Really remote working proved to work

Dr Cherry Vu and I have finished 5 weeks on the road in our caravan Mr Teal, proving our capability to work truly remotely in some of the most wonderful parts of the South Island of New Zealand. We delivered training, coaching, presentations, and meetings, with people in NZ, India, UK, and Vietnam.

Meet Mr Teal https://tealunicorn.com/meet-mr-teal

As a reflective review of this experience, here are my observations:

1.. We like changing from one familiar environment to another familiar one every few weeks. We used to commute to Vietnam once every couple of months, for 2 or 3 weeks. Now we swap from caravan to house. After a month on the road, we will rest for a few months then take off again. The variety stimulates creativity and productivity, while the familiarity minimises stress. There's a lesson here for all work.

Learning from Vietnam Traffic:

2.. I'm certain work for almost all knowledge workers will be a hybrid of remote and colocated (many are tied to the physical world anyway: surveyors, doctors, engineers, mechanics, teachers, police). Humans need to share air. If you don't need to, you're not a team. I’ve been interviewing people at a client for weeks while on the road. When I finally went into the client site, the pleasure on people’s faces to meet in real life was obvious, and the communication and connection were an order of magnitude richer. Navigate and negotiate ways to have the freedom to be remote within the limits of this constraint: we must do what’s best for all members of the team, and for the work of the team. If we negotiate that right, it will be a hybrid of real world and remote interaction, to accommodate all stakeholders. I’m taking heat for this view, from some IT techs who seem to put no value on real world human interactions, resisting any attempt to take away their precious isolation. 

3.. Trying to look professional in a caravan is tricky for me. I look a bit rural at the best of times, but in the van I can look like I fell into a bush. I've worked with people in multiple Asian countries who lived in cramped conditions then commuted for hours on dirty sweaty public transport, and arrived at work looking like their butler just dressed them. So it must be doable. I need to learn more tricks. On the other hand, you get away with a lot on Zoom.

Dr Vu always looks fabulous, the Audrey Hepburn of business agility.

4.. It is quite a lot of work keeping the technology going at a low cost. We could spend three times as much and have a more reliable platform, and pay professionals to keep it running, but I view the rolling office as a hobby and a challenge. Dr Vu worries that it gets too much for me. There is always something not working, needs fixing, could be improved, or seems like a neat idea. My backlog is long. (I use the Clickup app to manage it).

It is also complicated. There was a lot to learn and still is. Towing weights and rules. Wiring. Water management: blue, grey, and black. Safety. Dumping waste. Navigating, and finding sites. Radio networking. Solar, lithium batteries, inverters, gas. Epoxy resins, fibreglass, sealants. Storage. How to shower in a cupboard. Lighting. Awnings. What to pack. Caravan park etiquette. Cooking.

5.. It is an endless quest for 3 bars. I had one day of terrible network while delivering a course. We packed up and drove early the next morning to a better site before the second day was spoiled too. When researching future sites, we make much used of the telco coverage maps. I am experimenting with three different antennae to expand our options, but for live feeds like Zoom you are always limited in range. Musk's Starlink isn't going to be good enough any time soon either.

6.. We recommend a caravan not a campervan/RV/motorhome. Modular architecture. Separate the motive power from the living area. If one fails, you've got the other. (Unless you go for the more complex, heavier solution of a vehicle towed behind the RV). Drop the caravan and explore the district by car. Go shopping in a normal vehicle. Be flexible.

We chose a lightweight, small caravan (then again neither of us are big) to make the towing easy. We keep the bed made up much of the time, and we work on it. Our caravan has one seat left when the bed is out. We minimise gear: removing stuff more than adding it.

7.. We love the life. The freedom to move. The joy of the sea or a river lapping outside the window. Nature at our door. Awesome scenery. Sleep well. Foodie exploration. Deciding to stay a few days more. And interesting characters met along the way. Even hunkering down in bad weather. Everyone should work this way.

8.. What? Oh, the cost. Twelve grand for an aging caravan to learn on (1996 Swift Abbey Vogue). We now love it, but we may trade up to something two or three times the price. A few thousand more to upgrade the car to a heavier towing vehicle (Toyota Highlander). A few thousand more to upgrade the technology (I will do another article on that). Call it a bit over twenty thousand NZ dollars. People spend ten times that.

Costs on the road are well over a hundred dollars a day for fuel, campsites, and food. Call it a grand a week. We have a good time, we are not budget travellers. And the Highlander is thirsty with over a tonne on the back. Some of that you'd have spent at home, about half.

"Sell the house and you will save a fortune". Actually you will also lose a fortune if you get out of the property market in many countries. So if we ever sell up, we will immediately buy two properties to park the caravan on, one in the spectacular summer south and one in the warm winter north.

Do it. Life is not a dress rehearsal.

We are Teal Unicorn. We live new ways of managing and working, and so do our clients.