Go Work Remotely for 2 Weeks!

I had never done it before, and I’m so glad I did. You will learn SOMETHING about your life from being away, and gain a new perspective in those 2 weeks. If you can do it, take the trip and work remotely. I’m super grateful I got to spend this time with Kirk in Denver, Colorado. We learned some things along the way and I thought it would be fun to share. Here’s how I prepared and made the most of it (:

I should start by saying that we drove to Denver from Buffalo and back! It was really important to me to have my own car since 2 weeks is an extended time and we’d each have our own work, errands and plans to go to. I also wanted to bring my dog Lucy. She is truly the best company and did so well in the car (more on that coming!) and of course it was nice to save on boarding costs as those can really rack up quickly.

• Map out the driving route there and back ahead of time. We took a more southern route on the way there through Kansas, and came back to Buffalo a more northern route through Nebraska. We decided to do it in 2 days – about 12 hours of driving day 1 and 10 hours of driving day 2. I’m so grateful Kirk planned the driving routes and made our hotel reservations. On the way there we stopped for the night in Columbia, MO and on the way back stayed the night in Moline, IL. Make your route depending on how long you want to be driving – are you just driving (like we did) or are you going to want to stop a sight see along the way, go out to eat, etc. Try to avoid large cities at peak times/rush hour. On the second day the way there, we got to Denver right around 5 PM and were stuck in traffic trying to get home.
• Decide if you’re taking your car or renting a car. If taking your own like I did, take your car for service ahead of time. I scheduled Kia for service at the dealership a week or so before and got an oil change, ended up getting a new cabin filter, tires rotated and checked for leaks, fluids topped, etc. With a general service appointment they also check the health of your battery and some other items. Having that peace of mind was great. Also made sure my spare tire was in good shape, I had a bag in the trunk with jumper cables, etc. I also did a quick clean of my car just with a microfiber cloth and some method spray to get rid of all dust and make sure windows and mirrors were clear to start the trip. Also consider if you’ll be on tollways. My EZ pass could be used in IL and OH which was great, but I also brought cash which ended up coming in handy for the tolls in KS. Having adaptive cruise in my Kia was also incredibly helpful – something to keep in mind if you’re renting a car.
• I planned what I was packing in advance. Once I decided on all of the things I needed to bring for 2 weeks, I then broke the items down into the bags they were going into. Then I knew that I’d have 1 bag for Lucy, 1 suitcase, 1 bag for my laptops and tech, 1 cooler for car food/snacks, etc and I could mentally plan how all of the bags would fit into the car. Lucy’s bed also took up most of the space. (I should mention I have a Kia Telluride with 3rd row seating – so with the 3rd and 2nd rows down, we had lots of good space!) The day before I decided to do a test run and pack the car so I’d have time to make any adjustments if needed before we got on the road. I’m a planner, and the last thing I wanted to do was load the car right before we needed to get on the road and realize things couldn’t fit right!
• Other notes on packing – pack an overnight bag for however many nights you’ll be in hotels along the way. It was a game changer to just bring that bag into the hotel with toiletries, a change of clothes, phone charger, etc and be able to leave my giant suitcase closed and in the car. If you plan to sleep in the car, bring a neck pillow like you would for an airplane. I really struggled with my head bobbing and I didn’t get much good sleep. I also packed extra garbage bags and a roll of paper towels. Though we didn’t need them, you never know if you will end up with a mess (especially bringing a pet) that you want to be able to clean up and secure quickly. I also packed a small cooler of food and snacks. I had 4 flat ice packs in there. Turkey and cheese roll ups did great over the 2 days. I kept the flour tortillas separate and wrapped them right before eating so they didn’t get soggy. I brought bananas and apples, popcorn and lunchables. I packed enough for 2 days, and put things in the hotel fridge over night. Also had a couple of water bottles handy in the car for Lu each time we stopped. We tried not to drink a ton of water on the drive, or I would have had to stop more than Lucy lol. I’d also recommend checking the weather and have a jacket handy in the car – it was often raining when we had to pump gas or walk Lucy.
• If you’re going with other people, plan for who is going to be driving when, and if you’re doing to want activities to do in the car. If you plan to split the driving between folks figure out who’s fresher in the morning vs. afternoon, if you want to switch up each time you make a stop etc. We tried to only stop where there was gas vs. a rest area, so each time we could fill up the car, take care of Lucy, and make a bathroom stop. So each stop was maybe a little big longer, but we could make less stops since we were getting everything done. For the drive I ended up bringing the 52 Lists Project, and it was fun to go through some of those together. Kirk downloaded his shows and podcasts ahead of time and recommends not relying on streaming since service is spotty in some areas.
• Consider your pet if you’re bringing them! We stopped every 3-4 hours on the road and each time she got a short walk, pottied and ate. This schedule worked so well, as each time she went back to sleep for the next 3-4 hours. I didn’t want to keep opening her 2 week supply of food or bigger bag that I packed for her, so for the car I kept a pop-up food and water bowl, and enough food for the 2 days in a zip lock baggie that fit in the passenger door. Make sure you are booking pet friendly hotels for your stops! When you check in, ask for a room on a lower floor. (Lol – in Columbia, MO our room was on the 4th floor and that made the 1 AM potty trip extra fun). In Moline, IL we were on the 1st floor and it was wonderful.
• We decided to drive on a Sunday/Monday each time. Since Monday is a work day for both of us, we had to do a bit of planning for those days in advance. Depending on the type of work you do, you may need to take off, or can take calls in the car, etc. I ended up having a couple of calls I could take in the car, while there were others I delegated to my amazing team to cover for me.

Would you go and work remotely for 2 weeks? I hope you have the opportunity to go visit someone for an extended time! This was fun to put down on “paper.” I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy adventuring!