Motivation

    Momentum Monday: Mobile Productivity – How to Get Stuff Done While Traveling to Conferences

    Carla YoungBy Updated:9 Comments3 Mins Read

    Imagine uninterrupted time to focus on work – no telephones ringing, no meeting reminders beeping at you, no email alerts dinging every few seconds. That’s why travel time is sometimes more productive than office time.

    The trick to getting more done when you are on the go is packing with a plan.

    How to Get More Done While Traveling to Conferences

    #1: Pack for Productivity – Productivity doesn’t just happen when you are traveling – you need to plan and prepare for it in advance. It starts with picking travel-friendly projects to work on, like writing blog posts, catching up on research or capturing your ideas on paper.

    #2: Set Productivity Goals – Traveling is no different from any other workday. If you set specific goals, it gets done. If you don’t, chances are you’ll fritter away your travel time. It’s important to be realistic about how much you will get done once you get there. Chances are you won’t have as much downtime as you had planned with the after event social invitations.

    #3: Don’t Forget your On-the-Go Work Tools – Load up your laptop and get ready to work! Must-have travel essentials are an eReader loaded with catch-up reading, a Powerstick because it doubles as a data stick and a portable device charger, and noise cancelling headphones.

    #4: Find Quiet Space – Know where you are going to find a quiet space to get work done or create your own by having your iPod ready to go with your favorite focus music (because nothing shuts down the travel chit-chat like a set of earphones).

    #5: Always Have Connectivity Back-up – Plan A: use the hotel or conference WiFi. Plan B: Set up a mobile hotspot with a portable MiFi. Plan C: plug into an Ethernet with an Apple USB Ethernet Adapter. Plan D: find a WiFi hotspot (Starbucks and McDonald’s both offer free WiFi wherever you go).

    #6: Set Communication Protocols – Decide how you are going to coordinate and communicate with your team in advance. Do you want daily updates? Morning check-ins? Only contact you in an absolute emergency? Do you want to communicate via email? Text message? Email?

    #7: Never Forget Follow-up – A prompt Thank You note sent within days of returning to your office makes a big impression. Don’t waste any time – pack a handful of Thank You cards and get in the habit of writing a few follow-up notes at the end of each day.

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    Carla Young, terrarenewables.ca Publisher If there’s living proof that women can have it all – and then some – it’s Carla Young. Building her multiple businesses on a virtual work-at-home model, Carla is an inspiration to other mothers who want to start a lifestyle business. During her early days as a mom entrepreneur, Carla made every single mistake in the book (and a few new ones for good measure). Realizing that “doing it all” was unhealthy and unsustainable, Carla started by getting organized to the extreme, developing support systems for both her work and family. After other mothers started asking how they too could enjoy her lifestyle, Carla launched terrarenewables.ca to support moms at work, at home and at play (because every mommy deserves a little me-time)!

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    9 Comments

    1. Anonymous on

      Great article Carla!  One thing I’ve also incorporated in my travel routine is audio recording.  I will either call into our Audio Acrobat account or record something on my portable digital recorder and then my assistant will have it transcribed for me when I return.  I love using this method for a variety of things like blogging, emails that need to be sent, or even an outline on a webinar. 

    2. rachel h blaufeld on

      great post Carla! especially because I am off to a conference this week!  I resonate with the wifi setup and thank you notes.  I always have a plan a and b for wifi — I cannot function without connectivity and as for the thank you notes — they go a long way! Rachel

    4. Carla Young on

      I have learned the hard way that just because a hotel says it include free Internet that it doesn’t mean that a) the Internet is reliable and b) the Internet is available (as in the case on one very frustrating trip to a conference where I discovered that my MacBook Air doesn’t have the ability to plug in)…UGH!

    5. Cinthya Jones on

      #5 is a big one. I can’t tell you how many conferences, airports, lobbies, and coffee shops I’ve sat at where I couldn’t get WiFi. Most of the time I can, but the times I can’t and I need to get a document to a client or to update a site, having my MiFi card has been a HUGE life saver!

    7. Carla Young on

      I got stuck in a hotel with ethernet cable-only Internet and my MacBook Air which has no connection for one (hence the adapter which I wish I knew about at the time). Instead I had my business partner, Christie, pack her router and we set up wifi in our room (I wish I was kidding).

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