At some point, many of us are forced to work on the road. If you work for yourself, or as a freelancer, there might be times when you are on vacation and need to do a little work. Whether you work for yourself or as an employee, there might be occasions when you are on a business trip and need to prepare for a meeting or continue with some other projects from your hotel room. You might even have to work on the plane or train.
Fortunately, this is much easier than it used to be. Most modern hotels offer wifi and will be equipped with at least a desk. But, it’s still not always ideal. You might find it hard to focus or difficult to find a comfortable space to work. You might be tired from traveling, or uncomfortable from sleeping in a different bed. The circumstances aren’t ideal, but sometimes we have no choice. Here are some tips to help you work productively from a hotel room.
Find the Right Hotel
Some hotels are better for working in than others. So, if you know that you need to work, check the hotel description, and look at what facilities are on offer before you book. If you are away on business, you might also want to check the location, to make sure you are near to any meetings or events that you need to attend, or that you can get around easily.
Your hotel should offer wifi, a desk and comfortable chair at least. You might also want a TV so that you can relax — plenty of plug points, air conditioning or heating and anything else that helps you to feel comfortable. You might want a gym or other facilities on-site, to help you unwind, and a conference room if you need to host any meetings. If you can’t find this information online, call the hotel to double-check and make specific requests.
Pack What You Need
Of course, you don’t need to rely on the hotel to have everything that you need to work. Think about the things that you’ll need to take from home, or from your office. This might include your laptop and charger, an iPad, your phone and any files and folders that you need. Going paperless and saving everything to the cloud can help if you frequently work on the move. But, you might still want to pack a notepad and pen if you prefer to take notes the old-fashioned way.
Stay Safe Online
Whether you are working from home, in your office, or from a hotel, if you are working online, safety should be a priority. Take your time to read about Borgata online privacy for tips on how to protect yourself and your family online. If you are using a public wifi network while working from a hotel, you might want to consider using a VPN and if you are working on public computers at all, make sure you sign out of all of your accounts.
Get Out of Bed
If you are working in a hotel room, it can be tempting to stay in bed, wearing your PJs, with the TV on in the background and your laptop resting on your legs. But, while this might work for a little while, you are unlikely to be productive or work at your best. You might soon grow lethargic and find it hard to focus.
Get out of bed, get dressed and set up your desk for the day. You might want to head out for breakfast and coffee before you start if that’s what you do at home. But, when you work, try to treat your room as an office.
But Stay Comfortable
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get comfortable. Move the room around if you need to, so that your desk gets the most natural light. Add a cushion or throw to your chair to make it more comfortable, and move lamps and other furniture to help you to get the setup right.
When you start to ache, get up and go for a walk. Leave your room and head down for a coffee or snack, or get out of the hotel entirely for some fresh air. Try to have breaks, just like you would if you were working from your usual office. These can help to keep you alert and focused and reduce the risk of fatigue setting in.
Set Yourself Daily Targets
Having targets is always a good idea when we’re working, but even more so when we are working away from home, and it is easy to get distracted. So, before your trip, think about what you need to get done while you are away. You might just need to prepare for a meeting, and debrief after it. Or you might have ongoing projects to work on and deadlines to meet. Set yourself some goals for your trip, and write daily to-do lists to keep yourself on track.
Get into a Routine
If you are going to be working like this for longer than a day, you might want to try to get into a routine. Get up at the same time, work as you would at home, going out for meetings when you need to, and clocking off for the day when you usually would. Then, spend some time relaxing before bed. This can help you to get more done.
Work from Other Places
You don’t have to spend the whole time working in your hotel room. Just like people that work from home often find they work more productively from coffee shops and other public spaces, you are free to move around.
Working productively can be challenging wherever you are. But it’s important that you do. Working more productively can mean that you get more done, your work is of a higher quality and you feel better about it. When you are working from a hotel room, being able to work productivity can mean that you can take more time out to rest or to enjoy yourself.
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