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<aside> 🚘 In the summer of 2021, my husband and I found ourselves in a situation we never thought we’d be in, but one we’re now all-too familiar with: working remotely. With hours and hours of commuting under our belts, we couldn’t believe we had struck this work/life balance lottery. We asked ourselves – how do we take advantage of the opportunity?
Well, one too many YouTube videos-worth of inspiration later, we were the brand new owners of a Honda Ridgeline, packing boxes from Costco, and creating an itinerary meant to take us around the entire United States in a year. Our undertaking seemed a little ambitious, but with more road-trip snacks than we care to admit in the glove compartment, we hit the road.
Besides how to change a tire, or which songs make the best road-trip playlist (pro tip: it’s 90% Taylor Swift), I learned a lot during my time on the road. These are my top 4 lessons.
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Having things to do after work makes you work faster.
Parkinson’s Law states that when trying to execute a task in a set period of time, the amount of work to complete the task expands to fill the time available. For example, if you give yourself 8-hours to complete a 1-hour task, then the task will become more stressful and daunting so as to fill those 8-hours. However, when you have a hike after work, or want to explore a city you’ve never been to, that task needs to get done in 1-hour and it will. I learned to keep things simple and deliver them in small chunks. Rather than doing something and then scrolling through TIkTok for 5 minutes, I began to be more focused so as to not run out of time. Because I was maximizing my efficiency, I found that I was actually able to get more done quickly, and still feel like I had time to explore.
Be curious. Ask questions.
The most memorable experiences we had on our trip were moments we didn’t have planned, or added at the last minute because someone we met at a bar the night before told us it was a must-do. Be curious about everything. No question is a dumb one.
We asked waiters and bartenders for must-dos and must-eats. We were constantly Googling and Redditing things to do in our new city. We weren’t afraid to get lost. The Black Hills of South Dakota? We basically stumbled upon those on our way from Chicago to Big Sky, Montana and they continue to be the most underrated place I’ve ever been.
The country is big and there are many people in it. Knowing your audience is important.
During my time at Part and Sum, I’ve always appreciated how much we focus on the customer – understanding the customer and thinking customer-first are basically our whole ethos. This road trip really emphasized for me that there are SO many people out there. To resonate with your customer as a brand, you do need a deep understanding of what they care about and why your brand will matter to them. Even in one country, there are a ton of different cultures, ways of living, paces of walking - you need a deep understanding of who you’re trying to target to make your marketing work.
Collaboration is about how you work, not where you work.
Now having worked for over three years fully remote, I’ve learned that collaboration comes in all forms and that feeling like you’re part of a team is possible through a computer screen. With technology like Slack, Notion, Zoom, Loom - you name it - you can effectively work from anywhere while still feeling like you have a work community around you. Plus, it’s really fun to make your co-workers guess where you are when your Zoom background changes every 3-days.
<aside> 💡 Over 20,000 miles later, we’re back home in Massachusetts, and I’m so incredibly thankful for our time spent on the road. Not only did I see more of this country than I ever thought I would, I learned a lot about myself, about life, and I think through it all, I became a better person and better marketer along the way. If you had 8 months and an open highway, where would you go?
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