For some of us, it’s sometimes unavoidable.  For others of us, it’s our most inspired environment for writing.  For others of us still, we’re so restless anyway, we might as well work.  What do I speak of?  Writing presentations while in transit on:  planes, trains, and (for the very advanced), automobiles.

As straight forward as it may seem, there are some things that you should think of before you start designing away.  These helpful tips and tricks will help you divide and conquer:

  • Figure out what is going to be internet heavy and try and do what you can either before or after your trip. Many trains, planes and buses offer internet now, but it’s frequently low bandwidth and unreliable   What needs heavier research?  What needs intense online time (research, proprietary databases, image searches, etc)?
  • Be conscious of confidentiality agreements.  Some companies do not want their materials to be seen by anyone else, which includes your seat mate.  If you really must work in transit on something confidential, then you really must get a privacy screen for your machine.  Many laptop manufacturers make custom screens for their machines.  Or you can look at a local big box office supplies retailer.  3M produces a series that you can stick onto your Mac screen, for example.
  • Do the easier work in transit.  It can be difficult to do more detailed graphics work from a plane, train or bus seat.  But it can be a great time to write scripts, make text edits, review data sets, or anything else that doesn’t involve heavy touchpad work.
  • Plan for printing.  Some folks to prefer to work on paper when flying.  Sometimes it’s easier to mark up printed documents when making edits, or hand draw charts for a graphics expert to produce for you. Be sure to plan for bag size and printing on both ends of your journey.  Me mindful of printing fees in airport lounges or at hotels.

Happy travelling!

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