If you’re like me, at some point you’ve always had the desire to work from anyplace in the world or at least have the chance to do it through an own enterprise. It’s true that not every person starts their own business in order to be in a position to travel however it surely occurs to them at some time.
I’d like to make that, based on the numerous conversations I’ve had with my fellow entrepreneurs and workaholics and workaholics, that this kind of flexibility and freedom isn’t something that many of us are able to achieve.
So, I’m here to document my steps to achieve this. I’m writing this as I travel backwards on a train that is departing from Budapest, Hungary enroute to Graz in Austria. The sun is dipping beneath clouds, providing me with a welcome break from the scorching heat I’ve experienced since arriving in Europe.
The female travel luggage in the Budapest market
It’s a reality. I’m writing this backwards on a train departing from Budapest, Hungary enroute to Graz in Austria. The sun has begun to dip into the clouds, providing me with a welcome break from the constant heat I’ve experienced since arriving in Europe.
There’s no air-conditioning. It’s warm air that circulates around the windows and often, the scent of oil is a haze. If you’d entered my car five minutes earlier, I would be in a state of sleep, listening to the amazing group Keane.
The battery in my laptop will not last longer than an hour, and my iPod is even slower. This, my dears is my first attempt to work while traveling. It’s not exactly a great idea, I’m not sure about that but I’m just getting started and am I’m looking forward to the journey.
So far, it’s been much more difficult than I anticipated due to various reasons. I chose to focus solely on participating for the World Club Ultimate Frisbee Championships in Prague the week before. The timetable for our matches, the early beginnings, warm-ups, as well as the journey between and to the fields in different places meant that each night I was able to have less time and less time to log in on my online account, and less interest.
After a stressful week in which the team beat their seed, however we fell short of the team’s goal after dropping two games of universe points I just wanted an escape. A time to unwind and the opportunity to be a tourist as I arrived in Budapest along with a few of my teammates. I was off for four days straight which was it was nothing short of an amazing experience and it was a great feeling.
Another reason is the lack of reliable internet that I was fully expecting while traveling, but wasn’t aware that it would cause such disruption. The idea of doing this from hot and crowded hotel rooms is not optimal for productivity in any task.
My Location Independent Remedy
I’ve taken some important steps over the last couple of days to ensure that the rest of my process of running my company from the distance will go more efficiently.
1. Always be flexible
The adapter I own I won’t lose nor lend out (I have learned from this last week). This means that I am able to charge anywhere I go, and never be uncharged. Don’t overestimate the power of having the right tools to do the task at hand.
Second Step Switch Offline
I finally turned on Gmail offline. I’ve never had a requirement to write, read and reply to emails when not connected , and then forward it once I’m connected up until this point. Email clients such as Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird are fantastic for this, but I’m awestruck by the fact the fact that Gmail provides it as well. I’m sure I’ll appreciate this fantastic tool, just like many users do. Imagine what I could do without the need for a internet connection!
Step 3: Be courteous
If you’re certain that you’re not going to be online, you can set up an autoresponder which states that. I’ve set mine up since day one, with the subject line ‘Natalie is traveling and working across Europe with a short message stating that due to this I might not respond to emails as fast as usual. It’s been so far great and people have responded to their own questions or said they’d like to meet me once I return.
step 4: Make a calendar
Naturally, one of the simplest ways I can help is make a better plan for my travel plans and be more committed. Since I’m going to spend the week with my the same group of friends from Graz to stay for the next week,, I am certain that I’ll be in one place , so I will be able to get regular routines in place.
I plan to rise early in the morning before sunrise to do some serious work and then take advantage of the early morning and late afternoon to go exploring. When I’m happy, I’ll be able to take advantage of the cooler evenings to complete more work done prior to dinner. I’ll also take advantage of time spent traveling on trains and planes to the maximum.
Phase 5: Continue on communicating
I am a huge fan of Skype (when it does not fail to crash) and all you need to do to use it is the headset and software. I’m hoping to arrange periodic meeting with my assistant and some interviews once I can get reliable internet. There’s no reason to stop the communications in any whatsoever today, and the best part is that it’s completely free!
6. Keep your eyes on the ball.
It’s quite easy to be lost when you’re traveling to stunning cities like Prague or Budapest and your friends suggest visiting the castle during the time you’ve planned to write your ebook sales strategy, app development.
It’s an organization you’re running and you must determine your priorities and make a wise choice by determining whether you’ll get more pleasure in touring the magnificent site and experiencing the moment-to-moment of the place you’re in or if completing the crucial work that has to be done will be more pleasurable.
7. Learn from the top
If you’re already a subscriber to my newsletter, then you’ll know that I’m delighted to share two exclusive interviews featuring successful women entrepreneurs who have made it their mission to travel and live wherever they’d like, while earning money. I believe that emulating the successful women who do what you’d like to do and doing it efficiently is the most effective method of learning.
