Road-Test Your Process and Tools: What To Bring For Every Trip

Laptop in a remote garden location.

Keep shipping until something breaks.

Eventually something will — that’s how you find your weakest point. Fix it and run an improved version.

I apply the same philosophy for process and tools. When I travel, I take it as a chance to stress test my work process and gear.

If your workflow suffers and your output dips because you’re in a different environment, then it’s not sustainable in the first place. The same goes for creativity as well.

The goal is to produce the exact same quality of results regardless of where and how you’re working, so it frees you to just focus on getting better each time.

Outsized rewards go to people who figure out how to master a skill or a point of view, and then commit to doing it again and again.

Seth Godin

Road tested, must-bring tools for every trip:

  1. Royal Kludge RK61 mechanical keyboard — affordable, durable, works anywhere and gives you a tactile feel to typing.
  2. Apple Magic Mouse — glides smoothly across any surface
  3. Foldable laptop stand — adjustable, stable and lightweight so you can avoid the neck strain when working on any table.
  4. Wrist rests — prevents wrist strain from typing for hours

And always bring an extension chord — hotels are notorious for limited power outlets, always putting them in unreachable spots.

Photo by manny PANTOJA on Unsplash