I love England. It may not be exotic, but it's one of my favorite countries in the world. And this year I've been lucky enough to spend about 3 months here on and off. Last year around this same time I did a post about workshifting while in England. I decided to shoot an update post with some tips, tricks and hacks to show you how to workshift here most effectively.


If you can't view the video below, you can watch it over on YouTube.

Got any tips about workshifting in England? I'd love to hear 'em in the comments.

Last year Australia watched while ash cloud plumes from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano caused the closure of 20 airports for nearly a week across Europe causing chaotic and major economic loss. While Australian businesses watched as Europe ground to a halt, they may have done well to consider their own business continuity plans as volcanic ash from Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano has forced the cancellation of more than 300 flights in Australia and New Zealand. Considering the vast expanse of this country, realistically, it's tough for a coach service to get you to that business meeting in a timely manner. Eleven hours on an overnight coach is not anyone's idea of fun - and certainly does not encourage productivity. Experiencing such a crisis may have previously seemed unlikely, our vast and sunburnt country makes it even more important to be prepared for when travel is not possible.

Although travel may be halted, your business doesn't have to encounter delays. Today, you can safely and easily conduct business just as if you are sitting across the room from your contacts or your office desk (if you so happen to be stranded en route home!). Whilst it may feel like the in-person meeting is the best way to get that human touch with customers and colleagues, there is something to be said for not having them wait or prolonging a decision that could inevitably lead to a better outcome for all involved. Think about your competition - just because you can't get to your customers doesn't mean your competition can't. So why let this unfortunate and uncontrollable event delay your business when the access, collaboration and connection tools you need to stay on track is a simple click away?

Want to learn more about business continuity best practices and options? Check out these reports to help guide your business continuity journey:

• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery are top IT priorities for 2010 and 2011 - A whitepaper by analyst and research firm, Forrester this looks at how IT decision makers are disaster-proofing their businesses.
  
  
• Emergency Telecommuting - This is a quick-start guide to working well in a crisis - from wherever you are.
  
  
• Business Continuity Guaranteed - How to enable your employees to take the virtual road to work

Photo Credit: rwhgould

If you're anything like me, you carry a lot of gadgets. My list typically includes chargers, USB cords, laptop, extra batteries, phone, iPod, Flip, headphones and an earpiece. When traveling abroad, I also bring a GSM phone and country specific adapters. All in all, I'd say I am gadget obese.

This only became an issue recently, as I was planning a business trip to Europe. I knew I would be leaving straight from a family vacation so I had to get packed early. Given the weight of my backpack (17 pounds) I decided to go on a gadget diet, mostly on purpose and somewhat by accident. The only tech items I packed were:

• 1 iPad
• 1 Verizon HTC phone (that's the accident; it doesn't work in Europe)
• 2 Chargers (phone/iPad)
• Adapters

The first thing I noticed was that I lost about 7 pounds of gadget fat; less cords, chargers, metal, etc. I was thrilled about shedding all that weight, but now I was worried about being productive with just an iPad.

I first used the iPad when I went skiing over the holiday. I immediately had a large appetite for apps. I grabbed everything from Angry Birds to Evernote and HootSuite; digital magazines like CNN, BBC, Martha Stewart and Maxim...yes, Martha and Maxim. I'd heard that Martha had the best digital experience and Maxim is, well, Maxim. It was in the "M" section, so why not?

I went from my holiday straight to Europe. Now it was time to see if I could survive on my gadget diet. I ran the iPad through its paces. The email client worked great on both Google and Exchange, but now comes the rub. Downloading and viewing attachments via Exchange was cumbersome and I usually couldn't view the entire document. And forget about editing the doc. So I decided to try the Citrix Receiver app. With Receiver, I was able to access Windows applications, and view my desktop files which was helpful during meetings, but I found the speed and navigation to be a bit challenging. That said, I'm really looking forward to using GoToMyPC on the iPad. I know that's a convenient lead-in to our product, but I mean it...its very cool.

