Technology: Your Best Friend (Until It Isn’t)
Download your content ahead of time so you’re not relying on spotty service. Then treat the drive like a mobile classroom. You might be surprised how much you can absorb over a few hours on the road. Final Thoughts A road trip doesn’t have to be a break from productivity; it can be an extension of it. With a little planning and the right mindset, you can turn hours on the road into time that’s safe, healthy, and genuinely valuable. Make sure your vehicle is ready. Fuel yourself properly. Set up your tech before you need it. Take breaks when your body tells you to. Capture your ideas. And use the time to learn something new. Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t just to get from point A to point B. It’s to arrive better than when you left.
Pro tip: peel your fruit in advance.
This one seems obvious, but it’s amazing how often it gets overlooked, bring your phone charger. Better yet, plug it in before you even leave the driveway. A dead phone during a road trip isn’t just inconvenient; it’s a liability. Whether it’s navigation, last minute calls, or a calendar reminder you forgot about, your phone is your mobile office. Speaking of calls, make sure you’ve downloaded any necessary apps like Zoom or Microsoft Teams ahead of time. These platforms have an uncanny ability to demand updates or installations at the worst possible moment, usually when you’re trying to join a call from a parking lot with questionable cell service. There’s nothing quite like fumbling with an app download while apologizing to a client and trying not to miss your exit. Take Breaks (Seriously) There’s a certain entrepreneurial stubbornness that kicks in during long drives, the idea that you can just power through. After all, you’ve pulled late nights, early mornings, and probably built your business on caffeine and determination. How hard can a few extra hours behind the wheel be? Harder than you think. Fatigue sneaks up on you. One minute you’re fine, the next you’re re-reading the same highway sign three times and wondering why your eyes feel like sandpaper. It’s not just uncomfortable, it’s dangerous. Taking breaks every couple of hours isn’t a luxury; it’s essential. And no, opening the window or turning up the music doesn’t count as a break. Pull over. Get out of the car. Walk around. Stretch. Grab a coffee or some water. Even 10–15 minutes can reset your focus and make the next leg of the drive significantly safer and more productive.
completely losing it by the time you reach your destination. Write it down. Always.
Turn the Car Into a Rolling Think Tank One of the most underrated benefits of a road trip is uninterrupted thinking time. No emails. No Slack notifications. No one popping into your office “for a quick minute.” Just open road and mental space. My co-founder and I have had some of our best brainstorming sessions in the car. There’s something about the combination of movement and lack of distractions that makes ideas flow more freely. We always bring a notebook, regardless of who’s driving. Because as great as those ideas feel in the moment, they’re also incredibly easy to forget. And there’s nothing worse than having a breakthrough idea somewhere between Kingston and Toronto… and then
Learn While You Drive Look, I enjoy a good music playlist as much as anyone. But there’s only so many times you can listen to the same songs before even your favorite tracks start to feel like background noise. (And yes, my co-founder would strongly disagree with that statement, especially when it comes to certain 90s boy bands.) Long drives are a perfect opportunity to learn. Podcasts, audiobooks, industry interviews, there’s no shortage of content that can make you sharper, more informed, and maybe even a little more inspired by the time you arrive.
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