Working On The Road? Here’s What You Need to Know
Glen / 
26 Comments / 
January 20th, 2010 / 
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I’m on my 8th week in Amsterdam right now with ten days left before I move on to my next destination. Very recently I decided that Thailand will no longer be my next stop and instead I will continue travelling through Europe. Right now, the countries on my list to visit are: France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Italy and Belgium.
The plan is to go to a number of different countries for four nights each. This way we’ll get to see most of Europe in a short space of time and have a month which is a non-stop adventure. At the end of this month I will reveal where I’m going and what I’m doing after the euro-trip. You’re in for a surprise.
Living in Amsterdam and working online is not the first venture into Cloud Living, but it’s the beginning of a trip that has already resulted in some big internal changes. The last two months have also taught me quite a few things that I’m going to share with you today.
Do As Much As You Can, Before You Leave
While this point makes more sense if you’re travelling for a short period of time, I believe it also applies to people who travel for over 6 months at a time or even as a continual thing. Before I left for Amsterdam, there were a number of things I wanted to finish off so that they would give me more free time here to explore.
The biggest project I had to complete, by far, was Reality Switch. I was literally working on it day and night for two weeks in order to get it finished before leaving the UK. I also spent two days completely organising my email inbox for maximum efficiency. I ended up having to clearing out over 5,000 emails manually, but the result was worth it.
My email productivity is through the roof now so I’m definitely getting those two days back. If you’re working on some big projects, try to get them finished before you move. If there is anything you know will help you be more productive on the road, then definitely try to do it before you start travelling.
Sometimes Things Get Messy, and You Beg
Wherever you go, there can be issues with communication that some times leave you wondering whether travelling is worth it in the first place. My issue cropped up when I had to deal with a stamp (fine) on my passport which meant that I couldn’t go into certain countries.
When I remembered the fine, it was too late to have it processed before moving to Amsterdam. I decided that once I arrived, I would send it to the UK, have it processed, and then sent back to me within 2 months. Everything seemed simple enough, but about two weeks after sending my passport away, I received a letter from the Government, asking for my passport. The first thing I thought was “how would they know my new address or anything about a passport if they didn’t have it?”
I am not joking when I tell you this countries’ passport operations in the UK are literally all handled by one accessible phone number. Not only that, but the line is only available for 4 hours per day. After calling them well over 100 times and not getting through once, I resorted to emailing as many people as I could find on their website. Out of the 30 different people I emailed for help, only two responded.
Eventually, after around 10 emails back and forward to a Johannes K Tiba, I was told they have sent the passport back to me. I haven’t received it yet, but I’m confident it will be here in the next day or two. When the going gets tough, especially in a foreign country, you may have to beg, and grovel, and do everything you can to get things sorted.
I’ve sure had to.
Prioritise Destinations Like You Do With Goals
Working on the road is not all about working, of course. The places you visit are likely to have enough reasons to stop you from staying inside in front of a laptop. In the case of Amsterdam, I’ve been here for a few months so had more than enough time to see all of the attractions here.
However, in some places there’s so much you want to see yet so little time. An example of this will be when I do my euro-trip next month and only have a few nights to experience each city. Just like you would do with your goals, pick places to visit which are the most important to you, and pick attractions in those cities which matter the most.
It may very well be the case that you can’t get to see everything you want to see, so at least make sure you see the things you just can’t miss.
Remember Your Long-Term Goals
I’ve always had quite a lot of friends, but for around a year at 16 years old, I didn’t spend very much time with them. My long-term focus was to be able to quit my job and make a living online, and I wanted to do it as quickly as possible.
I decided that I could either ‘balance’ my year and get some work done and hang out with friends at the same time. Or, I could choose one over the other (my work) and get double the amount done. After my year of non-stop work, I was offered a job in South Africa which really got the ball rolling for where I am today.
Right now, I have enough funds to travel the world for 2-3 years and not have to work. I’m sure many of you would jump at that opportunity and start living it up. Yet, here I am, writing another blog post and preparing myself for more work than ever over the coming year.
