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Managing work while nomad travelling – my + your effective tips

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It’s happening. Again. I’m travelling. :D

And once again, I’m trying to find the right balance between my travel life and my work life.

Over time, I’ve found a few things that make it much easier:

  1. Prepare work in advance.

Anything I can schedule beforehand, I do.

Posts, content, my publishing calendar, etc. In fact, this post was scheduled in advance too on editpad.org

  1. Plan the route ahead of time.

I don’t want to spend my travel days figuring out where to go, what to book, or what to do next.

And sometimes the best hack is simply… find a friend who does planning for you. 

That’s what I’m doing this time. My friend is taking care of the planning, and I finally get a mental break from organising everything because the last 7 or 8 trips were planned solely by me.

  1. Structure work around travel.

If I know I’ll be moving around during the day, I try to work in focused blocks; for example, 4 hours in the morning and another block later in the day (2 hours in the evening).

Sometimes I had to have alarm clock to fit everything into a day (because I do not wanna skip my workout as well).

  1. Prepare food in advance.

If I’m staying in one place and want to see as much as possible while still working, I prepare food in boxes beforehand. Because you don't always have time to order food in a restaurant, wait for it to be prepared, and consume it. 

Then we can simply grab it during the day instead of wasting time looking for food.

  1. Don’t underestimate good internet.

    This one is often overlooked.

    I started using Saily when travelling because you simply can’t rely on stable Wi-Fi everywhere.

    And when you suddenly need to handle something work-related, especially an urgent client call, being connected is priceless.

    Sometimes nomad life takes it even further: you might end up needing Starlink because in some countries, even having electricity can feel like a luxury. :D But I am safe for now… 

What is your priceless piece of advice for people who are working while travelling?

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I see traveling as a time for inspiration and mental recharging. When I have to work while traveling, I really struggle because I need my own space to concentrate =/

I'm super curious - where are you traveling? Is it inspiring?

   Same, Adana! I can almost never get any real work done while traveling. I mean, I’ve done it, and I still do sometimes, but it feels like trying to run on a sprained ankle. Technically possible, just nowhere near the same.

And honestly, when I’m in a new place, I want to explore, take it all in, and not have that little voice in the back of my head going, “You’ve got a call later” or “You still need to get this done.”

   While traveling, we should mute that voice and give freedom to curiosity. I’m sure coming back to work would be more effective.

 It is a fact that it is a little bit difficult to focus, but it also depends on who you are travelling. My friend is working too, so our working moral is high now :D

I traveled to Varna (Bulgaria) and then going directly to Romania (București) .)

 cool!

Have a nice trip full of emotions and productive work " )

 Thank you so much :)

These are really useful tips, Nika. First time I’ve heard of Editpad : can you actually use it to schedule content for Product Hunt as well? Also curious about Saily, how exactly are you using it when you travel?

One thing I’d add: if I know I’ll be working during a trip, I always check for a good coworking space nearby. Hotels and apartments just don’t work for me 99% of the time. The setup is usually uncomfortable, and the internet can be painfully bad. There are exceptions, but not many in my experience.

Also: get a portable second monitor. You can find plenty of good ones for $100–200. Really flexible and connect it anywhere.

 I took the idea of portable monitor =D Already browsing on Amazon!

 definitely it's a great addition!

I can recommend ASUS ZenScreen MB16AH

 aww, thanks! The best thing I take from the thread about traveling =)

 Scheduling is not included; I use it primarily for text storage :) Only text editing options are available :)

When it comes to Saily, I purchase a package for the country where I will be present. (e.g. bought just one 1GB for 7 days for €1.58). It is enough for searching for for information while we are outside. The rest (work things are done via wi-fi we have at acomodaion) :)

Thank you for addition to this discussion :)

Situational awareness,

Walk with purpose, backpack up front.

When you get to a new city learn what places are dangerous.

Ngl, I should do consulting for this, teach ppl how to avoid the rough neighborhoods lol

 Well, now, we have a neighbourhood, and they have parrots outside :D It is like an alarm clock at 5 AM :D Not very convenient :D :)

 As long as you don't wonder if it's gunshots or fireworks it's all good lmao.

Built in alarm clock is great ngl

I feel like nomad travelling is changing a lot, and there are many different situations under the same "digital nomad" umbrella.

In my case, I tried the (probably?) most "traditional" digital nomad life with my partner, travelling through Southeast Asia for 6 months (4 in Vietnam, 2 in Thailand). I must say, we really struggled to keep up with work and noticed that we were less focused and productive than while working on a stable environment, without changing place every few weeks. We tried it, it was cool, but also very stressful and demanding. I think this type of travelling isn't for everyone, and you really need to be super responsible, mature and ready to sacrifice fun and travel to prioritize work.

Now, we're more "slownomading" around Europe, leaving in the same place for at least one year, which makes it much easier to adapt to the new environment, build a solid routine that keeps us productive, and still have time to visit anything we want.

I think that there isn't one good piece of advice for every situation, but it changes a lot depending on how long you plan to travel!

 In my opinion, the farther the country is, the more you want to explore (and exploration means you need to work less to see everything). I would rather go somewhere for more time and have time for both (work and visiting places)... I usually act like I have been living in a country for a long time, so it becomes less "tempting" to explore :D

 That's true, the further you go, the more you want to explore, probably because you don't know when you'll be able to go again. Acting like you've been living there for a long time seems like a useful tip, never tried it actually, exploring is always so tempting ahah

@busmark_w_nika The thing that breaks for me isn't wifi, it's overlap. I'm on PKT, and moving even two hours west turns a same day answer into a next day one, which slows shipping far more than any hour of work I lose to travelling. So I stack anything that needs another human into the first block and leave solo work floating. Scheduling a post is easy, scheduling a reply from someone who's asleep isn't.

 well, jet lags can also affect your effectivness tbh.

 True, but jet lag wears off in three days. The overlap loss doesn't, it just becomes the new normal for the whole trip. Jet lag I can sleep through, a review that lands after I've gone to bed costs me a day every time.