Lessons Learned From 2 Weeks Abroad

Cheese Merchant in Borough Market

I’m currently sitting in my quiet hostel in Budapest. Two weeks ago, I arrived in London in order to pursue an effort to take my location independence the next level. London was awesome and I got to see many parts of the city which I’d never before seen. I also was able to take in the Fulham v Roma football match and to see Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theater in the West End. Now in Budapest, I’ve settled into a quiet and clean hostel near Nyugati pàlyaudvar Station.

Although it hasn’t been a terribly long trip at this point, I have learned a few personal lessons so far. These may or may not resonate with other people.

1. My time is more valuable when I travel. When I’m sitting at home in front of my computer, it’s easy to get sucked into time-wasting activities, like checking Twitter updates, reading countless blogs, or cruising Facebook. When I’m in a foreign country, I’d like to have the time to experience it. As a result I’ve really focused on how to optimize my time when I sit down in front of my computer to work. (This relates to #2 and #5)
2. Cash flow can be stressful when travelling. When you’ve got an irregular income for which you are 100% responsible, it tends to be at the front of your mind most of the time. In order to make sure that I am maintaining and growing my income stream, I prioritize those activities which will immediately result in income. Next in line of priority is activities which will eventually lead to income, and lastly are those activities which probably will never lead to income, but are nice additions to my business.
3. Travelling alone clearly puts a stress on relationships. Keeping in touch and maintaining my relationships with those who are not with me has been an enlightening experience. Certain relationships cease entirely when you are not physically present, while others seem to flourish. Other strong relationships, such as that with my girlfriend, become stronger as our relationship is required to adapt to the distance between us.
4. Taking care of my health creates additional challenges when travelling. It’s very easy to take up an entire day sightseeing, and totally blow off working out. It’s also really tempting to eat fish and chips everyday and wash it down with several beers. I know that I can fall into these routines, so after a week of less than healthful activities, I wrote out a list of do’s and don’ts for me to follow. (Do wake up every morning at 8 and go running; don’t eat fried food more than once per week)
5. In the States, I am used to an “always-on” internet connection on both my computer and my iPhone. When travelling, it can be tough to find an internet connection, and when you do, it may be in a noisy restaurant or cafe. However, I’ve been surprised at how easy it is to find free internet in Budapest versus London. Because of the difficulty of finding internet, I’ve come to appreciate online versus offline working. Typically, when I sit down to do work on the computer, I spend time checking email and Twitter before getting started; this isn’t an option when you’re not connected to the internet! I’ve been able to be more productive by simply not connecting to the internet until I’ve completed those tasks which are best done offline, without distractions.

Whether I decide to continue traveling or to stay put in the States for a while, these lessons will prove valuable. I hope to maintain, and increase, my level of productivity and focus on my health as I go forward. These are things that will ultimately determine my ability to be successful as an entrepreneur – which is a higher priority to me than being location independent.

Tagged as: internet, location independent, time management, Travel