One thing that took some getting used to was typing on the iPad. All those typing lessons I learned in school were useless. I was back to typing with one finger. It was more like poking than typing. Over time, I became surprisingly quick. In fact, I wrote the majority of this post on the iPad using Evernote.

While on the plane ride over I tried iBooks and Kindle for the iPad. I downloaded Tony Hsieh's new book on one, and C.C. Chapman's new book on the other. I prefer the page turning experience on the iBook app. It felt more book-like. I also prefer the buying experience on the iBook. It's less cluttered and more intuitive.

What I also found interesting was that I used Apps to navigate the web as opposed to Google. I know how weird that may sound, but I really enjoyed the experience. I was not as productive in terms of output, but I was more efficient in how I consumed information and media.

I highly recommend you try the Gadget Diet for one week. It's fun to challenge accepted norms about technology and productivity. It's also nice not to carry the extra weight around.

Write back; I'd love to hear about your Gadget Diet.

Photo Credit: SlipStreamJC

Most people would agree that when you vacation in a foreign country, it's best to stay with a local (or at least spend some quality time with one). I would say the same is true for workshifting.

My recent workshifting trip through Denmark was probably the best vacation/work/travel I have ever had. My Danish hosts were not only warm and welcoming, they treated to me to a taste of Denmark I would not have had the opportunity to experience otherwise. From traditional Danish food and drinks, to spending time with the family, to seeing the city sights and enjoying the beautiful country serenity - I got a complete insider's peek into Denmark.

Workshifting was easier while I was in Denmark too. This surprised me since I thought it would be hard to find time to work when staying with a friend. But in fact, my hosts and I often set up shop together; at the kitchen table after dinner or on the sofa over coffee and butter cookies, laptops and phones would appear and we'd get some serious work done. Staying with my friends also meant a guaranteed wifi connection - something that has proven a bit allusive on this trip. Most coffee shops, restaurants and hotels do not offer open wifi like they do in the U.S. Happily, I purchased an international data plan for my phone before leaving home (a must if you plan on doing any email, social sites, maps, etc. while traveling). I have not purchased a European SIM card for my iPad (as you need to purchase one for every country you plan on using the device in), so the lack of wifi access has been a challenge for being able to get most of my regular work done. The good news? In Germany, you can get 2 free hours of wifi access at Starbucks (and most of the staff at these stores speak English so they can answer any other basic questions you might have). There are also a great deal of T-Mobile hotspots in Europe, so purchasing a monthly plan is also a pretty viable option at 29 Euros.

My other main learning on the trip is that while most businesses are accustomed to accepting plastic for payment, many will not accept a card that only requires a signature (i.e., a credit card). Your debit card will often work since it will require you to use a PIN, but many businesses only accept an European Community (EC) card (which are currently only available in Europe). So be sure to bring your debit card along and carry plenty of euros to take care of a night's stay in a little B&B or breakfast at a little bakery in town.

In spite of how technologically advanced the European economy is, there has still been a great deal of amazement at how simply we are able to travel and work. Our tools are basic but effective - the bike, a computer, a phone and a wifi connection are all we need.

It's never a good time to take a vacation. There's always a reason to wait until next month, next quarter, next year... Eventually, you have to just jump in and decide, okay, it's time to take a break or do something a little bit different.

The problem for me is, making a trek to anywhere that requires a passport means I definitely want to go for more than 1 or 2 weeks, and ideally it would be for more like 3-4 weeks. But who can afford to be completely away from the office for that long?

So, about a month ago I casually mentioned to my co-worker at Citrix Online that I would love to workshift from charming cafés while cycling through the European countryside. The next thing I knew, she, my manager and I were planning the trip!

Using GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC, I can work from anywhere (I've done it many a time when traveling home for the holidays or visiting friends), so why not workshift while doing some of the other things I enjoy? I love cycling, and I've been dreaming of another trip to Europe since last I went in May of 2004.

