Embracing the RV life means every day can be a new adventure. However, amidst the excitement, establishing routines is crucial.

This episode delves into the importance of creating consistent habits while on the road, from daily stretches to monthly vehicle checks.

The Limitations of Traditional Reminders:

  • While there are numerous task management tools and reminders available, many lack the discipline to ensure commitment. Understanding these limitations can help listeners find what truly works for them.

Harnessing Google Calendar & Time Blocking:

  • Google Calendar, when combined with the technique of time blocking, can be a game-changer. By allocating specific times for tasks, listeners can optimize their productivity and ensure they make the most of their travels.
  • Time blocking also aids in coordinating with fellow travelers, ensuring that everyone’s commitments are met and expectations are aligned.

Balancing Work and Leisure on the Road:

  • Recognizing the different mindsets of part-time and full-time travelers can help in balancing work and leisure. Time blocking bridges the gap, allowing listeners to enjoy their travels without compromising on their responsibilities.

The Power of Recurring Reminders:

  • Setting up recurring reminders for essential tasks, such as RV maintenance, ensures that nothing is overlooked. Integrating these reminders into time blocks can streamline task management, ensuring a smooth journey.

Practical Benefits:

  • As an example, while doing laundry, one can use the time to deep clean their vehicle. This practical application of time blocking showcases how listeners can multitask efficiently, making the most of their time on the road.

About the Host:

Stuart has been a nomad since 2020, traveling in his 40-foot Super C and 24-foot Sprinter van. He is accompanied by his two cats, Camden and Izzy. You can follow his adventures on Instagram at Stuart Doing Stuff.

Connect With RVDreaming and Stuart:

Call our Hotline and Leave Us a Message: 714-623-0924

Follow Stuart on Instagram: StuartDoingStuff

Follow RVDreaming on Facebook: RVDreamingTV

Check Out Our Website: RVDreaming.tv

Affiliate Links From The Podcast:

Harvest Hosts | Boondockers Welcome | RVLife Trip Wizard

Battle Born Batteries

Want to be a guest on our program? 

Reach Out! Stuart@RVDreaming.tv

Transcript
Speaker:

Stuart Doing Stuff: People start

the RV life or van life because

2

:

every day is a new adventure.

3

:

New places, new sights, new people, but

between all of the new and all of the

4

:

exciting, there's still the routine.

5

:

Stay tuned as we talk about

building on the road routines,

6

:

daily, weekly, and monthly habits.

7

:

From sunrise stretches to monthly

mileage checks, this episode will guide

8

:

you in creating habits that stick.

9

:

So pack your bags and your

best intentions, and let's

10

:

hit the road to routine!

11

:

How's it going and welcome to RV Dreaming.

12

:

In this podcast, we help you

prepare for life on the road.

13

:

Whether you're in a van, an RV, or in

the back of your car, we teach you how

14

:

to get on the road and how to survive

your first year as a full time nomad.

15

:

RV Dreaming starts here.

16

:

Go anywhere.

17

:

My name is Stuart from

StuartDoingStuff on Instagram.

18

:I've been a nomad since:

split my time between my 40 foot Super

19

:

C and my 24 foot Sprinter van, and I

travel with my two cats, Camden and Izzy.

20

:

Follow me on Instagram at StuartDoingStuff

for more stories and videos.

21

:

So, as we talk about routines and

getting into the habit of stuff,

22

:

I think I've tried them all.

23

:

I've tried task management software,

I've tried reminders, I've tried push

24

:

notifications, I've tried all the

little gadgets free and paid that

25

:

come with your cell phone and on

your phones like notes and reminders

26

:

on your iPhone and stuff like that.

27

:

And...

28

:

I, I, I, I found that I just am

not that disciplined in using those

29

:

because I see a reminder, and I set

it, and then I say, okay, I need to

30

:

make sure I do this by Monday at 9 a.

31

:

m.

32

:

I set a reminder at Monday at 9 a.

33

:

m., and then Monday 9 a.

34

:

m.

