Have Laptop Will Travel

A Few Pros and Cons To Working On the Go

Trying to work remotely has its pros and its cons. Depending on what stage of life you’re in, you have to weigh each of these circumstances differently and give priorities to separate aspects of your desires and goals. You need to make sure that you extend your timeline far enough to ascertain that these benefits and detriments make sense when you look at your long-term planning as well.

So for all of the remote jobs that you consider, think of all the different characteristics they have. What kind of freedom of time will you have? Is there any potential for risk or accidents on the road if you work remotely? Will you be getting consistent opportunities? And how inconsistent can income be through different kinds of contracts?

Freedom of Time

One of the significant benefits to working remotely is the fact that you often have more freedom of time than if you worked static hours in a specific location. There are pros and cons of this freedom though. Some people find difficulty motivating themselves for individual contract work on the go. Other people see that they have enough internal motivation to work more hours or more passionately at their job than they would in an office space.

Potential for Accidents on the Road

If you’re working remotely, that may mean more road travel time on the road. In these cases, the opportunities for accidents on the road can increase. Especially if you are traveling to different places for different types of remote work, you may be unfamiliar with specific areas. Especially if you add inclement weather to the mix, this is a recipe for a risk that wouldn’t be there if you had a static job in a consistent location.

Consistent Opportunities    

Another thing to think about when it comes to working on the go is how consistent your opportunities for jobs will be. For example, you can look into passive income opportunities, but they take some work to actually get going. And those passive opportunities often change when technology or circumstances change. So it can be difficult to maintain opportunities that pan out continually.

Inconsistent Income

And then there is the matter of income. When you have a regular job at a regular place with regular hours, you get a steady income. When you’re working remotely or working on the go, sometimes those variables can change. Depending on if you’re making an hourly rate or our invoicing by job completion, you can have long stretches where income and expenses are incredibly different. If you manage yourself and average out these peaks and valleys, you are usually fine, but it may take some self-control and some self-restraint to make that a reality when balancing short and long-term needs.

3 Ways To Make Travel More Educational

While traveling can be a great way to escape from the stresses and pressure of your job and responsibilities back home for a short amount of time, it also has the potential to leave you mentally much better off than you were before you left for your trip. For both children and adults, travel can open up your eyes to knowledge that you otherwise couldn’t have been privy too without months or even years of study and contemplation. However, in order to gain this knowledge, you do need to put in a little bit of effort. So to help you have your next trip brighten your mind as well as your smile, here are three ways  that you can make travel more educational.

Pick Up The Language

Even if you’re traveling to an area where they speak the same basic language as you, you can still pick up some of the local language and grow your vocabulary and language skills. According to Leon Logothetis, a contributor to the Huffington Post, trying to learn at least a few phrases or words of the country or region you’re visiting will help you to have a greater understanding of those people and customs as well as your own native tongue. And if you ever want to learn a new language fluently, the skills you picked up from your travels will definitely come in handy.

Look At How The Current World Functions

Visiting a foreign country can give you great insight into the history of that area that you’ve only read about in books before. You’ll be able to see structures and monuments and buildings that can help really connect you to the historical past. In addition to this, Nabin Paudyal, a contributor to LifeHack.org, shares that you can also learn so much about today’s world. By seeing how the people live and just feelings the atmosphere of a town or city, you can learn so much about their culture, economy, safety, government, current affairs and more.

Find Some Challenging Tasks

Another great skill you can develop from traveling, regardless of where you’re traveling to, is problem solving. Despite the detail of the plans you’ve set in place for your trip, there’s bound to be at least one thing that doesn’t happen the way you’ve envisioned. When you’re faced with this, you’re going to have to think on your feet and problem solve your way out of the situation. According to Sienna Fantozzi, a contributor to The Bustle, by getting outside of your comfort zone through traveling, you will learn and grow so much as a person.

If you want to come back from your travels feeling like you’ve really learned something, consider using the tips mentioned above to show you how this can be done.

