My family and I just returned from a 3-week road trip/camping adventure! It was the trip of a lifetime AND it was a lot AND I’m super happy to be back home ❤
One of the huge reasons I started an online business was to have the freedom and flexibility to do things like this.
But when my husband first suggested it, I had two thoughts…
First – That would be amazing!
Followed by – There is no way I could be away from my work for that long 😕
I know there are lots of online business owners who travel often (or live life on the road full time), but 3 weeks felt a little daunting to this creature of habit.
And you know what? It actually went really well!
It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to work from the road. I thought about and prepared for every scenario I could think of (anxiety brain in full effect!), but most things were way easier and smoother than I expected.
So, how did I make it work?
LOTS OF PLANNING
I mapped out the tasks I typically complete on a monthly, weekly or daily basis. Then I looked at upcoming client projects and their deadlines. And you know I used Trello for pretty much everything!
WORKING AHEAD
In the weeks leading up to our trip, I worked ahead on as many tasks as I could, so that my clients were still covered, but I didn’t have as much to do while we were traveling.
REDUCED MY WORK LOAD AND ASKED FOR HELP
You may remember me posting about letting go of a client account a little while back to make things feel a little more spacious this summer (this trip was just one of the reasons behind that decision).
I also spoke with clients about reducing the number of calls and extra projects during the month of August. And since I do some of my work through an agency, I got backup from other team members on a few small, time-sensitive tasks.
I know this is a hard one for many of us, but all told, I was able to maintain the vast majority of my regular workload throughout these few weeks. Having a little extra help and wiggle room relieved a lot of stress, though.
GOT MY TECH RIGHT
Between Wi-Fi in my husband’s truck (I did most of my work while he was driving during the days) and a hotspot, I was covered by 2 different networks and had service the majority of the time.
DID A LITTLE EACH DAY
There were only a few days during the trip that I didn’t do any work. By checking in for a couple hours most days, I was able to stay on top of tasks and client requests. It actually felt really good to have something productive for my brain to focus on each day during long hours of driving.
SYSTEMS (OF COURSE!)
It is probably no surprise that the processes and structure I already had in place in my business played a huge role, too.
The best thing? When I came home, I didn’t even feel overwhelmed by requests or things I’d been putting off. It felt like sliding right back into business as usual.
What I Learned
- Most of the potential problems I worried about and planned for didn’t actually happen (great reminder of this lesson I am continually learning).
- I may not actually need to work as many hours as I do to get things done.
- Most requests aren’t emergencies. I make them feel urgent, not the client.
- I can enjoy my life AND make sure my clients are taken care of.
The big takeaway – RELAX a little!
With routines in place to make sure the important things get done and genuine care for my clients, things really will all work out.
I want you to have this kind of freedom in your business, too. I seems counter-intuitive, but when you have solid systems and processes in place in your business, it creates more flexibility.
I’ve got a brand new group program in the works to help you create the processes that will support your business and give you the time freedom you’ve wanted from the start.