35

:

comes around, and then that snooze

button, that postpone, or that change

36

:

is so convenient to where you just go,

I just don't feel like doing that today.

37

:

And I'm just gonna, like, ignore it.

38

:

It doesn't have that push, you know?

39

:

You have to have a really big

self discipline to be able

40

:

to really make that work.

41

:

And unfortunately, I don't always do that.

42

:

Just because you're always on the

road and maybe you thought it was

43

:

going to be okay if you drive late

one night and you wake up and you're

44

:

like, Oh my gosh, I'm just so tired.

45

:

Or you end up meeting some friends

on the road and staying out a

46

:

little later than you planned but

you wanted to get up and all that.

47

:

So anyways, I...

48

:

I use Google Calendar, and this

is really what my routine is.

49

:

Google Calendar is my best friend.,

I use it, but I use it to get tasks,

50

:

and I use it for reminders and

stuff, but Google Calendar is really

51

:

what I do, because I use this thing

called time blocking in my day.

52

:

So I don't, I don't know

if you're familiar with it.

53

:

So every day, I try and do...

54

:

I

55

:

try to I try to keep the same routine.

56

:

So, no matter what time I go to

bed, I always try and be up at 7am.

57

:

My alarm starts at 7am, I'm

up at 7am, and I try and start

58

:

working just kind of right away.

59

:

I've always found that I'm freshest

right in the early morning.

60

:

So I'll wake up, I'll put a

pot of coffee on, and I just...

61

:

Dive right into everything.

62

:

I need to do.

63

:

I'm fresh.

64

:

I'm motivated.

65

:

I'm energized.

66

:

And I just, I just kind

of dive right into that.

67

:

And so I represent that in

my time blocking schedule.

68

:

So when I know I have to get

certain done things done.

69

:

Actually, let me back up a little bit.

70

:

My morning is when I work, because

that's when I'm the freshest.

71

:

My afternoon is when I go out and play.

72

:

Uh, because I'm always traveling,

and I want to go and explore a city,

73

:

I want to go see what's going on.

74

:

So, I know that from 7am until about noon,

or 1, or whenever I'm I have that time.

75

:

That's when I know I need to be

the most productive that I can be.

76

:

I know that's when I need to get all

my chores done, all my work tasks done.

77

:

I need to record my podcast.

78

:

I need to do my interviews.

79

:

I need to respond to emails.

80

:

I need to do all of that stuff.

81

:

I go hard from 7am until like noon

or until I start getting hungry

82

:

for lunch or something like that.

83

:

Cause by this time I'm on my

second or third cup of coffee.

84

:

I got the little jitters and I

was like, okay, that's about it.

85

:

So.

86

:

I really just sit down and I, I

go, this is what I need to do.

87

:

And I do the style of time

blocking, like I mentioned.

88

:

And if you're not familiar with time

blocking, time blocking is a time

89

:

management strategy that involves dividing

your day into smaller blocks at times.

90

:

So each block is dedicated to a specific

tap or a group of similar tasks.

91

:

For example, you might block

time in checking email or working

92

:

on a project or taking a break.

93

:

And that's important too, because I

do say I don't want to do anything

94

:

from this time to this time.

95

:

I do block out schedules on this.

96

:

But what I'll do is I'll say for

these two hours, from like 9 a.

97

:

m.

98

:

to 11 a.

99

:

m., I need to wash the van.

100

:

I need to check the tire pressure.

101

:

I need to get gas.

102

:

I need to, you know, and I kind

of group all these little errands.

103

:

I need to go pick up an order from the

store or pick up an Amazon package.

104

:

You know, I know during that two

hours, that's what I need to do.

105

:

I need to go get propane.

106

:

You know, I, I use that time block

to say these are my, this is my two

107

:

hours where I need to run my errands.

108

:

Other things might be during this hour

or during this, uh, two hour window.

109

:

I'm going to record and edit a podcast.

110

:

I'm going to work on research.

111

:

I'm going to respond to emails.

