Perfect patio and fire pit setup at our site
Week 2 is in the books! I must say, work went pretty smoothly this week, with the exception of a couple issues I’ll talk through in a bit. Last weekend we made the 13 hour journey, over the course of two days, from Canyon Lake, Texas to sunny Tucson, Arizona. It’s been a beautiful 70 degrees during the day and it is certainly nice to stop working and walk out into the sunshine. Tucson is currently 2 hours behind the east coast (soon to be 3 because they don’t exercise daylight savings time), so I’m starting work around 6-6:30 AM and hanging it up around 2:30-3 PM. I love this schedule because it leaves so much of the day for me to enjoy the weather and hang out with my ladies.
Our Thor Freedom Traveler A32 in Tucson
Every afternoon, I try and take a walk around the RV resort to get a little cardio in and one thing I noticed is that I’m not the only one working. I’ve seen a handful of RVers clearly on business phone calls and even one guy with an entire desk setup outside. While I’m not that adventurous yet and prefer my large screen setup in the cockpit, I thought it was pretty cool. It further confirms for me the effect that technology is having on the way we do business, especially after that change has been amplified by COVID.
The “cockpit office”
Overall, I’ve continually found myself obsessing over GB usage via cell. Yet again, the park Wifi is terrible, so I’ve relied entirely on Verizon’s service for connectivity. While this doesn’t surprise me, given the RV crowd isn’t usually concerned with accessing the internet, I think this will change in coming years. One downfall I’ve found this week is that my usage is much higher than in Texas. I’m averaging like 5 GB per day, compared to the 2.5 GB per day from the week before (Don’t forget I only have 60 GB a month from my hotspots and 5 GB trend puts me at 100 GB of total usage - or in other words…40 GB over my allotment). My total meeting time has been pretty consistent, so I’m actively trying to troubleshoot what is causing it. My gut tells me its a combination of the number of people on video calls (more people = more incoming data) and increased screen sharing this week. To combat this I’ve started turning off incoming video when it makes sense (really large meetings) and toying around with a low usage setting in the Microsoft Teams app - more on that next week.
One bright light in the usage saga is that I misunderstood how Verizon’s plan works. I thought my phone got a total data usage of 15 GB a month (including anything I use when not on WIFI). In reality, I get 50 GB of data usage from my phone (internet, gps, social etc) and 30 GB of usage when using my phone as an internet source for my computer. So, if worst comes to worse and I can’t tame the 5 GB usage per day, I should be able to sneak by.
Tucson, AZ
And to end on an even brighter note, my work days have been pretty low stress. Which is the obvious goal here. Kailah and I plan every day for when I can’t be interrupted because I’m presenting, or facilitating, or need focused time to work on a deliverable. She’s the ultimate partner and completely understands what I need (it probably helps that she worked remotely for a company until August, 2020).
Our next stop is Twentynine Palms California, so we can explore Joshua Tree National Park. The nerves are creeping back up bit, as the location is more remote and I’m already thinking about connectivity. It will also be an additional hour behind the east coast, so I’ll be starting even earlier. But only time will tell.
Kyle
Connection Gear:
30 GB usage Verizon Jetpack MIFI 8800L
30 GB usage 5G MIFI M2100
30 GB usage utilizing my iPhone as a hotspot on the “Get More Unlimited” plan
Current usage trend: 5 GB / work day