“Living the dream.” That’s how many describe RV life on the road. Boomers, zoomers, families, gen x-ers and millennials alike are embracing the RV lifestyle. If you have a job that allows you to work remotely and independently, the RV lifestyle may be just the ticket. Here are five simple tips to help get you in the groove of working remotely on the road.
It’s key to have a dedicated area defined as your workspace in the RV – ideally a small footprint and modular setup that can easily be tucked away on travel days or on days off when you just want to unplug. Aim for natural light, comfortable seating and storage-friendly desk space to keep everything tidy and clutter-free.
Dedicate ample blocks of time before or after travel time, so you have ‘focus’ time allotted during the week to get your work done. And this goes without saying, no multi-tasking while you’re driving.
Look for campgrounds that offer Wi-Fi onsite (commonplace at campgrounds nowadays), but understand that the reliability of connectivity can vary from place to place. A good rule of thumb is to have a decent phone plan with roaming/hot-spot capability as a backup. If your work requires heavy bandwidth or video-streaming capability, try to book campgrounds closer to urban centres or towns (vs. back-country areas off the grid) where high-speed Wi-Fi and data connectivity are more likely to be available.
With any trip, there’s bound to be a bump in the road or a hiccup in your plans. Sometimes it may side-track your efforts or require a bit of a detour – but more often than not, there’s usually a solution to get you back on track. Whether you’re a full-time RVer or a working remotely from your ‘satellite office’ on a seasonal basis, do yourself a favour and get an external drive and/or a secondary device as a backup to your laptop. While cloud computing can be a good option, it does rely on internet connectivity – which may or may not be available everywhere you camp. Saving your work to a backup device on a daily basis will help you maintain your workflow on the go.
ps – Don’t forget to charge your devices (phone, laptop, etc.) when you can – just in case electricity hook-ups aren’t available at your next pit stop. You may also want to consider adding this equipment to your camping gear: a portable lantern that doubles as a USB charging base.
Flexibility is king. An open mind and willingness to adapt will help you navigate the joys of working remotely and truly find your groove on the road. In an unstructured work environment, however, it can be easy to get immersed in working indoors. Be sure to make time to enjoy the great outdoors every day! It’s definitely one of the many perks of working remotely on the road.
Find a dealer and live out your remote work dreams today! For more tips and inspiration about embracing the RV lifestyle, visit the Go RVing Canada blog.
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