112

:

I'm going to work on a coming

project or something like that.

113

:

So I know that during that time,

that's where my focus needs to be.

114

:

That's where I'm, I'm dedicated towards.

115

:

And, and that's what I'm looking

at as opposed to just having it

116

:

on a list where it's just a whole

bunch of random thoughts and tasks.

117

:

I like to take those random thoughts

and tasks and give it groupings.

118

:

So I know that.

119

:

Everything kind of flows.

120

:

Easily.

121

:

And that everything

comes together nicely.

122

:

So I do all of that and I try and

make one thing flow into another and

123

:

group everything that I need to do.

124

:

And I do have my routines.

125

:

I work early, get everything

done because I want to play.

126

:

I want to go out and

explore wherever I'm at.

127

:

Every day after 12 or 1 o'clock, you

know, or if I'm going to travel, I'll

128

:

do it after that point, after 12 or 1

or 2 o'clock rolls around and I know

129

:

I got a 3 hour drive, that's when

I'm going to go and take my drives.

130

:

I tend to not respond to work emails

later in the day, unless it's urgent.

131

:

I might see it and I might kind of

span on it, but if my head's not in

132

:

that space where they're thinking it's

not an urgent task, I'll say, you know

133

:

what, I'll wait for tonight, or I'll

do it first thing tomorrow morning.

134

:

But if it's not an urgent task

and my head's not in it, you know,

135

:

it's really hard to shift gears.

136

:

From when you're out being fun and social

and exploring, to, wait, I need to, I

137

:

need to think this thing through because

my decision here is going to affect

138

:

so many other different people where I

need to make sure that I have my head

139

:

on straight and I can see it all the way

through when trying to figure stuff out.

140

:

So heavy stuff, you know,

things that require thought and

141

:

determination and stuff like that.

142

:

I tend to push off into the next

day or into the next morning.

143

:

Easy stuff is like yes, no, whatever.

144

:

Most of my team knows that in the

afternoons, just text me if you have

145

:

a simple yes or no question or you're

just not clear on something that's a

146

:

really simple thing, but for these heavy

discussions that you have, those always

147

:

get pushed off for me until the morning.

148

:

Another great thing that I use time

blocking for is it allows me to plan

149

:

my day when I'm traveling with other

people so some people say I'm too

150

:

organized and I'm a clock watcher

But here's my thing about that.

151

:

I, I want to know, like, if we're

going to go off roading, or we're

152

:

going to go and explore a town, or

we're going to go do something, I want

153

:

to know what time are we going to go.

154

:

Because, if they say we're

going to go at 2, and it's 1.

155

:

15, I don't want to start a

project that's an hour project,

156

:

and then push and be late.

157

:

And, and, and make everyone

else late, you know what I mean?

158

:

If I know that it's, uh, it's 1.

159

:

15 and they say we're leaving at 2, I can

go through my task list, I can go through

160

:

my emails, I can go through little things,

and I can find something that will take

161

:

up, you know, these little nickel and dime

5 minute, 3 minute tasks on my to do list.

162

:

To plug in that 45 minute hole or just

do nothing at all, you know, but my fear

163

:

is I don't want to start a project like

if I know it's 115 and we're leaving it

164

:

to, it makes no sense for me to break

out all of my recording gear, all the

165

:

video gear, all the stuff that I need to

record a 30 minute podcast and then edit

166

:

when we know we're leaving in 45 minutes.

167

:

I know that that's just not going to

work, so that's why I like the time

168

:

blocking thing so I can easily coordinate

with other members of my group.

169

:

and other travel partners.

170

:

So that way, if we say we're gonna go at

two, at least I know I'll be ready by two.

171

:

There might be other people that

aren't, but that's, I'm not going to

172

:

be the reason that we aren't off on

time or we miss a tram or shuttle or

173

:

reservations or whatever it is that it is.

174

:

So that's, that's why I

like the time blocking.

175

:

So that way I don't overcommit my time.

