As many of you know, I’m going travelling for 12 weeks this year and will be working while I’m on the road. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do with my husband and will be quite the challenge as we’ll be travelling through 5 countries with our 2 children in tow!
To put that into perspective, the entire family will be enjoying a working holiday that will involve 13 flights, 2 train journeys, a ferry and a fair amount of time on road trips in cars and motorhomes!
I’ve had quite the range of reactions from family, friends and clients that have heard the news. Everything from envy to support and a fair few ‘you must be mad!’ type comments too.
I’m not alone in my quest to have a working holiday
Being non-location dependent and literally packing your bags to travel while you work is known as being a ‘digital nomad’ – someone that works remotely and relies on technology to do so. So long as you have a laptop and wifi, you can manage your business on the road or from a beach in Thailand, or a coffee shop in New York. You get the point!
Having a working holiday is no longer a gap year opportunity for students, but as I’m proving with my travels, it’s something anyone of any age can do. It’s estimated that there will be a staggering 1 million digital nomads around the world by 2035.
And why not? It’s often cheaper to live and work abroad than in the UK and is a great way to achieve those travelling dreams while continuing to make an income.
So how do I plan to make this work for my business while having fun with my family?
Having reliable wi-fi is essential, and I’ve spent a lot of time checking our accommodation to make sure it would be suitable for running a business on. I also invested in a new laptop that would become my office for the 12 weeks that we’re away.
Understanding time zone differences will be key. I don’t want to be disturbing my clients and associates in the early hours of the morning. Not only have I done my homework for each location I’ll be working from, I’m also going to be using scheduling tools, so I can work when it’s convenient for me without the risk of waking anyone up!
I’ll also be working early morning and evenings, so I can maximise UK business hours and make the most of the day with my family enjoying our holiday!
Outsourcing my workload to trusted associates. I want to be working as little as possible while I’m away, but I’ll still have work to do and tasks to complete for clients. You should all know by now that I’m a big fan of outsourcing as it helps you to focus on your clients rather than keeping your business running.
I know that my associates will be helping me to reduce my workload, so my business isn’t affected while I’m away.
Talking to digital nomads that have made it a success. Why make mistakes others have made when you can talk to people in advance and take their advice? I’ve joined a Digital Nomad community on Facebook where I’ve been able to ask questions, get recommendations and those golden nuggets of information that’s difficult to find elsewhere.
It’s not going to be easy working on the road, but I’ve spent hours doing my homework before taking the plunge. It’s going to be a holiday of a lifetime, and I’m looking forward to every minute of it!
You can follow my journey on our family blog – thetravellingbees.com