Sometimes, all we need is a change of scenery to stay productive. After all, staying in one place for too long can wear down even the best of us, making it harder to let our creativity flow freely.
So you might want to start traveling while writing your next book, perhaps in the next city over or in another country entirely. Wherever you decide to go, it may not always be easy to stay productive—even if you have the most beautiful sights before you to draw inspiration from.
That said, we’ve come up with a few practical tips on how you can stay in the zone, wherever you may be in the world.
1. Invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones
Ambient noise is one of the most common distractions for many artists, especially writers who need utter concentration to write effectively. And even if you’re in a quiet corner in the library of a foreign city or a small coffee shop at the edge of town, there is always going to be noise that can possibly disrupt your train of thought.
Furthermore, you never know when inspiration is going hit you—maybe you get the urge to write in the middle of a busy airport, or perhaps you finally get to beat your writer’s block while in a noisy café. A pair of noise-canceling headphones can help you stay in the zone and help you churn out your next masterpiece much more efficiently.
2. Pick your destination carefully
Whether you want to beat writer’s block before self-publishing your cookbook or want to make your fictional story more accurate, traveling to the right place can help you achieve your goals. The main reason for this is because we draw a lot of our inspiration from our surroundings. For example, some horror writers opt to stay in rumored haunted houses to put themselves in the shoes of their fictional protagonists, while some even voluntarily stay in abandoned places to induce fear that they can put into words.
While it doesn’t have to be as extreme as that, choosing the right destination is important if the main purpose of your trip is to improve your writing. Perhaps you are writing a period piece; why not stay in a historical town that has been preserved through centuries? Or if you’re writing a character that found love in a particular city, maybe you can travel there and experience the environment yourself for better material.
3. Find places where you can work for free
Traveling often requires a substantial amount of money, especially if you’re going on a long-term trip. That said, it always helps to find places where you can work without spending a lot of money—or without spending any at all. Try the local library, a quiet bookstore, a quaint spot in your Airbnb, the hotel lobby, or even an isolated spot by the beach. If there is also free Wi-Fi, then you’ve hit the jackpot.
4. Bring a notebook
As mentioned before, you never know when inspiration is going to hit. Who knows? Maybe your next great idea formulates while on a bus ride, on the plane, or maybe even in the middle of a meal at a local restaurant. Unfortunately, you may not always have your laptop with you to put your ideas into text. Sure, you can use your phone, but it’s better to have your train of thought written down on a piece of paper than on a digital notepad where it is challenging to make side notes.
That said, it helps to always have a notebook and a pen with you wherever you go. Here, you can write down your creative ideas, take note of your references, or even make illustrations of what you want to describe in your book—and you can do all of these things without needing electricity or the Internet.
5. Sync your work to the cloud
Traveling puts your devices at greater risk of damage, loss, or theft. And if you rely on your mobile devices to store all of your work, you risk losing everything if you don’t sync to the cloud. To avoid this, always sync copies of your work to a digital storage space so that they will remain safe even if you lose or damage your devices.
While working on your next big writing project, traveling is a great way to increase productivity, creativity, and contextual accuracy. However, it’s not always easy to remain productive even if you’re already at your dream destination—but these practical tips can help you create line after line and even beat writer’s block.
Meta title: The Traveling Writer: How to Stay Productively Wherever You Are
meta desc: If you want to travel while writing your next masterpiece, here are some practical tips that can help you stay productive no matter where you are.