This is simply because my long-term goal is not to be able to travel for 3 years and then go back to work. Now that I’ve managed to quit my job, my next big project is to help my brother and sister do the same. I want to earn enough money so that they can do what they want to do in life as well. And then I’ll do the same for my parents.
Once I reach this (I will) I want to open a school in a country like Thailand or Vietnam where kids are not as privileged as they are in the rest of the world. I currently pay for two children to go to school in Vietnam and Bangladesh but I would love to build a school and help more people — an aim of mine I wrote about on the first ever PluginID post. Don’t just focus on the quick wins of what you can have now, but what you can achieve over the long term.
Things Have to Get Done
The first thing I noticed once I arrived in Amsterdam was how quickly my work went from being my main focus to ‘something I’ll do later’. I guess that is natural when you want to explore a new place, but it’s still important to realise that if your work was important before, it’s probably still going to be important now.
Unless you have a virtual assistant, your to-do-list is not going to get any shorter until you start taking action. Enjoy your travelling and make the most of it, but don’t forget that things still need to get done after you visit that beautiful attraction. My strategy is to simply plan what I want to do, where, and dedicate whole days to doing that. Then I’ll use my spare time as productively as possible.
These tips are what I’ve found to be some of the most valuable while on my journey and I hope that you’ve found them valuable. For those of you who work on the road (or have) what other tips would you give to our readers? (See you in the comments!)
Update: My passport arrived 30 seconds before hitting publish. Life is good.
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I’m extremely guilty of pushing off work while I travel. Every time I plan on getting certain things done, and even though they are not hyper-intensive, I have difficulty finishing.
The only tip I can think of is to go somewhere different (coffee shop, bar, etc.) and force yourself to focus for some fixed amount of time. I’d also give myself roughly 1.5-2x as much time as I think I would need. I think our subconscious tricks us into imagining our work won’t take as long as it will so we can get back to playing.
Hey David,
Great to see you here!
Some excellent suggestions, thank you for sharing them.
- Glen
I have entered my work zone where I am working almost constantly. the challenege is making all that time truly productive. how do you ensure that your more sporadic work time on the road accomplishes what you want without getting distracted?
Hey Carlos!
First of all, I’m very passionate about what I do so that means I don’t need too much motivation to get started. When I think about things that need doing, I often over-exaggerate in my mind how long it will take.
I can write a 1,000 word article in 20 minutes, but when I think about it, it doesn’t feel like a “20 minute job”.
You probably have more time than you realise.
That is awesome that you can write so much in so little time.. when I get really passionate about a post times flies as well. I guess its a good meter of when to stop a post if you keep looking at the clock because you are obviously not passionate enough about the topic.
Cool beans!
When I went to New Zealand last year, it was a challenge finding internet connections most of the time, since we were basically “off the grid” and camping in remote areas. At the same time, I had to keep up my blog and stay in touch with clients. About every 3 or 4 days I’d find a good connection and get caught up.
Carlos’ comment, above, is a good one. It’s very challenging to stay focused when you are in unfamiliar places (in my case, in a camper van!).
But, it can be done, and I think that with discipline and by keeping organized, you can get into a routine that works no matter where you are.
PS: Glen: Congrats on getting your passport sorted out! Nothing like having it all come together at the 11th hour!
I appreciate your LONG TERM GOALS section of this blog post because I can relate with your vision in on so many levels. My mission in life is it to positively impact the lives of as many people as possible. This is beginning the manifest with my website (www.mybrandentity.com), but I also have a number of projects that will make this a reality as well. There are so many talented people in this world who are never provided with the opportunity to shine, but I am making it my responsibility to find these people and give them a chance that they would never be able to give themselves.
Thank you for sharing your mission and I also KNOW that you WILL achieve it!
Nice to see that you’re doing something for the less fortunate!
It’s true that bureaucracy can be frustrating, i spent a year in Spain and it was hell sometimes getting the smallest things done.
Dear Glen,
great work again! I am reading your blog for more than six months now. And it’s still fun and interesting to read. I always learn something new.
