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Staying On Task While Traveling
Editor’s note: Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian friends!
As you know, I’ve been in Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. Before that, I was in Alameda helping my younger sister celebrate her birthday. Before THAT, I was visiting various friends in Northern and Southern California (two areas that should really be separated by barbed wire and a sign that says “Here There Be Dragons”).
I have been on the road for the last month. On the morning that you read this, I will have just spent my first night back in my own bed. Which is why you probably won’t see me until mid-afternoon, because it’s going to take some artful crowbar application and promises of beignets to get me out of there.
Now, I like my life to be full of travels like this. It’s one of the reasons I became a writer. Widely held knowledge says that writers must be well-stocked with two things: travel and hard liquor. We have no idea what happened with Emily Dickinson, but we must assume that she is a fluke.
Ms. Dickinson has the advantage of me, though. She had a routine. There’s a year in there where she wrote almost 600 poems, which is nearly 2 a day, with only one on Sundays. The lady had some dedication, is what I’m saying. And maybe it was because she stayed put.
It’s hard to develop a routine when you’re on the road. Some of my favored work habits – the magical dry-erase board, the hourglass, the friend who comes over and pokes me with a stick until I produce something – aren’t possible when I’m traveling. So I have to develop new habits and routines, specifically for a schedule that nearly by definition seeks to break with routine.
I’m traveling. The whole point is to break out of my routine. It’s why I love it. Usually, I’m pretty good about setting aside some time in the day to devote to work, even when I’m away from my usual work helpers.
When something happens to throw a monkey wrench in the works, though, I can get seriously off track.
I had a series of car troubles with the friend with whom I’m traveling (yeah, with whom. That’s the fancy-pants grammar we know you all come for. I’m just giving the people what they want). And since I was on vacation, I had completely set aside my work, assuming I could catch up when I was back at home.
This was stupid. The car troubles meant that I had to spend an extra week in Ashland. If I had waited until I returned, I’d have missed so many deadlines that Jamie would be considering selling me for scrap.
But since I was still on the road, I had a hell of a time forcing myself to sit tight and get some work done. Here’s what I finally had to do.
Make Work As Scary As Whatever Travel-Land Throws At You
Here’s what I was thinking the entire time the car was going nuts: this is so much money to be spending on vacation, I didn’t budget for this, did that guy just offer to lube up the chassis? Did he mean that in a dirty way? What’s a chassis?
Here’s what I should have been thinking: the car is going to cost a lot of money, so while they’re working on it, I should settle into a coffee shop and make the money I will need to handle the costs.
Create Substitutes for Your Usual Routines
One of my favorite usual work habits is to put all my work up on a whiteboard so I can see it. I happen to carry a Moleskine notebook as a wallet, because I like to be able to write things down as I think of them. I whipped it out and started making a portable whiteboard list. It’s not nearly as magical, but it’ll do for travel purposes.
Next up: figuring out a travel version of my hourglass. The little one that comes in the Boggle game doesn’t last long enough.
Tell Your Friends to $*#& Off
This is a whole ‘nother post in its own right, but a lot of people simply don’t realize that freelancers need to work. They think, how awesome that you can stop working whenever you want to do something fun, and they never think that you have to START working again at some point. Like, say, later in the day. No no – to them, money just magically appears in your bank account while you wade in the creek.
I’m not saying I wouldn’t go for that job description. I’m just saying it doesn’t actually fit what I do.
So tell them you need to work. Explain it with the same ferocity that they explain their boss has just demanded they work an extra shift. Just because your boss happens to be you doesn’t mean your work is less demanding. Don’t feel guilty about having to work sometimes when you’re on vacation. The fact that you CAN work while on vacation means you get to take more vacations.
Have a Drink
Drinking will not help you be more efficient while traveling. It will, however, mean you have satisfied the secondary requirement of being a writer. Hemingway would be proud.
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I literally agree with you on this one. There was a similar post on ” to bring or not to bring work” to vacations with me the ardent believer : NO WORK!
We should be using vacation and break offs to revitalize our creative cells to get them sparkling again
Happy Revitalization!
write a writing´s last blog ..Creative Writing Ideas
What I tell my friends when they seem to think I don’t actually work 50 hours a week: “Yes, I own my business. And let me tell you, the boss is a bit*h.”
