Fly in Fly Out Lifestyle Tips

The Fly-In Fly-Out lifestyle can be both exciting and challenging. You spend weeks at a time away from home, but on the positive side, you get to spend a solid amount of time at home with your family.

In this post, we will discuss some great FIFO Lifestyle Tips that will help improve your quality of life both away from home and while you’re at home.

What is a FIFO Lifestyle?

Fly-in Fly Out (FIFO) lifestyle involves workers who fly into a remote location temporarily where they work on site for a set duration of time before flying out to return home. Sometimes these workers can be out on site anywhere from one week to a few months, depending on their contract but this is usually balanced out by a generous time off between hitches.  

This type of rotation work system is commonly employed in the mining or remote construction industry where the employers work in various positions in remote locations.

While it has many advantages, the FIFO lifestyle is not necessarily for everyone. Some people are very excited to undertake FIFO work and thrive on the lifestyle, while others are not as keen on the long hours, time away from home and remote nature of the role. The upside of this lifestyle is that you get paid-well while the downside is that the overall wellbeing of the individual can become compromised. You must ensure that you are looking after yourself both physically and mentally.

If you are currently a remote worker, or are planning on becoming one, we have come up with some of the FIFO lifestyle tips that will not only improve your lifestyle but will also give you mental satisfaction from your job.

7 Fly-in Fly-Out Tips

Let's discuss seven fly-in fly-out lifestyle tips

1.     Pay Attention to Your Eating Habits

Food is not just essential to sustain life but it is incredibly important in contributing to your daily enjoyment. How often do you feel excited on your way to dinner or when you see the waiter bringing over your food? Your daily meals can be the highlight of your day, especially if you work long hours. That being said, when you’re working in FIFO, you must pay significant importance to the quality of your diet. You have to ensure your body is functioning at optimum level to maintain your ability to perform your role effectively. It’s best to avoid over-indulging in unhealthy food temptations and ensure you are focusing more on eating fresh fruit & vegetables.

2.     Exercise Regularly

No matter how tired you are after a long busy day, you’ll feel a benefit from maintaining your regular daily exercise routine. Not only will it help you in keeping fit but it will assist with maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern. Regular exercise keeps you physically fit and mentally active so it’s great to develop a habit of going to the gym daily.

Even when you are back home for your days off, it’s best to maintain your regular exercise routine as much as possible to ensure you feel the full benefits that come from a healthy, well-exercised body. It also means you won’t find it so difficult to get back into an exercise routine when you return to site!

3.     Work on Your Personal Development

While the FIFO Lifestyle may be challenging to sustain at times, you do have an opportunity to get the most out of your downtime – be it at home or on hitch. While on site, your free time is completely your own. This provides you with the opportunity to work on your own personal development – whatever that looks like for you. You might want to read a book, write a book, work on a new skill, exercise to achieve a fitness goal or just enjoy the time you have to yourself.

On the flip side, during your time off, you have days, even weeks, on end where you can work on something that means a lot to you. A home project, a course you wish to undertake or just spending more uninterrupted time with your family…whatever you want to do for self-development, you have more time to do it.

4.     Prepare for Long Hours

It’s not uncommon for FIFO workers to work shifts of 10-12 hour days for weeks on end. Sometimes these shifts are at different times, too. Some hitches may comprise entirely of night shifts and the next swing they could be day shifts. In the days leading up to your hitch, it’s best to prepare yourself as best you can, both mentally and physically.

During your downtime, it’s a good idea to focus on refreshing your body and preparing it for the days ahead. While it can be an adjustment to swap between night shift and day shift, the best thing you can do is gradually ease yourself into the sleeping pattern. Ensure you limit your intake of stimulants such as caffeine and stimuli such as TV and mobile phones before bed to help ease yourself into the new routine and give your body the best chance of recharging itself in preparation for the long hours ahead.

5.     Focus on Your Health

We’ve touched on the importance of a good diet and exercise routine, but your overall health is more than just those two things. It also includes your mental health. These three things are not mutually exclusive, they work together to build a healthy mind and body.

Being away from home for weeks on end can be both physically and mentally draining. Some of the best activities you can do aside from exercise include meditation, yoga, reading, undertaking your favourite hobby or simply listening to your favourite music.

6.     Setting Financial Goals for the future

Economic stability is essential for everyone. Being financially stable is beneficial not only for your bank account but for your mental state. You will feel more prepared to handle any situation that comes your way and more secure in any life decisions you make. Life as a FIFO worker can be financially rewarding but it’s also easy to slip into some bad habits. It’s prudent to maintain a good balance between your spending and your saving. Life is too short not to enjoy it now, but you should also keep in mind that you may need your savings to fulfill your future goals. If you are financially anxious, this can make working away from home less enjoyable as you may not feel you are getting any benefits from working away from home and may put more stress on yourself and your family.

7.     Stay Connected With Your Loved Ones

These days it is easy to stay connected to your family and friends even when they are thousands of kilometers away. Through the brilliance of modern technology, we can talk to and physically see people from all over the world, giving us much needed connection at times when we cannot physically be present.

One of the hardest parts of the FIFO lifestyle can be the distance from your family and friends. At times, this can mean being apart from loved ones for big events and holidays. It is essential that you connect with your loved ones as often as possible to continue to feel that bond while you are away. Not only will this help you feel closer to your family, it will also help to motivate you to get through your hitch and return home to them.

To successfully navigate a career in the FIFO field, you would do well to ensure that you maintain a good work/life balance at all times. Be sure to take care of your physical and mental wellbeing and always have something you enjoy available for your downtime. There are many benefits to a FIFO role, you just have to find the best ways to make the lifestyle work for