176

:

When I know I have other

commitments down the line

177

:

the other reason why I kind of like

this method is I don't want my work to

178

:

get in the way of my travel plans and

plans to explore I mean, I'm always on

179

:

my phone cuz I'm checking things just

because sometimes people can't take the

180

:

next step until I respond back But if

it's a simple yes or no question, I can

181

:

make sure that they remain productive

But sometimes when you're just out

182

:

and about, the last thing that you

want to think about is work, right?

183

:

Especially, so I travel with full

timers and I travel with part timers.

184

:

One of the things I realized is people

who are part timers, or weekenders, travel

185

:

completely different than full timers.

186

:

So those part timers, those

weekenders, they're on vacation mode.

187

:

You know, they're popping

up in a beer at 8.

188

:

30 in the morning or 9 o'clock, and

they're just out having a good old time.

189

:

Whereas I'm still just

like, hey, I still got...

190

:

Stuff I've got to do, you know, I'm

at home, just like when you're at home

191

:

and it's a Saturday morning, you might,

or a Sunday morning, you might have

192

:

the football game on or something like

that, but you still have to sweep and

193

:

mop and vacuum, so you might be doing

multitasking kinds of stuff, you know,

194

:

but these guys, they're on vacation

and when you are on vacation, you're

195

:

in your hotel room and you're out and,

you know, and doing this kind of thing,

196

:

you're in a different mindset too.

197

:

So it's hard to merge

those mindsets to be exact.

198

:

So that's why I like

the time blocking thing.

199

:

So that way I can kind of, yeah.

200

:

Schedule, and I can set my

expectations, and I know my, my

201

:

frame of mind is going to be at a

specific place at a specific time.

202

:

The other reason why I like the

time blocking mechanism and Google

203

:

Calendar, Is because it allows me to

put recurring reminders in my calendar.

204

:

So, recurring reminders can be

like, , Lubricating your slides.

205

:

If you have that, you know, every

three months or four months, you

206

:

need to lubricate all your slides.

207

:

You just pick a day, say January

1st or March 1st or whatever.

208

:

And then you say every three months

or every four months, it's just

209

:

going to pop up on that calendar.

210

:

And what I do is I see it on my reminders.

211

:

I see it on my recurring

and then I insert it.

212

:

Into one of my time block sessions.

213

:

So when I see that, oh, it's coming up

where I need to check my tire pressures

214

:

It's coming up where I need to check

my oils and all this other kinds of

215

:

stuff I'll combine that with some other

RV tasks like lubricating the slides

216

:

or your windows or whatever that needs

to be and then I'll take that chunk

217

:

and I'll plop it Into a two hour or

a three hour window in my calendar

218

:

and that's what I know Hey, I'm going

to get all this stuff done today.

219

:

That's, that's my thing where I know

I'm going to be working on the rig.

220

:

This is my two hour or my three hour

window to get all this stuff done.

221

:

It doesn't mean that, hey, October

1st comes around and your little

222

:

reminder comes up and says,

Hey, you got to do this today.

223

:

You mean you need to do it that day?

224

:

It's just telling you, build some time

in for all of these kinds of things.

225

:

And as you kind of realize, as you kind

of go through this process, you're going

226

:

to realize that certain tasks Just are

grouped together well when you do certain

227

:

things like here's an example when I

go and I do laundry And I head out to

228

:

the laundry mat I know that I've got

maybe two hours at the laundromat And

229

:

that's also when I do a deep cleaning

of the van because all my sheets all my

230

:

pillows all my stuff They're out of the

van so that allows me to get into nooks

231

:

and crannies to vacuum out crevices

to do a good sweeping and mopping of

232

:

the floors and so I know I do laundry

every, what, 10 to 14 days or so.

233

:

So I know that every 10 or 14 days,

my van is going to get a really

234

:

good detail, a really good cleaning.

235

:

So nothing really ever lingers.

236

:

And that's where I think we fill.

237

:

As humans, we get so far behind

on a task, you go, Oh my gosh, how

238

:

am I ever going to get caught up?