Now, I'm in Germany with my partner, Carlos, a brand new tandem bicycle, three changes of clothes, an iPad, an iPhone, a couple of cameras, GoToMeeting and Citrix Receiver. The journey will be 6 weeks total: 3 weeks on the bike and workshifting, 1 week working at the Citrix Synergy event in Berlin, Germany, and 1 1/2 weeks of pure vacation in Spain. (Yep, going for a complete "unplugged" experience in Spain - though I do have peace of mind knowing I can easily check in if needed!)

The adventure has begun and I am already meeting and connecting with people from all over the world - which is a large part of what this trip is about for me. In fact I've already worked with one of my Danish colleagues at his home in Slangerup. I had breakfast with him and his family one morning, raced with him in a bicycle criterium that afternoon, and later we worked together from his kitchen table - what a great way to spend the day and evening.

I'm excited to see how this experience takes shape and looking forward to learning new tricks for being totally mobile, both while traveling and working. I hope you'll follow along as I learn and share - and I hope you'll share any advice you have for me as well!

There are a lot of ways you can check in with me from my web site, Kelley Checks In, to all my social sites including Twitter and Facebook.

I used to get so worked up when preparing for a long trip. This feeling of a thousand pounds would start to weigh on me as I thought about what I needed to pack and how much of it I needed to take with me. Do you ever feel like that? I am not one to just throw clothes in a duct taped garbage bag (a la Tommy Boy), so I searched for a simple, efficient way to pack my carry-on with enough clothes for a week. I tried rolling my clothes up like a boy scout going to camp, I tried folding them in little squares like the metro clothing stores in the mall, and nothing seemed to work. Everything I tried, either took up too much space or made my clothing look like I had slept in them for three days. That was until I discovered the bundling method for packing.

This process allows you to reduce the used space of your packed clothing to smaller sizes without decreasing the volume. This method also minimizes wrinkles, guaranteeing you will show up to your client meetings or presentations looking first class. Last year we traveled to South Africa and Swaziland and I was able to pack for eighteen days into a medium suitcase and a backpack. The amazing part about the trip was, I actually had room in my bag for all the souvenirs I bought to bring back.

Below, I have included a few resources that will help you learn how to save space and travel efficiently.


onebag.com



What are your methods? Thoughts?
 

While sitting on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport I wanted to check in and share some of my inflight workshifting tips.  With all of the international travel that I've been doing lately, it has become essential to develop a method for working from the tiny confines of an airplane seat.

If you have trouble viewing this video, you can also catch it over on my Vimeo channel.




Do you fly a lot?  Make sure you check about these tips from Chris Brogan about what you can do pre-flight, inflight and once you land to help for smoother travels.

What are some of your inflight workshifting tips?

Having spent the past couple weeks, working in Africa, I thought it might be a good idea to post a quick video about what it is like to workshift from this continent.

There are definitely many more challenges compared to our workshifting in the developing world.  The infrastructure is weak.  The ISP's blow. And finding a shop with WiFi that can load Gmail would be like finding a bar of gold in your next bowl of Cheerios.  However, workshifting is possible in many areas because of the significant investment made over the past five years by mobile providers such as Zain, Safaricom and Vodacom.

On the border of Kenya, I recorded some of my thoughts on workshifting in Africa.

If you can't see the video below, you can also find it hiding over here.

This is a guest post from Mark Hayward.  Mark is a former Peace Corps volunteer and he hates the cold! But he loves living in the Caribbean, being a small business owner, and trying to help other small business owners understand social media. You can follow him on Twitter @mark_hayward.

Are you thinking about packing up and workshifting from an overseas location? Do you long to have your office on the beach in the Caribbean or perhaps on a hillside in the Swiss Alps?

With a business in the Caribbean and having spent a good portion of the past fifteen years working internationally in places like Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tortola, I wholeheartedly support the pursuit of the international workshifting dream. However, if you have not lived internationally or worked from overseas before, I thought that I would provide you with some details that you might want to think about.

1. Are you ready for challenges that come with living in a foreign country?

Living some place is much different than just visiting for a week on a yearly vacation. This might sound like common sense, but during my time overseas I've seen many folks pack up all of their personal belongings and move 5000 miles away from home only to arrive at a destination and realize a week later that they can't stand living there. If you can afford to do so, a pre-move visit is always encouraged and could help you to avoid a potentially costly mistake.

