Florida Scenic Hwy Overlooking Tampa Bay

Every so often I’m reminded of how convenient it is to have a Small RV as a mobile office. Today was one of those days. As I downloaded pictures from my camera, I saw photos taken last week of a terrific lunch spot that I found when returning from an out-of-town meeting. During that lunch break I was able to both recharge, and get work done, all in the privacy of my 24 foot Class C Diesel RV.

The meeting was at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Florida, which is a few hours away. I stumbled upon a great spot overlooking Tampa Bay, and only later discovered that it is designated as one of Florida’s Scenic Highways. Normally I don’t take photos of lunch stops, but life is different now with the small RV as my office.

How to Stay Productive

As most business travelers will tell you, out-of-town meetings can be very disruptive to productivity. That of course is a big problem when your income depends on being productive. Here’s one way I use my mobile office to combat the problem.

I take advantage of traveling in my RV, by locating areas to park and work out of my mobile office during the business day. As I get closer to my destination, I scout out potential parking places that I will return to after my meetings are finished. I also get a lay of the land by keeping an eye out for favorite sandwich shops or grocery stores. Although I use GPS extensively, there’s nothing like your own two eyes to best guide you.

A Working Lunch With a View

Getting back to the Clearwater trip to use as an example. Since the refrigerator wasn’t stocked, as I was about 20 minutes from my destination, I began looking for cool restaurants and/or a great parking areas and sandwich shops. There were two restaurants that stood out, one overlooking the water and the other a tastefully themed Mexican restaurant. Additionally, there was a long stretch of a paved trail directly on Tampa Bay, just off the bridge, that looked incredible.

My meetings ran a little long and I decided that answering emails and making a few pressing calls were more important than new restaurants. So I headed back to the bridge for water views, and picked up some ready made chicken at a grocery store along the way. As luck would have it, the paved trail was very convenient to find again and parking could not have been easier.

A restful, yet productive, hour later I headed for home. The small RV as a mobile office fits perfectly in my life. It allows me to find chunks of time to conduct business during business hours – even when traveling.