We’re all familiar with the significant post-pandemic shift towards remote and hybrid work which accounted for 80% of remote-capable employees in 2023.
With this increased flexibility, more and more professionals are combining work with travel in one of three ways:
- Working holidays: A “workcation” is combining your work with a vacation, where you balance sightseeing with business meetings in a new destination.
- Digital nomads: Many solopreneurs, freelancers, contract workers, and remote employees are opting for longer stints outside their country, taking up a nomadic lifestyle and working anywhere with an Internet connection.
- Business trips: This more traditional way to travel and work is still common in many industries. Professionals often travel for conferences, business meetings, or collaboration with inter-state or international partners.
No matter your reason for working on the go, there are both challenges and opportunities to be aware of. Here we explore both of them and offer five key strategies for professionals to stay productive while traveling.
Balancing Work and Travel: Challenges and Opportunities
If you only take the curated Instagram version of traveling while working, you may get a rose-colored perspective of the experience. The reality is that, like any work arrangement, there are pros and cons to it.
Working while in a new city, state, or country has many benefits, including:
- Personal growth through new opportunities, experiences, perspectives, and challenges.
- Flexible lifestyle to pursue interests and new cultures.
- International networking opportunities.
- Option for personal priorities like visiting family and friends abroad.
On the other side, traveling while working has some key challenges:
- Finding access to high-quality workspace, Internet, and other necessary tools and resources.
- Challenging communication across different time zones; inopportune working hours.
- Competing interests and inability to explore the local culture as much as you’d like.
- Managing a budget and expenses. .
- Experiencing trip delays, missed flights, and other logistical issues.
It’s important to weigh these pros and cons of working and traveling to determine what’s worth it to you and how to make the most of the experience.
5 Tips for Productive Work While Traveling
While it’s important to consider some of the challenges of working and traveling, the good news is there are tons of tools, resources, and tips to help overcome them and optimize your experience.
Here are 5 tips to stay productive and have fun while on the road.
1. Handle Logistics in Advance
Juggling work and travel is a lot on your plate already—the last thing you want is to manage pesky logistics while on the road. Do yourself a favor and get everything in order before you leave. This includes:
- Visas and work permits: Check what you need to legally enter and work from another country, leaving ample time to apply for necessary documents in advance.
- Health insurance: Make sure you are covered in the event of an unexpected illness or injury by getting traveler’s insurance.
- Driver’s license: If you plan to drive abroad, check to ensure your license is valid or if you need to apply for an International Driver’s license.
- Mobile data: Stay connected by ensuring access to a network and mobile data. You may choose to purchase a local SIM card, or opt for an eSIM instead.
2. Consider Your Workspace
Your environment can make or break a work day, whether at home or in a new country. That’s why it’s essential to plan ahead and confirm access to a high-quality workspace that has everything you need to get your work done.
Hotels, coffee shops, restaurants, or public spaces like libraries typically all have Internet access, which may be enough for some professionals.
However, coworking spaces offer that and more. Benefits of using a coworking space when abroad include:
- Security and safety: Coworking spaces are protected environments designed for professionals. Access is limited to members and there are typically on-site staff to ensure the safety of anyone using the space.
- Spatial diversity: Coworking spaces are made of shared workspaces, private areas, lounges, kitchens, outdoor patios, and more. This allows you to work in the way that’s ideal for you. And, because you can spend the day there (unlike a cafe or restaurant), you can change things up to optimize productivity.
- Services and amenities: Coworking spaces are all-inclusive environments, offering perks like coffee, printers and scanners, on-site staff, wellness rooms, and events.
- Community: Coworking spaces are the ideal environment to meet like-minded people while traveling. You can strike up a casual conversation or join an organized event to meet new people who might make your transition to a new place smoother and more enjoyable.
Consider purchasing a day pass to the coworking space in the city you’re visiting.
And if you’re already an avid coworker, LExC—the League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces—makes it super easy to find a coworking space during your travels.
If you’re a member of a LExC member coworking space, you’re a member of them all! Members are entitled to free, full-day coworking passes at any of our locations up to five times per space, per year. With LExC, you’re part of a broader network of coworking that allows you to work productively while traveling.
3. Choose the Right Accommodations
Just as choosing your workspace can make or break a trip, so can your accommodations. Here are some things to keep in mind when traveling for work:
- Location: Choose accommodation that’s close to major attractions or places you want to see as well as major transportation hubs (airport, train station, buses) to get around easily. You also want accommodations that are close to your coworking space—if you book your day pass here at The Post (we’re a LExC member!) in Tucson, Arizona, you can explore accommodations in the Oro Valley/Northeast Tucson area.
- WiFi: While we hope you’re taking advantage of an LExC coworking space on your travels, you’ll still want good WiFi at your accommodations should you need to squeeze in some work or emails. Check in advance about WiFi speeds and accessibility so you’re not out of luck when you arrive.
- Cost: Budgets vary for many reasons, so you’ll ultimately want to choose something that’s right for you. If you want to keep costs low, consider options like Airbnb, which often has long-term stay discounts, booking a private room in a hostel, or building credit card loyalty points.
- Comfort: After a long day of work and sightseeing, you want to relax. Don’t be so focused on keeping costs low that you forgo comfort—you’ll be grateful for a cozy place to relax and recharge.
4. Manage Your Time Well
Staying focused and productive can be challenging when you’re in a new city or country. You might be daydreaming about all the places you want to explore and visit, making it hard to stay concentrated on work. Here are some tips to try:
- Plan your day: Get serious about planning your day in advance, for both work and sightseeing. Stick to your schedule so you can get things done and have a good balance.
- Leverage tools: Optimize your efficiency by using the right tools and platforms to make work easier. This could be project management software like Slack or Asana, or AI programs like ChatGPT to speed tasks up.
- Change your schedule: If you have flexibility in your work hours, consider switching things up. You might, for example, not feel as comfortable exploring a new city in the evenings, so choose to work then and go sightseeing during the day.
5. Identify Your Priorities
The last key to a successful work trip or working holiday is to know your priorities. Is this trip primarily about work and nailing a key business meeting? Or is it to explore a new culture and spend extended time in a new country?
This will determine how you spend your time and fit everything in. Here are some guiding questions to help determine your trip priorities:
- What are my must-see attractions, restaurants, or locations?
- What are the expectations of my role and how can I set myself up to achieve them?
- What is my budget for traveling and how does that determine what I do?
- What is the main goal of this trip? What do I want to accomplish during this time?
If you spend some time thinking through your travel priorities, you won’t end up feeling disappointed by things you weren’t able to fit in.
Working and traveling is an exciting opportunity for many professionals. Whether it’s a time of extended travel or a short work trip, it’s important to plan ahead to stay productive on the road. These tips will help get you there and offer you an exciting experience.
Whether you’re a Tucsonian looking to travel while working or a professional traveling to Arizona and looking for a place to help you stay productive, you’ll find it here. Book a tour of The Post today.
And if you’re curious about the entire network of LExC coworking spaces, learn more on their website.