2. Moving is stressful.

Relocating to another city within your own country is difficult enough. In fact, stress wise, moving typically ranks as one of the most difficult life changes an individual can make. When you decide to workshift internationally and move overseas you can multiply the stress factor on a scale of magnitudes. Part of the allure of living overseas can be the challenges that one might expect to face. However, you need to really consider if you are ready for the language difficulties, cultural barriers, and bureaucratic red tape that can that can be associated with an overseas move.

3. Are you ready to be away from family and friends (support network)?

Yes tools like SKYPE, Google Talk, and even Twitter make it easy to keep in touch on an almost daily basis. But, homesickness and being away from family and friends around holidays and special occasions, and during serious illness, can quickly tarnish beachside living or skiing every morning. Before packing your bags check to see if there is an existing expat or workshifting community to help act as your surrogate support network.

4. What are the immigration policies at your desired destination?

Many countries require you to show proof of an onward ticket before they will even allow you to enter. You need to find out:

• How long can you legally reside in the country you wish to workshift from? (Is it thirty days, three months or one year?)

• If you need to renew your immigration status is it as easy as crossing the border for twenty-four hours and coming back in again? Or, do you have to go back to your home of record?

• Are there any passport stamp fees associated with an extended stay?

I have a good friend who overstayed his visa in one of the countries where I was working and he wound up spending eight months in the local prison. (Hint: Watch the movie Midnight Express to get an idea of what you might be in for if you decide to overstay your welcome.)

5. Can you legally run a business or work online at your chosen destination?

Will you be required to get a work permit? Even if you are running an Internet based business, some countries do not want you working within their borders. Other countries will make you fully disclose the type of work you'll be doing or the business you will be running and may require you to get a special work visa.

6. What will your tax status be?

Although you might not be working for a local company, you should check with the country's treasury department to determine if you have to pay local taxes. Additionally, if you are a United States resident living outside of the states you will need to determine if you qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

7. Will you have access to medical coverage and medical care?

Nobody likes to think about a serious medical condition arising. If you're heading overseas and currently have insurance you will need to find out if the hospitals and clinics in your new country of choice accept your policy. In the event that they don't, try to find out if you can you get an international travel add-on from your existing insurer or purchase supplemental expat insurance.

Once you feel secure with your insurance situation, you might want to find out what medical care is care like at the destination you are heading to. Consider the following, do you have a particular medical condition that requires special treatment or medicine? Can you get the help you need at your new location? Additionally, discern if there are any serious health concerns such as malaria or typhoid and look into proper prophylaxis and immunizations.

8. How is the cost of living?

In your home city you might be so familiar with the prices for everyday goods that you don't necessarily pay attention to the standard living costs. For your new location you may wish to research what can you expect to pay for every day essentials like rent, bread and eggs, a car, gas, and beer. Moreover, you might be accustomed to very low prices for water and electric utilities. Other costs to consider would be the price for mailing and shipping items and accessibility (and cost) of goods such as laptop batteries cell phone cables, etc.

9. Can you legally purchase property?

This question is for the hardcore, expat workshifter, but if you are going to be in a country for any length of time it certainly is one worth considering for living or investment purposes.

Although, it is important to remember three things:

• Property ownership does not necessarily make you a resident.

• In some cases countries will restrict the purchase of property by foreigners.

• Always do your due diligence to check for clear title and hire local legal counsel.

For example, in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) the government requires that you apply for what's called a, "Non-Belonger Landholding License." The whole process can take well over a year and even if you are successful at obtaining the license you are not allowed to reside there while waiting for it. Once you do have it, you are only allowed to live in the BVI for six months out of the year. If purchasing a home or property is part of your overseas workshifting dream, then check the real estate laws carefully.

10. Everything else!

If you made it passed all of the items above then you can actually begin to think about your in-country workshifting needs such as, power supply, office space, and Internet access.

Final thought, do your research and you'll make out just fine!

If you have additional tips for workshifting internationally, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.