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Being as this the first post after a One Year Sabbatical Trip, I decided to write my reflections and lessons learned from the experience of working on-the-go.

The email trap

Traveling  forced me to stay away from my email for several days. While this may sound like a terrible thing I believe it was actually a blessing in disguise since it pushed me to sort out what was really important and prioritize my tasks better when I took control of my inbox. Email, as many exotic electronic tools should be used in moderation;  I invite you to experiment by checking your email once per day only. I assure you nothing will happen; you can actually get other more important things done.

When time is limited you tend to adjust to the circumstances automatically. I found out that I could squeeze a full week of work in 2 days, just by focusing on the most important tasks at hand and making better use of time when it was available. Computers are wonderful tools but they can also become a great distraction as Jason Fried states in “work doesn’t happen at work” .

It’s not luck

People often tell me how lucky I was to have a job that allowed me to work and travel. I think it has nothing to do with luck. I decided how I wanted to work and that’s what I did. Whatever it is that you do, you can always accommodate and give priority to yourself over your work. If your dream is to take a sabbatical, there are ways to make it happen for your particular case.  Own your life… don’t let life own you.

The tools are out there

Today is probably the easiest time to travel without loosing control of your business. It might not be as comfortable as your office but once you get used to it you will find great rewards by giving it a shot.

It can be cheaper

In my case working abroad proved to be cheaper and sometimes more profitable than back home. Independent web designers like myself often find ourselves in between crazy work load periods and very stagnant periods. When the latter happens in my case, it is more cost effective to be in a remote island in Thailand than paying my mortgage in Miami.

The hardest thing

I must confess the hardest part was focusing on work when it required my attention. When you travel your body and your mind are somewhere else which makes it harder to concentrate on work related matters rather than the day to day tasks of the trip. Yes, traveling long term is a job in itself, specially is your trip is low-budget like ours was.

Its just like meditation

When you travel for more than 3 months you start seeing your life from a distance. To me it’s like entering a long meditation period where you are physically and mentally away from your routine. I cannot stop encouraging everyone I see to practice this exercise of detachment at some point. Try it, you will discover colors you didn’t even know you had and you will sure find inspiration from other people and cultures for your projects. Work will find a way to survive if you allow it.

Work…retire..work…

When I heard Sagmeister say this in “The Power of Time Off” I was astounded. The traditional concept of retirement had acquired a total new meaning. Who wants to retire only one time when you are old and rich? I prefer retiring every now and then while I’m still young.

A fellow designer named Dustin Curtis took the time to write a letter to AA inviting them to re-think the way they look online. He actually redesigned their homepage and sent them a mock-up.  Sometime after, he received a response letter from an experience architect who works at AA.com. The response was revealing. It appears the guy  in charge is actually a pretty good designer with plenty of experience and an extensive portfolio under his belt. Yet, his efforts are overwhelmed by the evil forces of the corporate world:  a gigantic group of people that work in different departments, all with their own set of interests on the homepage appearance.

I bring this example to touch on the following point. No matter how big an organization is, and no matter how many professionals put their efforts into a website, in the end its the user who will spend 1, 5 or 10 minutes interacting with the brand and the one who deserves the best seat in the house.

Twitter profiles, Facebook groups, blogs, iPhone apps are valuable marketing tools. Just make sure your website doesn’t suck before you use them.

Every day I see more companies sprinting to join Facebook and Twitter as if the social media trend would leave without them.

If social media is here to stay then there is no need to rush. Id like to take a few steps back and remind you about the single most precious marketing tool that sticks out for your business, the one that gives that first impression to your clients: your website. I am amazed at how much time and effort some companies take at prompting their website when a single visit turns me off for a lifetime. Its no joke! You can build relationships via Twitter or Facebook but remember your website is your main goal conversion mechanism and should not be left behind. Wash your face prior to showing up at the social club.

Here is a checklist of things I believe are important before swimming in the social media pond:

• Have an engaging and correctly coded website.
• Focus in well structured information architecture.
• Create and maintain fresh sticky content that is spidered by search engines.
• Focus on calls to action.
• Implement analytics tools to understand who, when, how and why is traffic being directed to your website.
• Ask yourself WHY should your company be in one or more social media channels.

“I’ve connected with many venture-capital types, and heard their constant refrain about how they had got interested in a particular business – be it from an investment or potential partnership – only to have the bets go off once they went to their website (or discovered there wasn’t one). The simple conclusion: How could these companies make a wise investment if they can’t even get a simple website together?” – Mitch Joel (Author: Six Pixels of Separation)

I’m starting to get tired of everybody wanting me to become their fan! It’s not only your friends or people you know, big and small businesses are also striving to get as many fans as possible. The power of Facebook has reached CEO’s and Marketing departments all over the world. The big boys are playing with Facebook too.

I feel we are entering an era of “connectivitytis” sindrome… and it’s spreading fast. People and companies are connecting at such a speed that we are forgetting why would we want to connect in the first place. At the end of the day we only have a certain amount of hours to read or post comments in Facebook groups.

Remember when chatting was the latest thing?  Doesn’t this feel familiar?