Hence I try to follow up as much as possible I do miss one (in my opinion) important feature of your website: A search box!
Just recently sth came on my mind you were writing about, but couldn’t find it.
Do you think you will add such a search box? I reckon many pp would appreciate it!
Take care! Marc
I sometimes had difficulty working while traveling so my new travel plans are to stay in each place for at least a month. This gives me a chance to settle down a bit and get into a groove. When I was in New Zealand last Nov-Dec I was in a different city every 1-3 days. It was difficult to get a good amount of work done in that situation.
Thanks for writing this, I’m going to graduate in about a year and a half and I’m working on creating an automated income, so to speak. Just got your “Cloud Living” ebook–paypal pending–and looking forward to reading it.
I often find the change of location helps me concentrate and don’t struggle that much to work while travelling.
That being said, depending on the location (drinking, parties etc) I also get no work done as well.
Wow just found your blog & I absolutely love it! You are truly extraordinary! I am an entrepreneur making a living online through few blogs and I started an off the beaten path existence at 19 in college. I finished & have never used my major
instead i love the freedom of online income.
Bookmarking this site for sure, I love that you travel too.
Awesome!
Maren
What a strange synchronicity! I’ve been thinking about working on the road a few months from now and this pops up in Google Reader. Nice post. Absolutely love the design of this blog.
Hi Glen,
thanks for sharing your thoughts.
here are mine:
@euro trip: you could consider to stop by in Slovakia during your trip, now you know one person here at least- me;-)
@working hard:i love your spirit of working even harder than before and it is same here at my end. it just simply happens when you really love what you do and u see it adds value for people around
@family: regarding your motivation to help out your family with being independent as you are, is simply excellent.
once my friend asked me: “what is your drive which keeps you doing what you do?” and i answered within a blink of an eye: “to enable my parents to have super cool retirement.”
@working on the road: finding a wi-fi spot in a new location is a must. loads of work can be done on the plane and in the airport, instead of browsing duty free outlets i do browse net;-)and indeed keeping inbox “clean” and documents in order are of a great help too;-)
cheers for now from Slovakia next week from Dubai
i.
Hi Glen,
There may be some bumps when working on the road but I bet it is still enjoyable to be able to travel and work at the same time.
Cheers,
Vincent
I know exactly what your going through….it can be tough to find the right balance…be well my friend…
“I currently pay for two children to go to school in Vietnam and Bangladesh but I would love to build a school and help more people — an aim of mine I wrote about on the first ever PluginID post.” – Glen, that’s so great of you to give back!
I recently moved to Thailand where I am doing a bit of affiliate marketing.
It can be very easy to get distracted when you have moved to a new place so I am definitely guilty of slacking off.
Must try harder…
How comes you are not going to Thailand?
i try to pack in advance the same way. good article
You’re so really genius Glen, I’d like this blog and could be my favorite blog
How many plug adaptors do you need to take with you to be able to plug all your gadgets in whilst on the road?
Hi Glen, loved your post, truly inspiring. Keep up the good work and enjoy Amsterdam.
Mat
Awesome Post man. I gotta tell ya, you’ve got the head on straight. I could see my work habits going t hell in a hand basket if I was traveling and trying to work at the same time. Heck I have a non-productive day when I don’t go into the office and choose to work from home.
I admire you’re focus and dedication to the process. Enjoy the rest of your time in Amsterdam.
Cheers,
I
Glen
I am totally loving your blog, buddy.
You are the perfect person to point the finger to for what I call the Virtual Business Lifestyle (check out my site if interested!).
Good job on the book, the lifestyle and the impressive time that you’ve done it all in.
Would love to interview you for the blog. please let me know if youre interested.
Cheers, man!
Chris
I love the idea of helping your family be location independent.
I’m a family guy with a huge passion for traveling and I know once I travel more, it’s going to tough for them (and me) being away for so long. Having a location dependent family that’s willing to travel and see you whenever they want would be amazing.
As always, keep up the great posts.
Tony