Kathryn Korostoff´s last blog ..Volunteer Army or Rogue Militia? Coping with Unsanctioned Market Research
Tei,
Having just decided that I’m going to take my first real, not-bring-work-with-me vacation in forever recently, this post is making me feel a bit guilty. LOL!
“No no—to them, money just magically appears in your bank account while you wade in the creek.”
This, sadly, is true of people who are self-employed whether they are on vacation on not. “Why do you have to go work today? Aren’t you in charge?” (Actually, since “on vacation” usually means “taking The Kid and visiting my parents,” I do pretty well with this. They love nagging me about work anyway.)
Yeah. In charge of panning for that money in the creek. ‘Scuse me for about eight or ten hours, I’ll see you later.
I’m conflicted now… maybe I should bring just a little something… but I liked your take on how to do it if you’ve got to. Good post.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly´s last blog ..Inspiration Points: It’s Always Darkest Before the… Oh, SCREW this nonsense
I have two types of vacations. On the first type I bring my laptop and do maybe two or three hours of work in the morning and then take the rest of the day off.
On the second type I don’t bring the laptop and I don’t work. However, I can’t entirely shut my brain off, so I bring my digital recorder so I can capture ideas.
John Soares´s last blog ..Is Online College Instruction More Effective than In-Class Instruction?
I would like to put in a request for the !#!!$ – off whole post to friends- oh and family too please for us self employed and working at home folks. My adorable mother- who by the way has owned her own business most of her adult life and should know better – does not understand why I can’t just stop working when she wants to go play.
Neither do my children or friends. When they show up…that should be reason enough to stop what I am doing.
The clients and bills disagree…but then again…why should they get a vote???!?!?!
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirations´s last blog ..Stolen Moments.
Nice post! I’m not a freelance writer, but I’ve recently considered becoming one so now I have something to refer to. Although, some of your points do apply to me. My work is scary and I usually have no problem having a drink. LOL! Glad to hear you returned safe with an article to produce.
I love this post, especially the part about making up the cost of traveling. Prior to having my own business, spending $ used to freak me out…quite a different feeling knowing you can refund it at will with a few hours of work….if that.
Nathan Hangen´s last blog ..Do You Have a Release Mechanism?
I usually take my laptop with me when I go away, as much for the kidlet’s entertainment as for me to work. However I generally do work a few hours each day anyway. Me not working = money not coming in.
I carry a small moleskine notebook too (love my moleskine!) and use it to make notes whenever I have a few minutes spare. And yes, I tell people that I’m working. Family are the hardest though, possibly because they don’t have a clue what I do.
The attitudes of people always amaze me. “But you work for yourself” To which I normally reply with a saccarine sweet smile “which means that when I don’t work then I don’t get paid” or something very similar to Kathryn’s reply above.
The only people who get it are the one’s who also work for themselves. And they’re normally sitting right next to me working away themselves.
Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..How Big Do You Want To Be?
Dearest Kelly,
If you can figure out how to a) not electrocute yourself with your laptop in our hottub, and b) drink wine, eat Lion prepared food, and still focus on your customers …. well, then fill your workaholic boots my girl!
Sincerely,
Eliza (a.k.a. Urban Panther)
Eliza´s last blog ..Understanding weight gain after 40
Eliza,
I am going to be very, very busy trying to figure out which of your many aliases to use. I don’t think I can fit work into that schedule, lol.
Hot tub, eh? I hadn’t even thought of that. Better to bring a notebook and a pen with waterproof ink, if I’m even considering work.
Until later,
Kelly
Kelly´s last blog ..The Tale of the 3 Mad Hatters
I just got back from a week away and since there was computer access, once a day I cleared out email. This week has been about getting back into the groove, which means my fiction has suffered. We’re going away againg this weekend meaning more time away from fiction too.
That’s my struggle. People can understand the work needs, but to say “I’m going to ignore you all to write my novel for a while” means choosing to miss out on fun and to isolate myself. People don’t get why I might want to do that while on holiday…
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog ..Not Getting Started: Introducing (the rest of) the New Lab Rats
I am not writer just blogger and travel a lot, but then I am away I am try also to be away from computer as much as possible, otherwise all writing can became not just hobby but burden.
Vilmis @ Travel Tips´s last blog ..Save on your next flight or accomodation booking with Paypal