5 Effective Ways to Work While Traveling
It’s sometimes said that the best work is often done on the road, away from the dullness and ordinariness of everyday life. While this premise may or may not be accurate, what’s undeniable is that you have to set up your tasks and a workflow consciously, if you hope to accomplish any work.
Thankfully, there’s no dearth of apps or tools that will help you tune out the interruptions and be more productive.
1. Mute the World With Noise-Canceling Headphones
“In the silence,” as the saying goes, “great works are born.” This old quip, often rehashed in various forms throughout the ages, strikes at the truth of deep work and creativity. In fact, astudy conducted by Cornell University in 2001concluded that even low levels of noise can significantly lower your work motivation and increase your stress.
Now, if this is the case for even low-level office noise, you can only imagine what a hectic trip might do to your concentration and, as a result, your productivity. This is where noise-canceling headphones can come to your rescue.
Noise-canceling headphones mainly work in two ways: by blocking the background noise completely or by reducing the incoming noise, depending on the type of headphones you buy. You can find plenty ofcheap noise-canceling headphonesonline these days.
Whatever headphones you choose to buy, just ensure it fits all the key features of a good headphone, such as sound quality, battery life, type of headphone, etc. So get the headphones, put them on, and blast away at your work with full concentration.
2. Do Deep Work With Focused Timers
Focused Timer apps, often colloquially called Pomodoro apps, help you manage your time and boost productivity through the implementation of thePomodoro technique, a time management technique developed in the 1980s.
Put briefly, the apps work by breaking down your time into short chunks, usually 25 minutes each, followed by a break of 5 minutes. After a series of such short work intervals, a longer break interval takes place.
There are a series of benefits of using Pomodoro apps, such as cutting down on your distractions, a set reliable schedule, enhanced focus, etc., which make you much more effective in your work.
For this example, we still stick with minimalism and efficiency; Focus To-Do is an app that fits this bill perfectly. Download the app from theofficial Focus To-do websiteand launch it. Then, from the home screen, start typing in the task you’d like to focus on and hitEnter. A new task will be created. To start a Pomodoro, simply click on the red play button for a specific task, and the Pomodoro will begin.
During your Pomodoro, you can also choose theWhite Noisefeature, and block out all outside distractions. Again, on the home page, you will also get information likeCompleted Tasks,Elapsed Time,Tasks to be Completed, etc.—all of which will be very handy to get a bird’s eye view of your tasks and goals.
If you go for a premium version of the app, you will also enjoy more features like cloud backup, detailed statistics about your usage, unlimited project creations, etc. So use the Pomodoro app and get your work done during your travels.
3. Get More Organized With To-Do List Apps
To-do list apps are special software that helps you organize and prioritize your tasks and duties effectively. In a nutshell, they bring the traditional pen-and-paper to-do lists to your computer—a godsend for almost all computer workers in the 21st century.
Again, there are a lot of many To-Do list apps out there. To simplify your search, we’ve pickedTickTick. A cross-platform to-do list app, TickTick is a straightforward app that will help you schedule beforehand, stay focused on your tasks at hand, and therefore improve your efficiency.
Like all to-do list apps, it follows a simple GTD (get things done) technique for task management which will come in very handy in your travels. Just put in the tasks beforehand, and start knocking them out one after the other without wasting any time in decision-making during your travels.
As an added bonus, the app also comes with a built-in Pomodoro, Eisenhower Matrix, and other features like Task Rescheduling, etc. So don’t think too much; get the app, and cross out those to-do tasks during your next travel.
4. Block Out Your Distractions With Social Media Blockers
We’ve all been there. You start out with resounding enthusiasm, blocking out everything else in your mind, laser-focused on the task at hand. As the minutes pass by, however, you notice a steep decline in your focus.
The work may seem dull, and sitting for only half an hour could leave you feeling tired. A few minutes later, you might be itching to check out your social media of choice, ‘refresh’ yourself with a quick song or YouTube video, and so on.
When you’re facing such a depletion in your focus, the last thing you need is a ping from one of your social media apps. By usingsocial media blocking apps or websites, you can keep a layer of protection against such unwanted distractions.
In short, these apps work by blocking out—both on your PC and smartphone—social media services like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. They also give you features like distraction-free modes, productivity zones, and other customizable settings that will help you block out even your messenger notifications.
Here, Freedom stands out among a sea of website and app-blocking solutions. You can grab the free trial (it’s a premium app), sign-up, and take care of the installation. From there, you can access the online dashboard and start managing your websites or apps right away.
For instance, you’re able to create custom block lists, which will basically block all websites as per your needs. Just head toMY Blocklistssection, type in the website URL in the textbox, and click onADD SITEto block out all distracting websites.
Similarly, from theMy Sessionssection, it’s possible to put in timers for your tasks and keep a record of your tasks to get your work pattern during your travels.
5. Create a Solid Workflow With Task Scheduling Apps
Task scheduling or planning appsare a class of apps that work by helping you manage your tasks and complete your work effectively in specific timeframes. When you’re on the move, you will encounter a host of disruptions to your workflow. On top of this, your time and resource will also be likely limited.
By planning your tasks or commitments well in advance, then, you won’t be making any decisions on the fly; this will let you become more efficient with your work. Again, from Trello to Evernote, there’s a flood of apps to choose from. In this example, we’ve usedTrello.
On Trello, you will get features such asLabelsto add priority to your tasks; during your travels, this will help you arrange your tasks in an order which is more suitable for your commute. Similarly, if you’re a Business or Enterprise user, you can useAdvanced Checklists, which will let you add teammates for accountability. Simply add in a teammate to a task with the due date, and you will be good to go.
Trello also uses aKanban-style task management approach, which will come in handy if you want to organize big projects. So, all in all, use Trello to organize or schedule your tasks beforehand and break them down into short chunks for more efficiency (without losing the big picture).
Get Your Work Done Effectively During Your Travels
Working during your travels can be a challenge. But as many people have discovered time and again, it can lead to some of your best work. So if you’re a digital worker planning to knock out some deep work done during your travels, the apps we’ve listed above are some of the best options to pick from.
Of course, productivity apps are just one piece of the puzzle. Other apps, such as those that focus on safety and precautions for road trips, are also worth checking before you head out on your travels. So make sure you try them all out.
Heading out on a road trip? This collection of Android and iOS apps will help you travel smarter, save money, and stay safe.
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