Hi!

Recently my friend emailed me. He is traveling the country for a month and caravaning with friends in their RVs. He mentioned that he hasn't quite figured out how to find balance around schedules, work, wifi, routines, etc., and was wondering if I had any tips.

Another friend reached out about this just after him, and a few more on Instagram...

As I wrote them back, I thought, maybe you'd find it interesting too.

If you didn't know already, I have been traveling since January with my partner through the United States in a built-out van (nicer than my first apartment) and we have figured out a few things that make it work for us and both of our businesses.

I post about it mostly in my Instagram stories.​

In 2023 we spent a lot of time in the van together but I would go back and forth between IL and the van for chunks of time.

2024 has been the first full-time year together in our teeny vehicle house-on-wheels, with no home base, and it's been so much fun but... logistics. Logistics are a thing.

In June, we thought "Let's challenge ourselves even more" so we went to Europe for a month. We visited my family in Latvia, spent time with my friend Sally in Rome, spoke at Atomicon, and ended our trip with my friend Bob in Glasgow. All while working and staying connected with stateside clients.

While I realize the ability to travel like this is such a privilege, we are also highly realistic in our ability to make this possible for ourselves. And I thought I would give you a few unglamorous tips on how it works for us.

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Here are a few frequently asked questions and answers

How do you get Internet?

We did a lot of research on this but ended up with a Peplink router. Yes, it is expensive, but highly reliable. We started with Starlink and found Peplink to be MUCH better (sorry Elon) in both size and function.

Each of us pay for a sim card monthly that we pop into the back of this router and it forces a mega-strong wifi signal. We can both run our calls from practically everywhere.

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How do you manage two work schedules?

We block our calls in different ways. My partner takes calls Monday - Wednesday. I take calls mostly on Wednesday - Thursday. We overlap on Wednesday a few times but not often.

When we need a reliably quiet background (think...podcast episodes, webinars, workshops) we will book an occasional Airbnb. We have spent about 90% of our time at campsites this year, and 10% in Europe or at hotels/airbnbs and we actually prefer our comfy van at this point.

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Intentional Routine Tips?

The only thing you can count on in van life is that you have to be flexible and that plans will change. We are challenged every week to figure something out that wasn't planned, but here are some things that help.

• We have really nailed what routines are important to us in the morning and evenings. This eliminates thinking too hard about unknowns.
• We transition locations on Fridays – never during the week.
• We talk about our upcoming week every Sunday.
• We have had to get really intentional about focus time during work hours.
• Everything else we figure out on the spot and so far we have a 100% success rate of figuring sh*t out.

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How do you find good spots to park/stay?

We prefer local and state parks over RV parks. Better views, quieter, cleaner bathrooms. Kat has more experience with this, so they book many of these for us a month or two in advance using Recreation.gov.

Our tip: Read reviews on recreation.gov. They will mention if the camping spots are flat (important in a van), if it is a cellular dead zone, the bathroom cleanliness, shower cleanliness, and more!

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How does it work having your dogs with you?

Dewey and Beanie-Boo love van life. They get sooo many sniff walks, run runs, and love hiking and exploring with us. Bean lives half of the time with her dad so sometimes I have to fly her back to IL (it never gets easier) but Dewey our puppy loves it when that happens because then he gets overtime attention for a little while. haha

We never ever ever leave our pups in the van alone. Some people do... Y'all we are two anxious humans and we just cannot even fathom leaving them in there alone.

That means, grocery trips, running into a coffee shop, and even gym time, get done with one person staying in the van. It gives us peace of mind.

We have a foldable crate for the occasional Airbnb (for our curious puppy) in case we need to go run errands without him. I highly recommend the crate I linked. It is durable and has been a lifesaver on the road.

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How we traveled to 4 countries in June while working:

I emailed our hotels ahead of time to see what the wifi connection is like and if it is capable of streaming calls. I don’t expect or assume anything.

We blocked certain “hours” for working to accommodate our clients on their same schedule. Sometimes that meant staying up a little later.

We did a lot of walking around / exploring early mornings while our US clients were asleep.

We went places where we knew folks to enjoy the regions from a local’s perspective. It helped us plan less, and experience more.

We book every detail into our shared Google calendar. We include transfer times etc.

We like to book trips around speaking engagements. For instance, I was speaking at Atomicon in Newcastle Upon Tyne and Kat was speaking in Chicago shortly after, so we sort of built our trip around those two talks.

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These are just a few tips...

There are so many but this would take you an hour to read. No one has time for that. Have you ever considered working and traveling? Do you have any specific questions? Did you find this interesting? Let me know, reply to this.

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One of my favorite regular meetings this year hands down, while traveling, and working, has been meeting with my mastermind groups.

Every other week we meet to talk through different challenges/opportunities/plans for the future. We talk about personal branding, speaking, marketing, and opening the door to MORE in life and business.

I am opening a few new spots for my upcoming mastermind and I would love for you to join if it is a good fit for you. You can find more information right here, or sign up for the interest list!

Doors are closing soon. >> more info ​

Thank you for coming along for the ride, literally, with me this first half of the year. I cannot wait to see what's next.

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Lauren V. Davis

Would you like to see if working together is a good fit?

>> Book a call! ​

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