Hey guys what’s up? it’s Alex and welcome to another edition of what’s in my bag… Just kidding, I’ve never done this before!
Those of you that follow me on Instagram will know that I have spent the last week in Paris, France. And I’ve been wandering the streets, exploring with my boyfriend, eating amazing food, and yes getting some work done!
I’ve also been reading your messages, thank you! The number one question I’ve been getting lately is, “Alex you travel so, so much. How the heck do you run your business from the road?” So I thought I would show you some of the items, tools, and the gadgets that help me stay productive and focused on the road.
Now of course as a writer I’m very lucky in the sense that I don’t need a ton of stuff with me, but there are a few things I will never leave home without.
Now before I dive in if you are a freelance writer or if you’re looking to scale your business with crazy good copy, be sure to hit subscribe over on my YouTube Channel because there will be plenty more copywriting tutorials coming your way very, very soon.
Now alright, let’s dive into my travel bag!
Item #1: 13-inch MacBook Pro and iPhone
Honestly I’m sorry guys, apologize in advance this post is heavily geared towards Mac users. I just find it super lightweight, easy to travel with, and it’s compatible with a lot of the apps that I use regularly on my trusty iPhone. I have both the desktop and mobile versions so my workflow stays seamless. I’ll be sharing what those are a little later. This is the Macbook I use.
Item #2: Screen Cleaning Wipes
I don’t know about you but I am freaking OCD when it comes to having clean screens. If I’m writing outside of a cafe, or I’m on a train and there’s lots of reflection, I need to have a clean screen! Otherwise I can’t really see what’s going on, and that kills my focus. You can buy boxes of these anywhere, Costco, Walmart, here are some from Amazon. These are great for glasses and they’re safe to use on all your devices. I literally have at any given time, handfuls of these in my bag.
Item #3: Eye Mask
Writers gotta sleep! When you’re travelling a lot on air planes, trains, what have you… You need an eye mask. When I’m not staring at my computer screen, I like to actually relax, so I always make sure I have an eye mask. Mine is a really simple beautiful silk one, like this. Highly recommend you have that in your bag at any given time.
Item #4: Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones
These are lifesavers. They Bluetooth to both my laptop and my phone at the same time. I just make sure they’re fully charged up before I get on a flight and then I put these on and I write like mad. Productivity tip; something about being trapped on an air plane and then you put the Bose headphones on… These things are like heaven on your ears. You get SO MUCH done. Grab them here.
I love to listen to classical piano while I write, its lyric free, it’s super calming, relaxing, but without putting you to sleep. You can even steal my favourite playlist (It’s amazing!) here.
Item #5: Apple World Travel Adapter Kit
The Apple Travel Adapter Kit comes with an adapter for every country you would ever need to go to. Essentially, you know that little doohickey thingamajig that just slides out of your charger? You just slide that out, and slide the new one in, and now you have an adapter for your MacBook charger. You can also use it for your phone charger as well. An absolute life saver. Get it here.
Item #6: Notebook and Pen
You know sometimes you have an idea and don’t want to pull out your laptop? Gotta have a notebook to write down all your genius ideas. I love paperback Moleskines for how lightweight and luxurious they are, and they’ll bend to fit in your bag. And of course, favorite pen, I never leave home without it!
That’s it for gadgets! As you can see I don’t travel with a lot guys. I mean truly the most important thing obviously is your devices. And, guard those with your life guys… Because being a writer you almost need nothing else! Can you say, best job in the world?! That being said here are some apps that I use religiously that help keep me productive on the road.
App #1: Google Drive
I have it on my iPhone. I have it on my MacBook. It makes sharing, writing, collaborating, and editing your work so, so easy and seamless across devices. You can even edit it offline as well if you sync it to your computer. I highly recommend that.
App #2: DropBox
So the next app that I use is DropBox, again I never use an app that I can’t use on both my desktop and my mobile. And essentially I use that for sharing images, files, anything that’s outside of Google Drive. Super, super easy, quick to use. Everyone hopefully is already using Dropbox.
App #3: DocuSign
This is not something that you need to use very often but if you are on-boarding a new client and you need to sign a contract, DocuSign is a really easy way to do that without having to worry about printing paper, signing, sending, and all of that sort of stuff. And again with DocuSign, you can access it both on your mobile phone and your desktop.
App #4: Genius Scan
The next one I really, really love is called Genius Scan and this app has saved me so many times! For those times when you actually have a physical piece of paper that you need to sign and then digitize. So if you were to sign the piece of paper you could then take a photo of the document and Genius Scan crops, edits, and whitewashes it so it truly looks like a scanned piece of paper. Super great to use when you’re on the road and need to get a signed document to someone ASAP.
App #5: Evernote
Okay so next up is Evernote. I absolutely love this app. It’s not so much for writing the full pieces of copy that I create, but for taking notes on any given topic or idea. So if I’ve done some research and want to save those notes for later use I will put them in the Evernote app. Especially the one on my iPhone because I can take it with me anywhere. And then it’ll sync it to my desktop app as well so all my ideas and notes are available wherever I’m working. Highly, highly recommend Evernote.
App #6: Wi-Fi Map
Next is WiFi Map, if you are out and about in one of 60 countries that this app covers, It’ll show you where all the nearest Wi-Fi hotspots are. Cafes, hotels, public libraries, anywhere where you could go and actually get work done.
App #7: Skype/Asana
And last but not least, the two apps that I use consistently to communicate with my team are Asana and Skype. There are countless project management tools out there so just find the one that works best for you and just make sure it has a mobile version! Same with Skype, any communication tool will work, but Skype is really where my team lives most of the time and that’s how I communicate and keep up to date regularly.
Watch This Instead
I really hope you found that helpful! I would absolutely love to hear from you, what do you have in your bag? Or what tools, or gadgets, or objects help you stay focused and productive while on the road? Comment below and let me know!
Be sure to subscribe over on my YouTube Channel! I’ll be back next week, till then, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!