14 things you’ll need to work and travel – easy but essential!
I recently had an email from a friend who is planning to live in South America. Her plan is to work virtually and travel at the same time. This is what she said in her email … (personal details removed 😉
“I really need to do something where I can work online, one thing that scares me the most, is the technical set-up I’ll need. I know you guys are the go-to people for that. Can you help me? Jessica
John working on the beach
Working virtually is one way you can enjoy the travel and work lifestyle. Sometimes referred to the “laptop lifestyle”. We recently headed off on another overseas adventure! We wanted to stay in touch with our team and clients so needed to make sure we had everything we needed to keep things running smoothly while we were away (sometimes in places with no internet access).
You could just pack-up the laptop and call it ready, but we do remember our first overseas trip and how unprepared we were. Taking the laptop was not enough and we wasted so much time finding solutions and keeping our projects and communications seamless. So save yourself the time and effort and learn from our experience traveling and working at the same time.
If you’re planning to work online and travel, here is an easy to use checklist to help you get into your work and travel lifestyle without the mistakes we made when we first started out.
#1 __Check the availability and quality of internet access in the countries you’re planning to visit. Pay particular attention to your accommodation and be sure you’ll have access to the internet from your room if necessary.
#2__Laptop + charger (and mobile devices) – long battery life is an added advantage
#3__High quality Earphones/microphone – you especially need these when you’re conferencing with clients or colleagues, or just need to drown out the bustling noise that some cities generate.
#4__International electrical adapter
#5__Email set-up – needs to be “seamless” so that your email files/systems are not affected. Set up like you’re logging in from your usual working office.
#6__ Access to your email history and address book
#7__ Back-up device to access internet where WIFI is not available
#8__ Memory stick or Portable Harddrive
#9__ Access to central online document management sytem. All your documents (including documents used your virtual team) should be stored centrally, not on a local harddrive.
#10__ Online system for managing contacts
#11__ Access to online communication/conferences platforms This will allow you to meet with colleagues, clients and your team as if they are right in your office
#12__ Proxy access to internet so you can access social media platforms in any country (eg. In Vietnam access to Facebook is limited due to government regulations)
#13__ Online calendar that syncs with your mobile devices
#14__ Timezone checker – you’ll need this to know when to set up meetings, when to have have projects completed etc.
Is there anything in the list of 14 you’d like to know more about? If there is enough interest in the topic we’d be happy to expand in any of the areas mentioned. Just post a comment below or contact us direct. We were thinking about running a training session to share specific resources available. If you do want to know more, then speak up so we know 🙂
Enjoy!