RV Life and Working Remote

I get a lot of questions about what it’s like to work remote while living in our 5th wheel.  I’ll link this post to danceswithwinnebagos.com, too, so for those asking the same question from that site, it’s a two for one… 🙂

I don’t just break any ol’ rule, I break rules that don’t makes sense and working from an office was one of them.  The amount of time lost in a daily commute was something I wasn’t able to accept.  I hated open work spaces, which more offices are going to, (my ADHD does NOT thank you for the open work space concept) and I like having my space and my own schedule.

Microsoft, along with my previous employers over the last decade, (Delphix, Oracle, Enkitec, I-behavior, Pythian) all understood that if you’re a professional, your location doesn’t change your productivity.  Although I appreciate the opportunity to meet, connect and network with my peers, my daily grind is one that I want to perform in the comfort of my home office.

How has that changed now that Tim and I have sold the house and moved into a 5th wheel trailer?  Not much.

As many know, we bought the 5th wheel, a 42ft. Open Range, brand new and then remodeled it to our liking.  This includes removing the dining room setup and building in a pop-out office.  The work area is set up for two people, with a second, larger monitor, power hub and printer/scanner.

I have two mi-fi’s for connectivity on the road, (vs. using your smart phone to toggle from, as your phone has other priorities to keep your phone updates and the mi-fi is dedicated.)  The first one is a 22G/month data plan with T-Mobile and the second is a 4GB/month plan with Verizon.  I pretty much have coverage everywhere we go, but we also plan our trips with an overlay of data coverage with RV Parks, so you get the picture.

I do most of my meeting via Skype and if I’m doing a resource intensive presentation or demo, I choose to use my phone for the call and isolate the PC to just the presentation mode.  I commonly have better connectivity than most in the meetings.

Our other choice for our RV Park stays is a city with a good airport.  We know that we may have to fly out and so we are looking to stay at locations that we can fly from.  As we are now planning our park stays about 3 months out, it’s easy to choose our departure and arrival cities for flights, even if they’re in different places.

There have been a few hurdles as we acclimate to trailer life, but really, it’s even better than working from home was.  My days have started to work into a routine and what’s that like?

5am–  get up, take the dogs out for their morning break, then feed them breakfast.  Read email and catch up on a few tasks in preparation for the day.

6am– Shower and get ready for the day.

7am– Take the dogs, (and me!) for a long walk.  As I’m on the Pacific coast right now, I take my phone with me to keep on top of any emails and notifications.  There are times I have meetings with East Coast folks at this time, which means the schedule could shift an hour later.  While here at the Washington State Fair RV Park, I’ve made a habit of walking the dogs into old town and picking up a latte at Cowgirl Cup before walking back.  The walks are 45 minutes to an hour of good exercise for all of us.  Let’s be honest-  how many people spend this time in a commute, where I get some fresh air?

8am– Online and working with training, customers and peers.

Noon–  I try to take a short break, take the dogs on a short walk and then return back to continue working.

4pm– Half the days, I stop at 4pm and start dinner, run errands or just take it easy.

6pm–  This is the stop time for the other half of my days.  Sometimes its a little later and I work on user group, articles or book chapters.  It’s up to me and there’s no commute, so I have a tendency to spend more time on being productive.

Throughout the day, when a script is running or data is refreshing, I might do some laundry, wash dishes or vacuum.  Where employees may be in the break room chatting, I can talk with Tim or just do something around the house for a quick break.

As we are spending our summer’s where it’s cooler and as the weather changes, we’ll be heading farther south to keep the weather mild, I can work outside as easily as I work inside.  Working outside is one of Tim’s favorite perks of working from home, too.  He and the dogs will go sit under the awning of the 5th wheel and just enjoy the weather while working with customers or attending a meeting.

I don’t think my work day is that different from anyone else’s-  I just do a lot of it via skype calls and web meetings.  For so many meetings and with the global work place, its that way for most, even if you do work in an office.  A high percentage of companies are starting to realize this and can save money by letting employees have more flexible work options and allowing telecommuting.

So if you wondered what it was like-  yeah, it’s ADHD Goth Girl paradise.