3 Tips For Better Posture and Ergonomics When Using A Laptop

For many modern workers, a huge portion of their workday is spent using a laptop. Whether you work remotely, spend time traveling for work, or just prefer to use a laptop over a desktop, you might be one of the thousands of professionals who accomplish their work on this type of computer. And while there’s plenty of information out there for how to have good posture and create an ergonomic space for people working on computers at a desk, using a laptop often brings about even worse posture and more physical issues that people don’t know how to combat. So to help you to feel better after working for hours on end, here are three tips for better posture and ergonomics when using a laptop.

The Importance Of Keeping Your Screen At Eye Level

One of the biggest problems with working on a laptop is that the keyboard and screen are connected. This can make it very easy for you to put the keyboard at an angle that’s comfortable but leave the screen in an awkward position for your body. Rather than doing this, NHS.uk recommends that you do what you can to keep the screen at eye level. By doing this, you’ll have far less strain on your head and neck, which can help to alleviate headaches that you may have been having as a result of working on your laptop.

Use Positions That Reduce Strain

Because of the way laptops are set up, you might find that it’s hard to get in a comfortable position when using them. If you’re sitting at a desk or table, you’ll likely be sitting in a more traditional position that will help to reduce strain to your joints and muscles. But if you don’t want to be sitting at a desk or table, Nancy Messieh, a contributor to MakeUseOf.com, recommends you try lying down with your knees up and your device resting on your thighs. If you don’t want to lay down, you should at least put a pillow behind your back when sitting on a couch or bed so you can have the support your body needs to reduce strain.

Consider Using An External Mouse and Keyboard

To get the most ergonomic set up with your laptop, Stephanie Burke, a contributor to Spine-Health.com, suggests that you consider just getting an external mouse and keyboard. By having these items disconnected from your laptop, you’ll be able to set up your work area so that you’re putting reduced stress on your hands, wrists, elbows, neck and more. This will allow you to have the monitor at eye level, the keyboard set so your elbows are resting at 90 degrees, and your wrists in a more natural position for using a mouse.

If you frequently do work on a laptop, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you have better posture and a more ergonomic set up.

3 Ways To Protect Your Vacation Time From Work Worries

Taking a vacation and spending some of your time traveling around with your friends and loved ones can be a great way for you to unwind for the normal stresses of your day-to-day life. However, if you aren’t able to be completely “off the clock” while on your vacation, the benefits of taking time off work can’t completely be felt or appreciated for you. But in order for you to return home and back to work refreshed after this period away, you’ve got to find a way to keep work at work and not on your vacation with you. To help you accomplish this, here are three ways you can protect your vacation time from work worries.

Set The Right Expectations and Boundaries

Before you leave for your vacation, Jeanne Croteau, a contributor to Forbes.com, recommends that you speak to your boss and coworkers about the expectation and boundaries that you’ll have in place while you’re away. As part of this, state when you’ll be able to check messages and emails and when you’ll be unreachable. Also, explain when you should be contacted and when something can and should wait for your return. Once you have these times or dates laid out, you’ll feel much more comfortable unplugging during all other times.

Don’t Make Any Plans To Get Ahead

While there’s likely always more work that can be getting done, it’s important that for your mental, physical, and emotional health that you give yourself a break every once in a while, which is exactly what a vacation should do. And although the temptation to get some work in while you can may be in the back of your mind, Rebecca Healy, a contributor to U.S. News and World Report, recommends that you just make it your plan not to do any work while on vacation. If some type of emergency pops up and you have to deal with it, face that problem then. But the last thing you want to do is be trying to return emails while in transit, which not only takes away from your vacation but can also be very dangerous if you’re on the phone while driving and potentially causing a car accident.

Keep Your Laptop Packed Away

As was mentioned above, there might be some type of work emergency that needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible and simply can’t wait for you to return to work. Because of scenarios like this, it’s likely a good idea for you to bring your laptop on vacation with you. However, Amy Elisa Jackson, a contributor to Glassdoor.com, recommends that you keep your laptop packed away as much as you can. This will keep you from checking in on things when you should be spending your time enjoying your vacation.

If you need some help learning how to protect your vacation time from the worries of work, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you do just that.

A Quick, Pre-Travel Car Checklist

Before you head out on your next vehicular adventure, especially if it’s for a long trip for a vacation, you should always put together a quick, pre-travel car checklist. It takes five minutes to make a list of all the essentials that you should look into before your departure, and it can save you a whole lot of trouble later.

[Read more…]