity to swap lenses and I get to see how it impacts my thought process in my work and life.
Application
Changing environments forces a shift. You can’t operate on autopilot when everything around you looks, sounds, and feels different. That’s the point.
If you feel stuck in your routine or want to experiment with your own perspective shifts, try a new location. You don’t need to change what you do to see new results. Sometimes you need to change where you do it.
Field Notes
Shake things up.
Use environment as a tool.
Expand your perspective.