Smart Travel: How to Boost Efficiency & Productivity on the Road
Whether you’re traveling for work, self-promotion, or as a short break from life at home, it’s always good to be prepared with the tools you’ll need to have a successful and productive trip. This includes having the right gear, tech, and information to ensure a smooth journey. Thanks to technological advancements, traveling has become an easier process than ever before. The following technology can help make your trip as carefree and efficient as possible:
Working Vacations
Depending on your job, it can be really important to keep working vacations as organized as possible. These are often trips for people who work in the gig economy or those who have telecommuting options. During these vacations, you will likely need to have a computer and internet connection available to you at a specific time of day, which means it’s crucial for you to stay on schedule.
If you’re hoping to make working vacations a part of your lifestyle, it’s probably a good idea to invest in a new vehicle that comes with the latest technology, rather than an older pre-owned model. This will provide you with a comfortable method of transportation during your long miles on the road and cutting-edge features that will help keep you safe. Although you’ll need to be alert on the road, new cars have technology that will help make driving easier for you, and make your transportation more efficient.
Self-driving cars are an excellent example of this. Although self-driving cars aren’t an accessible option quite yet, they may become available as early as this year. These will help keep drivers safe and will be a particular boon to those looking to boost efficiency while on the road. When these become more accessible, staying on schedule will be easier than ever, as you’ll be able to plan every stop of your trip and stay on schedule as your car does the driving for you.
Until then, there are still plenty of advanced features available today that make working vacations much easier than they were 20 years ago, including:
- Automatic emergency braking
- Lane departure warnings
- Blind spot detection
- Safety exit assist
- Rear-view cameras
If your working vacation requires you to fly somewhere, it’s probably a good idea for you to be prepared with smart luggage. Losing your luggage will make it difficult for you to focus on work, so before you take your trip to the sandy beaches of Hawaii, consider purchasing luggage that you can track from your phone. If it gets lost on route to your destination, you’ll at least know where it is and make sure it gets back to you soon, which will let you focus on work.
Also consider looking into co-working and co-living spaces for digital nomads to get the most out of your working vacation. Even if you’re not a digital nomad, it’s still a good idea to research these services since productivity and play are at their core. With fairly economical rates in a variety of beautiful locales, working vacations have never sounded so appealing. Here are a few locations to keep in mind that best encompasses the needs of roaming workers:
- Lisbon, Portugal: Lisbon has all you can want and more when it comes to work and play. With plenty of activities to do and an already established digital nomad community, all you have to do is sit back, catch up on some work, and enjoy the gorgeous weather.
- Cape Town, South Africa: Having won the Design Capital of the World Award, you’re bound to meet other like minded professionals to collaborate with and get inspired from in this destination. Cape Town is also known for their immaculate beaches and prestigious wineries, a perfect end to a hard day’s work.
- Chiang Mai, Thailand: With numerous things to do at low costs, Chiang Mai is a great place to explore Asia and get some work done at the same time at one of their many cafes. There really is something for everyone to enjoy in this amazing city.
Recreational Vacations
If you have a jam-packed road trip vacation, you’ll need to have your week planned to a T. This means being prepared enough to avoid any setbacks, such as running out of power or getting lost. The best way to avoid either of these scenarios is by ensuring you always have access to power with portable chargers. You can find these for cheap, but it’s best to invest in one you can rely on that won’t burn out on you when you need it most.
Another way to make sure you don’t run out of power and mess up the flow of your trip is with a solar charger. These are best during summer road trips or vacations, when you might spend a lot of time in the sun. These won’t run out of power like portable chargers and will help keep your phone, GPS, or laptop going at all times so you can efficiently get from one location to the next.
Tech for Touring Musicians
If you’re a touring musician, you probably spend a lot of time on the road traveling from city to city. This can take a lot of work that may become exhausting after a while. This is why it’s important to be as efficient as possible between gigs. This will ensure that you get to the city where you’re playing with plenty of time to get food, set up, and have a stress-free tour.
There are a few ways to make your trip easier on you, including taking precautions that will give you peace of mind on the road. One way is to ensure your gear is protected when you’re taking it in and out of venues. During nights when the weather isn’t ideal, or when you’re touring the very rainy Pacific Northwest, it’s important to have a weatherproof amp cover and case that will keep your gear dry.
There’s nothing that will delay your trip more than getting lost when your phone dies and needing to get off the road to find a charger for your GPS device. During working vacations or tours, when you have to be in a specific location at a specific time, it’s even more important to ensure you’re staying on schedule. Fortunately, there’s plenty of technology today that will help you do that and give you the peace of mind you need to relax on the road.
