The myth of working from anywhere
Ever got sand in your laptop? Not pretty, right?
When I first started freelancing, I totally bought into the idea that I can work from anywhere. Have laptop will travel.
One time, I even tried to work on a mountaintop in Vermont. I thought it would be cool to sit on a ledge with my laptop open, inspired by the fresh air and the scenery (like people do in stock photos).
That didn’t work out too well.
The laptop was not a weight I ever want to carry hiking again. And once up there, I quickly realized that the Internet signal wasn’t very strong and my hotspot wasn’t able to get me to the websites I needed for my work.
But mostly, I didn’t actually see the scenery. After a pretty strenuous hike to get to the top, I spent my time on the mountain cursing technology and my stupidity for carrying the laptop deadweight with me.
Time blocking is a better way to go
My next attempt at the “work from anywhere” lifestyle was to separate work from leisure on my trips. I’d work first thing in the morning, then go about my day. Because I never informed my clients that I was taking a break, though, I’d check my email at least every couple of hours.
This was definitely better than my laptop-on-the-mountain experience, but it still left me in a constant state of low-level stress. My mind was always stuck on an issue with a project or worrying about a deadline that I still had to meet — or trying to figure out the best response to a client email I just read on my phone. I know that I visited the Vatican Gardens because my iPhone has a bunch of photos from there, but I don’t actually remember that experience because I was trying to figure out how to write a client’s article.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a definite perk to be able to take your work to Rome or to Mexico City with you. But being a one-person business meant I was in constant work mode, no matter what the setting was.
Oh, and one more thing. “Working from anywhere” in reality meant that I couldn’t go to places without good Internet access. When your clients think they can reach you — they better be able to reach you. Thus, I nixed plans to go for a two-week trek in Iceland, a cross-country trip in Panama, and a few others to locations that weren’t reliably connected.
Turns out , old-fashioned vacations are awesome
After a couple of years of freelancing, I developed a sufficient track record with my regular clients. Never missing deadlines, delivering great work product that required practically no editing, and going the extra mile without charging for minor extra projects have built a lot of goodwill.
I leveraged that goodwill … to start going on vacations! So, paradoxically, I came full-circle to my 9–to-5 days and separated my work from my travels.
While I still check my email when I’m away, I inform my clients about my travel plans, and they generally don’t ping me during that time unless something urgent comes up — just like it was when I was a full-time employee.
The knowledge that my vacation time is free from work obligations brings so much peace of mind and freedom. I can go to places without good Internet access. I can spend the entire day — from early morning to late at night — sightseeing, hiking, horseback riding, learning to surf (that one is not going so well)…
After trying the alternatives, I realized that separating work time from vacation time is the best way to freelance and that’s the model I’m sticking with.
But here’s where freelancing does give you the freedom to work from anywhere and can beat regular employment
As we all know, life happens. A while ago, a close family member was very ill. She lives in a different country and couldn’t travel to where I live. So, I packed up my laptop and moved to be with her for the duration of her treatments. I spent three months away from home and didn’t miss a beat with my freelancing.
Another time, I decided to spend a couple of months in Spain, learning Spanish. Again, my freelancing didn’t suffer.
Having the flexibility to be location-independent like this is where freelancing truly shines as a “work from anywhere” alternative.
If I had to rank all the pluses of freelancing, this one would be at the very top.
