OK, I’ll be honest honest with you, it’s very hard to stay productive while traveling. It’s the hardest task to travel to great destinations where others are on holiday. Because of this, a lot of people think that travel bloggers are always “on holiday”. But holidays and travelling are two different things. I’ve been on the go a lot this year. I can’t even remember the last time when I was on a real holiday without working for my blog.

So, how do I stay productive while traveling? How can I work at wonderful destinations without being distracted all the time? Does that even work? Staying productive can be hard when there are so many new things to explore right before your eyes. On my last trips, I always worked to meet my deadlines. I want to tell you how this works.

Staying productive when travelling

» Mobile Internet:  Set Up Mobile Internet Before Your Trip

If you’re not staying somewhere for long or don’t have access to Coworking spaces, you will have to choose your working space wisely. You will need an alternative. Avoid popular coffee houses – the internet is very slow. Find a nice bar or a nice cafè where you can work. It’s also important to find a restaurant where it’s allowed to work while consuming your coffee or croissant. If you can’t find a café nearby, you can also work in your hotel at the bar or try to find a room with wifi. You can ask the hotel before booking. If your room has a veranda, you might work on there. I always work right after breakfast and before dinner for 2 hours. I prepare everything before my trip and finish it on my phone or my tablet at the pool.

» Say No:  Set Limits

You always meet nice people on your trips, but they’re not on a workation. They are on a vacation and they’re looking for conversations, funny evenings in a bar, or great activities. You have to learn to say no. If you get to know someone or you’re traveling with a group, you have to accept this. You can’t take part in every activity and you will need some hours to work. Take our holiday with friends in Mallorca as an example. I always had to pull myself away from chilling at the pool and do my work on the terrace or in the house. This is really hard! On one hand you don’t want to disappoint your friends or be boring and on the other hand you’d prefer to play in the pool instead of working.

» The Early Bird Catches the Worm: Work Early in the Morning

A really great tip: get up early! Get up 1-2 hours earlier than the others when the others are still asleep. That way you won’t miss anything while you work. If you keep up with this every morning, you might be able to play with your friends :P. If the others spend 1-2 hours at the pool or at the beach, you can go into your room and work a little. By doing this, you already completed four hours of work. This requires a lot of discipline – who would want to wake up at 6am? But if everyone is still asleep, the internet is also very fast.

» Plan ahead:  Prepare as Much as You Can at Home

The time before your trip is the hardest. This is when I work twice as much as I usually do. You have to swallow the pill and even if it’s this hard and even if you don’t want to – you’ll be happy that you did it. Two weeks prior to my holiday, I start my blog posts for this period. In my opinion, this is the hardest part. Not only to create new content, but also to plan two weeks ahead. For my trip in January, I plan to prepare blog posts in early December. It will be too much on Christmas, NYE and duringmy birthday in January. That’s why I need to prepare a little everyday and begin early. It’s less stressful that way. Another Tip: Work at the airport and in the plane. Make use of the 8-14 hours when flying to Asia!