When I tell people that I travel and take my work with me, at first they’re in complete awe. “You can work wherever you want and whenever you want? What a life!” After that moment of shock, they start flooding me with questions of what that looks like.

What is it like working from anywhere while also being a responsible professional?

I have to create for myself the structure that most people naturally have in their lives. Most people have to be in a specific location at a specific time. They form their routine around this, and they just do it because it needs to be done. My life is very different. I don’t have that structure, and if I don’t create that structure, I’m not productive and therefore not successful.

How do you create that structure?

This question has three parts.

  1. Generic Answer: No matter where I am, it’s never really a vacation. There’s still always work that needs to be done so I have to schedule my day around making sure that I can handle my work in a timely manner: making sure a client gets a timely response, having the right apps on my phone so that I can get into a server and code (yes, code from my phone), having my laptop fairly accessible in case something needs very immediate attention, cellular data tethering, international data plans, etc.
  2. At-Home Answer: When I’m home in Denver, I have a fairly strict routine that I follow. I won’t go into too much detail, but I’ll begin by saying that it starts at 5am and is subsequent by very specific supplements and superfoods throughout the day. That 4pm Cacao Powder is life.
  3. On-the-Road Answer: Again, a lot of people think that since I’m traveling, I’m on vacation. That could not be further from the truth. Wherever I am, I make myself at home. I immediate unpack and find a home for everything and then I start planning out the tasks that need to be done and then my days around these tasks. I have all the same supplements and superfoods with me so that my productivity is optimized. I’m working on trains, buses, and airplanes. Working on the road has its tough parts because much of my time is spent around planning when the most work can be done in a timely manner.

If you’re still working hard on the road, do you really enjoy yourself when you travel?

Absolutely! I actually prefer it this way. Perhaps it’s the constant change of environment paired with my dedication to planning the days productivity that I see so many things are getting done. You’d be surprised the amount of time and energy that you have when each day is truly a new day.