5 Surefire Strategies To Be Massively Productive From Anywhere

Something has changed. A quick observation reveals that an increasing number of professionals are taking their careers and futures into their own hands – sometimes this even means making a career out of their side hustle. Shifting workplace trends allow all of us to reimagine the world of work, where world travel, business, passions and purpose go hand in hand.

Analysts call this new landscape of work the shared economy, the gig economy, or teleworking and freelancing. But I like to call it the “you economy,” made possible by a convergence of globalization, technological advancements, and economic necessity. According to Economist Paul Zane Pilzer, 50% of workers will participate in the you economy by the year 2020.

Millennials are the force behind this growing movement and I am one of them. In 2014, I launched my business while my bank account danced above the red and my “home office” consisted of a shabby (chic?) couch in the living room shared with three roommates in our Manhattan walk-up. But similar to Gary Vaynerchuk, I “did so happily,” because it allowed me to have the freedom of time. I felt like I had my life back. Today, I take client calls from Norway, write in Australia, and strategize in France.

I discovered cultures beyond American shores and a vibrant community that exists outside the office: profitable professionals who leverage business for good, build a lifestyle that allows them to spend time with loved ones, travel or create for months each year, and enrich their lives beyond anything historically imaginable.

So how does one navigate this with success? I turned to my peers to glean how they built multiple six and seven figure businesses and cracked the code on productivity outside the 9 to 5 grind.  

If you’re on the fence about entering the you economy, fear not. Here are 5 surefire strategies to be massively productive from anywhere.

• Develop rituals. Stay productive without a manager by creating your own internal schedule with rituals. Nicole Cifani, founder of NAC Worldwide, worked remotely from Tel Aviv and Reykjavik last year, and plans to work remotely from Tokyo next month. Her rituals “can be work-related – such as setting aside chunks of time in the morning for client-specific work –  or personal, such as meditating at the same time every day, going on a 20-minute walk, or allotting time for journaling.”

• Speed nest. Jen Sincero, success coach, speaker, and New York Times Bestselling author of You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life and You are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth wrote her acclaimed books on the road. Whether from a flat in Tokyo or battling goats on a farm in San Francisco, she has numerous secrets to hack her productivity. Her top tip? The second she got to her destination, she unpacked, set up her piece of art from Japan and made it her home. “Get as homey as you can and be present. Living an entrepreneur lifestyle is the same as making money. It is so much about your mindset. “

• Embrace the capsule wardrobe. Sincero notes never to pack “all black” because you will lose items - and time - looking in your suitcase. Kelly Ann Collins, founder of social media agency, VultLab, often travels without warning (planned upcoming trips include Austin, Vegas, Canada, and San Francisco). She packs coordinated outfits in advance - “complete with jewelry, tights and shoes - for different locations and types of weather.”

• Switch between manager and mastermind. When in the you economy, you are the engine to your revenue generating activities, your business creativity or production. Alissa Lentz, formerly a flight attendant on a private jet and now CEO of Hero Backpacks, strategically divides her energy while traveling. “It is easy for entrepreneurs to get caught in the chasm between being a maker and a manager. If I am in New York or Los Angeles, where my main networks are, I maximize my time by operating entirely on a manager's schedule. Then, in the next destination, operate entirely on a maker's schedule.”

• Single Task. Research shows that dividing your attention between projects is potentially addictive and could “dumb down” your brain. Gabrielle Bosché, founder of The Millennial Solution, author, and international speaker, says single-tasking is her secret to productivity. “I work on calling or closing clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays and focus on my team and business management on Mondays. This helps me crush work from anywhere.”