We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lauren Lanoue. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lauren below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

From a very young age, my parents instilled a love of travel and adventure among my siblings and me. My dad is a commercial airline pilot, so our whole family could fly for free. We would often take quick, 3 or 4-day trips to Europe, because if the flights are free, why not? We’ve explored the ruins in Rome, hiked a glacier in Iceland, cliff-jumped in Croatia, and cruised the canals in Amsterdam. Even though we didn’t have the time for long, extended vacations due to school + my dad’s job, my parents taught us how to maximize our time by prioritizing taking quick trips together. I quickly learned how time spent traveling and exploring with loved ones is invaluable.

Now that I’m older and living on my own, I no longer fly for free (those were the good ol’ days!) But it was those life experiences my parents shared with us that have now inspired me to make the most of my PTO (paid time off) days from my 9-5 job and explore the world around me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I founded my travel blog, Ready, Set PTO, back in 2018 with the goal to inspire others to make the most of their vacation days, get outside, and explore! I had recently moved across the country to Los Angeles and was working a 9-5 job where I had to be in the office every day. I was stoked to be living in California with so many awesome nature destinations just a quick road trip or flight away. I quickly learned how to maximize my PTO/vacation days at my job to be able to take lots of epic trips throughout the year, and wanted to share these tips and travel guides with others to help them do the same.

I love the process of planning trips, which I know is not everyone’s favorite thing to do! I spend hours researching the best activities, restaurants, hikes, transportation, etc, and build out the perfect itinerary. The first blog post I wrote was about the best things to do on a Utah/Arizona road trip. I had just gotten back from this trip, and I had several friends and acquaintances reach out and ask if I could email them my itinerary so they could do my exact same trip. After drafting an email and forwarding it around, I thought to myself “why don’t I publish this on a blog so that everyone can use my itinerary?” For many people, the overwhelming task of planning a trip inhibits them from traveling in the first place. If I’m doing the research for my own trip anyways, I might as well share it with everyone else to help trip planning to be more accessible. And from that, Ready, Set PTO was created!

At the time, I felt like I was seeing a lot of influencers and bloggers that were digital nomads, spending a month here and two months there. That lifestyle isn’t attainable for everyone, and a significant portion of adults need a 9-5 job to make ends meet. Even though a month traveling through Asia may not be possible with that lifestyle, you can still make a “quick” 10-day trip to Japan happen, for instance, if you utilize your vacation days efficiently! All of my travel itineraries and guides are for trips that are under 2-weeks long, to speak to this audience.

My blog/website quickly grew to include a social media presence as well, across Instagram and Tik Tok. My goal with each social media post is give other people ideas on travel destinations both near and far. Sometimes, the coolest adventures are in your own backyard, just a quick road trip away! Other times, hopping on a flight to explore somewhere exotic is the perfect getaway. Either way, it’s possible to explore the world and have new adventures while still maintaining a 9-5 job!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s always the best feeling to receive positive feedback about how one of my travel guides has specifically helped someone plan their trip or just inspired someone to get outside and explore. Whether that be from a comment on a Tik Tok video, or a friend reaching out that they had googled “best things to do in xyz” and my blog post came up as their first search result, it’s rewarding to know that I’m making a small impact on the travel community.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’m in an interesting position, straddling the line as both a non-creative (with a 9-5 job) and a creative, (with Ready, Set PTO being my side hustle/passion project).

Many people ask me if my ultimate goal is to quit my 9-5 and be a full-time content creator with Ready, Set PTO. My answer to that is no. While my remote 9-5 job is not necessarily fulfilling, it offers me the stability that I need to afford my lifestyle. I then get to use my free time to express my creative side as a content creator.

I feel like if Ready, Set PTO was my full-time job, it might take away some of the joy that travel and adventure currently bring me. In order to avoid traveling for the wrong reasons, and to stay authentic to my audience, the best fit for me is to do both. This way, I’m in the same boat as the rest of my audience, looking to maximize PTO days while still exploring the world!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.readysetpto.com/
• Instagram: @readysetpto
• Other: Tik Tok: @readysetpto