Answering a few emails or phone calls for your work during your yearly week-long vacation is quite a bit different than traveling full or even part-time and working from wherever you are.
While the chance to travel full-time, or at least for more than a week or two a year, while also balancing a career is tempting, it isn’t without its challenges. Keep reading to learn what you need to know to balance travel with working on the go.
Find a Career That Actually Supports Travel
The first step toward balancing work and travel is choosing a career that actually allows you to pick up and go when you choose.
You can’t be meeting with clients or vendors on a regular basis. It may not always be possible to be in the office at a certain time each day, especially when you’re traveling through different time zones.
You may not have access to printers, fax machines, copiers, or other traditional office supplies, beyond your laptop and smartphone. Instead, you need a simplified career based on the internet, and without strict time or location requirements.
Create Your Own Mobile Office
While you will need to choose a business that doesn’t require a traditional office and all of its equipment, it’s still a good idea to set yourself up with a mobile office.
The core of your office will be a laptop that’s new enough and fast enough to not get in the way of your business. It’s a good idea to set aside a laptop that’s only for work, not personal use. This will help you avoid using up your storage space for personal photos or other files.
Besides your laptop, you’ll also likely need a smartphone.
If you’re traveling internationally, you’ll need a phone plan that you can use from anywhere.
Other mobile office essentials include headphones for tuning out the noise of airports or coffee shops, a planner for keeping track of your travel plans and work obligations, and notepads for jotting down ideas or notes on the go when you can’t get to your laptop.
Learn to Balance Travel Time with Work Time
Perhaps the most important thing you’ll need to learn while attempting to travel and work simultaneously is how to balance your time.
When you first start traveling, you’ll likely be tempted to spend far more time exploring than working. But if you want to sustain your new traveler lifestyle, work needs to be a priority as well. That’s why it’s a good idea to schedule your time, allotting time each day for work and for exploring.
How you choose to do this is up to you. If you’re moving from one place to another quickly, it may make more sense to schedule a few days a week for work, while leaving other full days for just travel.
Others will find it easier to strike a balance with daily time slots devoted to work and play. Don’t forget that you may also need to schedule your work time based on when you will have access to reliable internet while on the go.
Mastering Working and Traveling at the Same Time
Unless you’re one of the very few who work full-time for a company remotely while traveling, you’ll need to be self-employed to enjoy this luxury.
Joining the more than 16 million self-employed workers in the U.S. today is a chance for freedom, and for the adventurous, a chance to travel more.
By finding a career that actually allows for plentiful travel, creating a mobile office, and learning to balance your time, you can travel to your heart’s content without sacrificing your commitment to your business and future success.