Travelling the world is great, you get to meet new people, experience new cultures, traditions and of course different cuisines. However, unless you’ve won the lottery, there will come a point when the money you have saved up to travel runs out, regardless of how well you budgeted before setting off. Therefore, it’s important to consider whether or not you can work while travelling. If you can, it may mean you can travel longer/further. Working while travelling is something a lot of people do to ensure the money keeps rolling in, whether it be shop, restaurant or bar work, fruit picking, a temporary admin job in an office or even doing what they do back home, if possible of course. However, most, if not all of these options are not very flexible. The likelihood is that you will have set hours to work, there may even be a rota in place. This could affect your travelling experience, which surely is never a good thing.
Blogging/Freelancing
If you have a particular skill and/or you are able to freelance, then it’s a great option when it comes to working while travelling. It has a number of benefits. You can set your own hours, do as much or as little as you like and you are (most of the time, job dependant) your own boss. I am a freelance writer and have written for a number of publications. If writing is not your forte, not to worry there are a number of professions that can be done freelance.
Therefore if you’re considering going travelling or even a long holiday and still want to earn some money while away, investigate whether or not you could do your job or something similar (or even something you have an interest in) on a freelance basis prior to setting off on your adventure. As a freelancer and blogger, I cannot advocate it enough.
It’s important to point out that I do make an income from my blog. However, it’s also important to remember that it has been up and running for nearly five years. Over those five years, a lot of blood, sweat and tears have been channelled into it. That has been to ensure I make money, get invites to attend press trips and produce content that people actually want to read. I now run my blog as a professional business. Therefore I very rarely have time off and continue working while travelling, regardless of where in the world I am.
Therefore, I put a lot of time and effort into ensuring it is the best as it can be (within the time/technological constraints that I face). This includes investing some of the money I earn back into my blog – through ads, apps and working with companies that can give my blog a boost when needed, such as Google Adwords agencies.
Over the years as my blog has grown, so has my freelance writing portfolio. Again, the freelance service I offer and the work I produce is done with a high level of professionalism. This means I need certain things to ensure I can continue to run my businesses. Even when I do not have the comfort of my home office.
Coworking Spaces
Working while travelling for me is easy as I can work anywhere at any time. This is providing I have my laptop with me and there’s wi-fi available of course. But that’s not to say I want to. Over the year’s I have worked in many weird and wonderful places. Including hotel bars, by the pool and even on long-distance buses. None of which have been without their challenges. It’s a fact that I work best in an office set up – I always have. It definitely makes me more productive. I like sitting in a proper office chair behind a desk with my earbuds in sipping a hot cup of tea.
I feel I work most effectively when I’m in a traditional work environment. That’s why coworking spaces are great. They offer you the opportunity to work in an office but on a completely flexible basis. And the best part? You can find a number of them around the world. If your travelling around Australia and are looking for a coworking space Melbourne has some of the best options we’ve come across and took advantage of when we visited a few years ago.
There are so many benefits of coworking spaces, not just the fact that they can help you work more productively. In fact, there are probably too many to list. However, here are just a few of them.
Structure
If you are anything like me, you are distracted easily. Therefore working in an office environment can reduce the number of distractions other places such as coffee shops and hotel rooms can offer. Separating your home (or in this case travel) life from your work life will give you a degree of structure. It may also help you switch off when you walk out of the office door. More so than if you had been working from your hotel bed. Having a desk within a coworking space also may give you the motivation you need to actually do some work in the first place. Sometimes we all need that extra little kick to even open our laptop.
Other people around
Even if you never speak to the person sat next to or opposite you, it’s always nice to know there are other people around should you fancy a chat. It’s easy to get so engrossed in what you are doing. However, it’s important to remember the benefits of being social and the positive effects it can have on our mental health. Also, you never know you may find others who are in the same boat as you and are working while travelling. A quick chat in the kitchen while waiting for your tea to brew could lead to a new friendship and possibly even a future travel companion.
Networking opportunity
When a number of freelancers/bloggers/entrepreneurs all get together the buzz can be electric. It can also be a great opportunity to network. You never know who you will be sharing the coworking space with. There could be someone in there who could be a great contact and really open doors for you. Networking when you are a freelancer is key. Getting your name and your work out there and known in order to generate more leads and business is vital if you want the money to keep rolling in. Therefore use the opportunity and embrace the ‘water cooler moments’, you never know what the outcome will be.
Flexibility
The flexibility coworking spaces offer is great. This is because many offer short term and flexible options. This means you can work when you want and on your terms. There are no core hours and you are not dictated to by your boss, especially if you’re your own boss. It’s also a great cost-effective way of working, as you don’t have to foot the overheads – buying/paying the rent on the building, shelling out for the utilities, investing in furniture etc. Instead, you simply pay for the term you want and everything is covered. As you’re not tied in for a long time (unless you want to be of course), when you want to move on, you simply can.
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