A trip with family, friends, or your spouse should be a moment of enjoyment and fun. But, as we are all painfully aware, our lives back home are never truly put on hold while we are on vacation. It may just so happen that you must work while trying to enjoy your leisure time. So…what to do then?
Just days before my first trip with my current wife, disaster hit me: I needed to review my peer’s accounting sheets. In total panic, I wasn’t sure anymore if I should cancel the trip, or put my career on hold. Luckily, I quickly learned a couple tips that now fully allow me to work every time I am on vacation. And believe me, this can be done without those traveling with you seeing it as an inconvenience or a nuisance! Although I could write a monstrous article focusing on every single tip, I rather decided to write this short article featuring my number one tips to work on your business while traveling.
While there might be pressure to work on your business while traveling, it’s actually not that difficult. Although every business is different, and each company requires different time investments, with these tips you can better organize yourself and your time in order to guarantee a fun-filled vacation with your loved ones!
Now, onto the tips! Without any further delay, here are my top tips:
Mornings are your best friend
Make sure you enjoy those periods of time where usually people decide to rest. It does not necessarily need to be mornings, but rather any time that seems convenient, such as after lunch, or before bedtime. In order to keep noise to a minimum, be aware that most hotels have a “business center” at your disposal, making it more comfortable for you and your travel companions to deal with this new unusual schedule.
Long flights are not a waste of time
As previously mentioned, downtime can be your best friend. So why not take advantage of a long flight to get some work out of the way? While most people may decide to nap or watch a movie, you can spend a couple hours working now, which will later translate into a couple hours available to spend with your loved ones at your destination.
When I went to a business seminar in Rotterdam, my flight got delayed. Instead of watching some movies, I went to a cafe with internet wifi and worked on my business. The key for both this and the previous tip is to take the maximum advantage of any free time at your disposal.
Organize everything before departing
Make sure you organize all the required paperwork before departing. If what you need to work on is in paper format, make sure to bring with you a special folder where you can keep all the required paperwork you need to go through. On the other hand, if what you need to work on is in digital format, creating a “Vacation folder” can also work wonders. The key here is to ensure that, even without a steady internet connection, you can still manage to access all your files whenever you may need them.
Create a daily checklist
A great way to keep track of your work and make sure you are meeting all the needed deadlines is to create a checklist for each day. Specify what task you need to complete by the end of the day, and work as hard as possible to meet them. Don’t get distracted by social media. Focus on creating manageable goals taking into consideration you are on vacation, and not working full-time. If writing down specific tasks does not seem to align perfectly with your job, try to instead focus on a specific timeframe during which you can dedicate yourself solely to work.
Hope these tips were helpful and will help you to work while traveling more efficiently in the future!
