Embracing “Island Time” on Canada’s West Coast
While I moved to Vancouver Island in 2018, I never fully grasped what people would call "Island Time" until I decidedly moved my career to be more local to the island rather than nationally or internationally last year.
Island Time is a beautiful phenomenon and way of life that occurs on this island—and places like it around the world whether on an island or not—where you work to live, not live to work. Those who are privileged to embrace it prioritize life and the great beauty of the nature that Vancouver Island has to offer, work at a slower pace, and keep things simple and low key -- but despite that all, everything gets done (well, mostly.... it can't be denied that there are a lot of downfalls to it too, especially in the social sectors).
Coming from a fast-paced Ontario city and then a commodity-based industry had embedded a "go go go!" and "produce produce produce!" mentality in my career mind that often left me burned out and overwhelmed, thinking "there's gotta be more to life than this!"
When I decided to move to more local work, admittedly, it took me a while to get used to Island Time... but I'm loving every slow second of it, because I'm seeing that when people take time to prioritize life, that also shows up in the quality of their work.
This is how life was down in the land of "Pura Vida" where I lived for two years in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Every day, business owners, visitors, citizens, and expats would stop what they were doing and gather at the beach to enjoy the magnificent sunsets Tamarindo is known for. I loved that, and I'm glad to reflect some of that pura vida once again through Island Time on Vancouver Island.
I love my life and my work and career, and I'm glad I've found a way to make them complement one another perfectly, just by embracing the concept of Island Time.
Pictured here: Sunrise at Departure Bay Beach from where you can see Vancouver across the way (on a clear day), which is always a pleasant reminder of the privilege and contrasts of Island Time to large metropolitan cities.
Departure Bay Beach is located on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw people, and has a rich history stemming over 3500 years.
Anne-Marie E. Fischer, BA (Hons), M.Ed., blends her passion for the written word with her vocation to create a better world through effective communications, education, and Community Based Research (CBR).
Words for Impact is the culmination of Anne-Marie’s passions, talents, training, experience, and education. This unique company offers grant and proposal writing, research studies, research reports, impact reports, content development, brand development, communications consulting, biography/autobiography (ghost)writing, education and training materials, curriculum development, podcast script writing, journalistic articles, press releases, developmental editing, in-line editing, and fact-checking.
Words for Impact has a specific interest in serving nonprofits, not-for-profits, community organizations, Indigenous organizations, highly-regulated sectors, individuals & entrepreneurs, podcast hosts, and innovative industries.
Learn more about Words for Impact’s services here and past Impact Projects that Anne-Marie has been involved in here. Dedicated to helping you find the right words for the things that matter.
