Vans have made some serious headway in the past decade with the rise of #vanlife travel, thanks to social media. At TVL we’re all about it – the travel, the community, the off the grid lifestyle – it’s essentially what drew our founder, Sasha, to the world of being a VA in the first place. Her love for travel and the inability to find a field that would accommodate her wanderlust made it challenging to check off bucket list destinations. Sasha, and many other virtual workers, love the #vanlife, but is it for you? We’ve put together a list of factors to consider before heading out on the road if you’re going to be working from your van.
Plan Your Trip
Unless you plan on paying additional fees for data coverage or taking your chances on whether or not where you stop will have free wifi, it’s always best to plan out your stops along the way. If you have an end destination, you can map out the route, and call ahead of time to the camping spots and see if they offer complimentary wifi.
Additionally, you could opt for an internet booster for your van. This will just increase the internet or data coverage provided by your mobile device.
Planning out your trip in advance also avoids any unknown blips in your trip and you can prepare backup plans if necessary.
The Goods
You’ll of course need a laptop to work off of while you’re working from your van. This will take up the least amount of room, but will still be able to handle everything you need for meetings, content development, copywriting, and all the other tasks on a typical VA’s to-do list.
You may want to invest in a good camera too if you’ll be travelling to some picturesque destinations. These make for good content opportunities, and you can get some good cameras at relatively inexpensive prices (depending on your photography skills). If you plan on recording podcasts, videos, or any other high-maintenance content, you may require additional equipment such as a stabilizer, a ring light, and a microphone.
Something super important to always have is extra power cords and adapters. If you’re going to be travelling out of the country, you’ll also need to consider alternative power adapters (some power outlets have different voltage levels).
Your Clients
Depending on the level of contact or commitment required for your clients, you may need to let them know you’re going on a trip. This is just out of courtesy in case you are stranded for a night without internet or you miss a meeting due to any other traveling mishap.
If your clients are relatively self-sufficient, you may not feel inclined to let them know you’re heading off on the road again (or for the first time), but it’s always nice to just send off a simple email out of respect. Something just to let clients know you’ll be working remotely for a set amount of time and give them the easiest way to reach you. This way, they aren’t alarmed if they see content on social media or are unable to reach you via your normal route of communication.
Time Management
This time we saved the worst for last. Time management can be the most challenging part for some when it comes to working while living the #vanlife, mainly because, well, who wants to work while you’re on vacation? The most important thing is to remember you still have a job to do, and that you aren’t on vacation, you’re just working remotely.
Some tips we recommend for keeping yourself in check while travelling via van are:
Make a daily schedule or to-do list for yourself. Remember that you have a job to do and clients waiting on projects and deadlines.
Have a set spot in the van where you do your work. This can be the kitchen table, or the driver seat, somewhere you go to so that you can get into ‘work mode’.
Set an alarm each day, so that you wake up at the same time and work a regular amount of hours, allowing you to maintain a relatively similar schedule to what you do normally. This way you can stay on top of your workload and properly manage the requests of your clients.
Living the #vanlife can be super exciting, and on each trip you take you will undoubtedly learn something new. It’s important to always remember that first and foremost, you need to keep on top of your workload and keep your clients in the loop – they are your primary source of income and the reason you’re able to work from your van in the first place. Taking some days off is okay, but establishing a routine is safest. Now go out and discover the world!
For questions about travelling while living the #vanlife, contact us through the contact page. Make sure you’re following us on social media where we post travel and lifestyle content, and VA tips and tricks!
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