Remote working opportunities are opening up across the world, and this was before the pandemic exacerbated the growth of remote work as a necessity during lockdowns
While things are slowly reopening, and offices filled once more with employees, the fact is, remote work is here to stay.
This provides many of us with a potential lifestyle shakeup. With 100% remote work roles available, location and where you live are no longer a barrier to certain jobs.
Furthermore, it gives you far greater freedom to choose where you want to be. This can greatly improve the opportunities for anyone wanting to live an RV life on the road.
In this short guide, we will look at six steps you can take to combine the perfect balance of RV life and a remote career.
So if you’re ready, let’s dive in.
1. Suitable Equipment
If you decide to hit the road while also putting in the hours with a remote working opportunity, it is important that you have all the equipment you need.
An employer is not going to take kindly to an excuse that “you haven’t got a scanner” for a delay in sending in a report when you are miles from anywhere in your RV.
Essentially, you will need to have everything you need in order to get the job done with you. The list includes:
Reliable Laptop
You won’t be able to remote work if you do not have a laptop. This is your workhorse and in many ways the hub of your remote office.
Good battery life is also essential if you are combining work with RV life. These days it is not essential to have a large inbuilt hard drive, cloud storage combined with essential services provides access to your important documents wherever you are. Ensure you have quality virus protection installed too.
Essential Software
Whether it’s Google docs, Microsoft Office, specialized programming apps, or accountancy software, whatever your job demands in terms of software, this needs to be installed on your computer.
It may not be a good idea to rely solely on online web app software options either, as this means you cannot get on with work in the absence of an internet connection. Your department head should be able to inform you of everything you need.
Headset for meetings
If you are working remotely and will be involved with various meetings with colleagues, a good pair of headphones with a built-in microphone is a good investment.
Not only will this ensure that you can hear everything is being said, but it will also block out the extraneous sounds of your location, (you could be anywhere in your RV) while making sure your dialogue is coming through loud and clear too.
Printer / Copier / Scanner combo
It may take up a little space in the RV however, it is also recommended that you have a working printer scanner combination device.
Trying to locate a print shop every time you need a hard copy of something will get in the way of your RV freedom, and will soon become annoying.
2. A Designated Work Space
In order to keep up both your professionalism and productivity, it is wise to have a designated work area in your RV.
This is the place where you sit down and get to work. It will also be good to have that area look suitable for video conferences and zooms.
It is where your charges, paperwork, and other work items can be stored. The overall impact will make balancing your RV life with a remote career much easier.
3. A Virtual Mailbox Service
It wouldn’t be a Mailbox Master guide if we didn’t discuss virtual mailboxes at some point. The fact is, a virtual mailbox service will make your remote working existence much more streamlined and efficient.
There will be no need to visit the office for any physical correspondence that is yours; you can have this rooted through your provider and see scans as soon as the item arrives.
As we have explained here, virtual mailbox web and phone apps make remote work much easier. Whether you are a digital nomad, small business owner, or working from an RV, the benefits of a mailbox are huge.
- Related Content: MyRVMail Review 2022
4. Reliable Internet
There’s no getting away from it, if you want to remote work from your RV you are going to need good internet service.
This could be via purchasing a dongle that picks up fast network broadband, or a monthly subscription to a hotspot service.
Whichever route you take, you should do a bit of research first. Where do you plan on being in your RV? Will you be hitting up locations where connectivity could be an issue? If so, you need a provider with the greatest coverage.
Not being able to work because you have no internet is a quick way of making your employer question whether remote work is the best choice for you.
5. Availability & Work Hours
Each employer will tackle the issue of availability differently. In some scenarios, you may need to be at your desk fully through business hours. Other roles might be more flexible.
Whatever the situation you will need to make yourself available (i.e contactable) during those times.
Our cell phones make this a lot easier today. However, should an email or request come through that needs to be responded to, you might need to be near your desk to respond appropriately.
Wherever your RV life may take you on a particular day it is important that priority is given to your remote work too.
6. Time Management Skills
The previous point is very much connected to the issue of time management.
It may be tempting to procrastinate when remote working. Or mix your daily RV life in a way that is impacting the balance between life and work.
Time management is a skill, and it can be difficult if you have never remote worked before. Add that to the dynamic nature of life on the road and you could end up in trouble.
This can swing two ways as well. Some may put so many hours in and forget to take breaks or work when it is reasonable for them to down tools for the day.
Other personalities may find RV life too distracting and have motivation issues with their time management.
Setting hours aside to work, (in line with the availability mentioned above), and having a set schedule can help here. Either way, time management is an important skill to master.
Final Words
RV life on the road and remote work can be a dream come true. That increased freedom while making a living is a wonderful balance.
However, it is important to do it right. These tips should help you on your journey.
I’m a 25 year veteran of USPS. I’m retired now, but as the editor of Mailbox Master, I can’t quite remove myself from the carrier industry just yet. 🙂
