5 ways to work more productively if you’re on the road this summer
That is not to say I opened my eyes the next day and woke up to a miraculously changed mindset and life. The truth is, it took a lot of work and preparation. But what I ended up realizing something I think many people are realizing now on the tail of this pandemic year. To truly live the life I wanted to live, I had to hit the road. I had to see the world and experience all the things my brother was never able to.
Living on the road taught me so many things about myself. Namely, how to finally let go of the perfectionism that haunted my thoughts and decision-making my entire life. But more than that, traveling also taught me to let go of the rigid mindset I had unknowingly created around my work. It took time, but slowly and surely I redesigned what “work” looks like and feels like.
If you’re actually considering working from the road this summer, I want you to know that no matter what your boss or manager may say, it can be done. Better than that, you may just find this digital nomadic lifestyle will increase your productivity and better your time management.
I was able to continue scaling my small business while living in a 36-foot RV for a full year, and I still take these extended trips with my family to this day, just without the RV full time. If I can do that with a toddler in tow, then I think you can spend a summer working on the road. The key is to have these five cardinal rules figured out before you get rolling.
Always plan ahead when it comes to essential amenities
If you are looking to travel and work, then this is a must. I cannot begin to tell you how many times my husband and I pulled up to our next location or camp just to realize I did not have a strong enough wifi connection to get my work done. This can be a huge drag and really wear on you and your travel mates if you do not do the proper planning ahead of time.
If you are sticking with Airbnb/rentals, make sure you create a list ahead of time of all the appliances/things you will need. That way when searching for your rental, you have the full list of all the amenities you need for your stay. The essential things for nomading I look for are:
If you want to meet other digital nomads while traveling, be sure to check out local coffee shops, coworking spaces or other public spots with free wifi. You’re sure to bump into other people working. This isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. I’ve built so many connections while traveling the world.
If you’re going the RV route, I recommend using apps like FreeRoam and Campendium, which will map out cell service locations. This was a lifesaver when we spent the year in our RV and I was having regular calls with clients.
Make packing/unpacking easier on yourself
Depending on the trip you are planning, packing light could be essential. My family and I have done entire two-week trips with a single backpack for the three of us. Osprey backpacks are our personal favorite, as well as packing compression cubes, which are imperative. Tripped Travel Gear makes our go-to compression cubes, which allow us to fit more inside of our packs, including toys for our son.
Something you probably hadn’t considered before reading this article is the cleaning/prep work to do ahead of time before returning home from a trip. This may sound meticulous, but before leaving on a trip, my husband and I will clean our entire home the day prior to departure. Believe me when I say this, when you return home from your extended trip you are going to be tired and most likely getting back into the swing of things rather quickly. You’re going to want to come home to a clean space where you can easily unpack and unwind for a few days before returning to normal.
The same goes for laundry. When we’re packing to return home from a trip we separate our clean clothes from our dirty. If the Airbnb we’re staying at has a washer and dryer I will do laundry before we leave and just pack everything clean so it goes straight into drawers when we get home. However, a washer and dryer aren’t always available, so if that is the case we separate our laundry before we leave. Then when we get home—no matter the time of day—we dump all the dirty clothes in the wash and get that party started.
Be transparent about your daily “online time”
One of my favorite things to do as a digital nomad is work in the morning on my business and then leave the afternoon and evening to explore. This schedule may not be possible for some of you reading this. You may have a work schedule where you need to be online in the afternoon, but your mornings are freer. Whatever the case, pick the hours of the day you plan to work and keep strong boundaries with yourself to keep that work time sacred.
My typical morning entails waking up, eating breakfast, exercising, and then sitting down to do three to four hours of deep work. I like using the morning hours because I know it is quiet and that my son will use the time to play or do his own schoolwork. During this time I’ll respond to emails, check in with clients, write blogs, schedule content, check in with my team, etc. Then, before wrapping my day (depending on my work for the day that can be early or late afternoon) I let everyone know I’ll be back online the next morning to reconnect again.
If you are going to engage in a nomadic lifestyle this summer, you need constant transparency with your team so they know when and how they can reach you. And if you’re thinking, “Oh, they’ll get the drill in a few days,” I am here to tell you that no, they will not. You need to clearly set your boundaries in advance.
Bulk your tasks
Another tip I have to leave room in your days for fun in the sun is to bulk your days as much as possible. You have likely heard this advice before, but when you are living and working on the go, bulking becomes crucial. Bulking your days essentially means selecting similar tasks and assigning them to a specific day of your week. For example, I will usually do all of my writing on Mondays, record all videos and social content another day, handle all client calls another day…you get the idea. Bulking tasks for my days helps me to focus and get more done in a limited amount of time.
I find the bulking tip to be particularly useful when it comes to scheduling meetings and calls. While I realize it is not always possible to schedule all of your calls on one day, doing so will make your exploring time so much easier. Scheduling a sprinkling of calls on your Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, is just going to eat into your time to explore. I recommend and like using Acuity, which allows me to set my availability myself, so that clients, colleagues, contacts of mine do not book a time to speak with me during my free time.
Set boundaries with your travel mates and don’t be afraid to start slow
I leave this tip for last because it can be the hardest by far. Especially if you are just embarking on this new nomadic lifestyle, you can start to feel like a kid at Disney World. It is easy to get to a place and forget all about work, wanting to wake up every day and get out there to explore.
That means I have to set very strong boundaries with my travel mates (my husband and son) as hard as it may be. My suggestion is to have a shared calendar and start setting those guardrails with your travel mates now. My husband knows when all of my calls are, as well as my designated working hours. He knows these are the pockets of time where I need to be laser-focused on my business objectives, and that means no interruptions.
It wasn’t always this way. When we first started traveling for extended periods of time for work and play, we acted as if every day was a vacation. Needless to say, that didn’t work out so well for my productivity or business.
And finally, don’t be afraid to start small. If you have caught the travel bug, chances are you are mapping out quite a rigorous schedule for yourself. But please remember, you do not have to jump into nomadic life with two feet. Dip your toes in first. Perhaps you take an extended vacation or work trip that is equal parts work and play.
Sometimes at the beginning, people can struggle with the adjustment to nomadic life. I want you to know that is completely normal and something I went through myself. My biggest piece of advice is to travel slowly. Stick to setting aside specific days/hours for work and other days/hours for exploring the local area. Remember, the general idea of this lifestyle change is to let go of the stress, scrambling, and hustling, right?
In just one year, my husband, son, and I lived in 33 different states and visited 14 national parks. I am happy to say that even though we recently ditched the RV full-time, we still continue living our nomadic lifestyle. We are off to Hawaii for most of the month of June, followed by three months in Greece in the fall.
The world is slowly but surely opening up again, and I think you owe it to yourself to see it with a fresh pair of eyes this time around. Better yet, allow that fresh stance to transfer over to the way you view your work and workday as well. I encourage you to stop living a life based on “shoulds” and focus on what you truly want. There is nothing more freeing than that.
Michelle Knight is the founder of the marketing and branding consultancy Brandmerry.
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