One of the most difficult things to do as a full-time RVer? Balancing work with travel and fun. After all, there’s only so much time in a day, and sometimes it can be difficult to make sure you’re getting out and exploring what you came to see while also staying on top of work, chores, and other day-to-day tasks.

The good news? It is possible to do this. Here are some excellent tricks I’ve learned over the years that really help me balance work and my RV lifestyle.

Stay in Each Place Longer

The first and most important tip in this article is to simply stay longer in each place you visit. Yes, it can be tempting to hop quickly from one place to another when your home literally has wheels, but this means you have to try to squeeze all the sightseeing in each location into a small amount of time, leaving no time for work or day-to-day life.

Instead, we like to stay at least two or three weeks in one spot, giving ourselves time to do all of the usual stuff in between sightseeing sessions.

If we absolutely can’t stay in a certain spot for this long, we will plan a long stint in a less exciting place on either end of the short stint. This allows us to get work and chores done in the boring location before heading to the short stay, so we can spend all of our time seeing the attractions during the shorter stay. Heading to a less-exciting location afterwards gives us the catch-up time we may need.

Get Up Early

Getting up early to get work done before the kids wake up is an excellent way to ensure your work gets done while still giving yourself time to go exploring. I’ve met lots of families who use this method, and many of them are finished with work by noon, meaning they have the entire afternoon to explore.

Unfortunately, my husband and I are NOT morning people, so this method doesn’t work for us. What has worked better for us is staying up late instead. I’ll stay up after the kids have gone to bed and accomplish as much as I can without distractions from them. This gives us the morning and early afternoon to explore the next day.

Plan Work-Heavy Days

Work-heavy days are the method that is working well for us right now. This involves doing all of my work in 3–4 days each week, so we have the rest of the week as fun days, during which we can just play and enjoy our free time.

This does require me to be really focused during my work days, but it is doable, especially because my husband is able to focus on things like schoolwork with the kids and household chores while I work, so everything is caught up by the time our fun days roll around.

Work Efficiently

Obviously, the less time you spend working, the more time you’ll have to get out and explore. This is why finding ways to make your work as efficient as possible is a must. For me, this often involves heading to a coffee shop to work, as I am much better able to focus when I’m out of my own home and away from my kids. That said, some people find that setting up an RV office or heading out to a Clam tent to work does the same thing for them.

Other ideas for making your work as efficient as possible include:

  • Keeping a detailed planner so you know exactly what needs to be done on a given day.
  • Invest in a good internet connection. This might mean splurging on Starlink or buying multiple hotspots and a cell booster.
  • Automating or delegating mindless, repetitive tasks.
  • Using the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes on, 5-minute break) to maintain focus.
  • Batching similar work together.
  • Avoiding time-consuming meetings that could be handled via email.

Set Boundaries

No matter when you decide to work, make those your work hours and make it clear that you will not be working outside of those hours. Don’t answer emails or do any small tasks while on outings. Instead, make your family time completely work-free. This will ensure you are spending quality time exploring with your family, and it may even help make your work time more focused.

Create a Family Calendar

Last but not least, I have to recommend creating a family calendar. Write work hours, school time, chores, outings, and classes on a calendar and keep that calendar in a place where everyone will see it regularly. This will help keep the whole family on the same page.

Balancing RV life with on-the-road work can be difficult. Even after a decade of doing it, I still find myself having trouble with it from time to time. Fortunately, the tricks above always help me get back on track quickly and I imagine they’ll help you too.

About the author: Chelsea Gonzales

Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.

You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.