Ask HN: How Do You Stay Comfortable While Working During Travel? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How Do You Stay Comfortable While Working During Travel?

6 pointsgeocrasher10 comments

I have been WFH since 2011, and I've got that down pat. But these days I have the opportunity to travel and work while doing so. I have a laptop and a second screen for it, and am comfortable working with it.

The issue I worry about is comfort/safety while AirBNB'ing or otherwise staying out of the house, away from my excellent chair or even my decent couch setup. Standard "executive" chairs are rarely comfortable for more than a couple of hours. Plus, I can't guarantee I'll always be able to find a desk/chair to work from. So, how are all of you travelers making do? What tips would you have for somebody who wants to work while traveling? Thanks a lot.

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So, what I do is actually work from coffee shop about 1x a week. This gets me used to having a "non-ideal" setup, while also allowing me to interact with people outside my immediate family and close friends. When I work from coffee shop, I tend to get up and stretch my legs more than I would at home, but also use things like use noise cancelling headphones, have my bag in order so that I don't miss things like chargers, cables or components I need.

When I work from vacation, remotely, whatever... since I already have the "non-ideal" setup down pat, I either work from a coffee shop or from the place I am staying, but I don't have such a massive adjustment since I am already trained to be productive in a perfect environment.

Surely you've had to travel since 2011? If not, you need to start.

Although I no longer get a pay raise or bonuses, I still decided to stick with my company of over a decade. The benefits are the fact that I get to work anywhere I want. And considering I'm usuall around the country... either housesitting or taking care of my family.

Take advantage of such convienent and comforts while you have it. Learn how to work on a beach, on a train, in a bus, or on a plane, etc. Learn how to work with one monitor. If you do need that second monitor, there are portables they make. Make sure you have Internet anywhere you go. I have both WiFi, Mobile capabilities, and an Xfinity login should I need to use it.

Pick a destination and go. Make plans around your work schedule if you can. If not, then take work with you and make sure you have enough time to do your work. I know wherever I travel... I often make sure I can stop anywhere as the jobs that come in for me can take anywhere from minutes to a few hours each. The hardest part is not the WFH but trying to convince your parents that you are actually WFH.

Do you ever need to use a hotspot? Recommendations for a device?

Make the investment you need to make in having Internet all the time, whether through Xfinity, TMobile, AT&T, Verizon, or any of them... or whenever or wherever you travel most, remember the spots that had Internet and go back to them. Most airports are pretty good at having Internet, though LAX and EWR still cannot figure it out.

I travel 8-10 times a year to conferences and meet clients (not a huge amount but still considerable) and my advice: 1. MBP is god-like for travelling, definitely heavy but feels like a PC and comfortable to use anywhere. 2. Ipad Pro with magic keyboard for working on airplane, taxi, coffeeshop with no comfortable table etc... (although you can't code you can complete other administrative tasks) or communicate with the team. 3. I have a bag that fits 5 chargers, my Kindle, Ipad and MBP with a place for passports and documents. I use it and take it everywhere, very easy to load and unload.

Finally, crazy advice, but try working from bed or lying down on a couch, your back will say thank you

I brought my mechanical split keyboard with me on my bike packing trip and I tried to adjust the height of my chair the best I could (using pillows and other things if need be). The split keyboard is maybe the most important thing for me to feel comfortable and at home, and it was well worth the added weight and the weird looks. The second screen (LG portable 4k, highly recommended) was crucial too.

I stopped using multiple screens years ago. I find working on multiple monitors to be a bit more efficient, but switching between a multiple monitor setup and my single laptop screen was slowing me down because my workflow changed. Now I just use my laptop screen and I've adjusted to being efficient on that, so that I'm efficient everywhere.

I work with my laptop in my lap and bring my own chair.

That’s the same as I work at home and my traveling chair is a folding chair.

These ways are good enough and good enough is good enough.

Or better because they are easy, simple, and repeatable. The holy trinity of life on the road.

YMMV because I got rid of the second monitor years ago when I started traveling while needing to work.

Be young and fit :p

I used to be able to work from anywhere on the shittiest laptop hunched over on the shittiest desk... getting older and then less fit during the pandemic, and well, now I can't work without a good chair because my back just gets fucked up after a few days.

Don't sit in one place too long. Sit outside, go to a coffee shop, sit on the couch, move to the table,

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