239

:

And so that task just kind of lingers out

there, and the problem keeps getting worse

240

:

and worse and worse and worse and worse,

and then all of a sudden you're, you know,

241

:

you're living in a new reality where,

Oh, this is just the way that it is.

242

:

Well, no, it's never

supposed to be that way.

243

:

It's not supposed to be that way.

244

:

You just gotta find the time to

be able to do it, and that's why I

245

:

utilize a time blocking mechanism.

246

:

I've tried a lot of other ones, this one

just is the one that works well for me.

247

:

Another thing when I'm out, most of

the people who I know, that I work

248

:

with regularly, and communicate with

regularly, they're either nomads,

249

:

Themselves so they understand the ifs

and this and travel days and on all that

250

:

so we understand each other You know, we

don't need to explain each other But for

251

:

the other people who I work with that

aren't that are maybe work from home

252

:

or going to an office still, you know

They don't understand the whole process.

253

:

So I make sure I explain it to

them and especially if I'm going to

254

:

be gone Extended lengths of time.

255

:

Like if I'm out of the burn at Burning Man

or somewhere deep into some boondocking

256

:

areas where there is no cell reception,

maybe you're in a forest and you don't get

257

:

really good,, starling reception as well.

258

:

I let them know in advance.

259

:

I say, Hey, just so that you know,

I'm going to be out of service in the

260

:

afternoons, but every morning I'm going

to drive into town from seven to 10.

261

:

And I'll make sure I'm always

available during that time.

262

:

But in the event that.

263

:

You need me after that?

264

:

There's a good chance I may not be able

to get your message until the next day.

265

:

So that gets them thinking too, about,

hey, do I need to line up my questions?

266

:

Or, is this really a 5 minute phone

call as opposed to 40 different emails?

267

:

You know, so, we kind of...

268

:

Really get into that tune and that's

taken me a while to get into as well But

269

:

for the most part people get it people

understand it and I think in the end

270

:

more people appreciate it just because

You're being respectful of their time.

271

:

Don't you just hate it when you send

out an email to somebody and You don't

272

:

know if they got it, you don't know if

they looked at it, you don't know when

273

:

you're going to respond, and you're

waiting for an answer because their

274

:

answer is going to depend on what you do.

275

:

You know, this time blocking method and

this open communication on the style,

276

:

it really has solved and helped prevent

a lot of miscommunications, a lot of

277

:

problems, and a lot of time wasted.

278

:

Because, you know, the short of it is...

279

:

The summary here is even though

every day is a new day And we can

280

:

wake up in a different location

every day and we can have different

281

:

experiences and meet new people There

are still things that are the same.

282

:

There still are routines There are still

are things that we have to do in the

283

:

regular world because we're communicating

with people We're working from the road

284

:

and just having that kind of standard

set routine where people can know You

285

:

know your schedule, know your patterns.

286

:

It makes it easier for them.

287

:

And that's why I like this.

288

:

And I, I like to be organized.

289

:

I like to keep things straight in my head.

290

:

Where I know I'm not

going to miss anything.

291

:

Or I can be in the right frame

of mind to solve a problem.

292

:

And, and that's really the big thing.

293

:

I can't go from doing this marketing.

294

:

Project over here and learning more about

this business thing at the same time

295

:

trying to diagnose my solar and do it

up on the top No, I need I want to be in

296

:

that mechanical headspace when I'm trying

to think solar when I'm trying to get my

297

:

hands dirty when I know that I'm gonna

be crawling up and down rigs and up and

298

:

down ladders and stuff like that I want

to be in that same headspace that time

299

:

blocking mechanism allows me to look at

that So when I go to bed at night and

300

:

I wake up in the morning and I look at

that calendar and I say, okay What I'm

301

:

doing tomorrow And I go, oh, it's podcast

recording day, or if I go, oh, it's van

302

:

work day, or oh, I'm going to be stuck

in front of a computer doing emails and

303

:

stuff like that today, or I even get into

this habit, it's a two hour or sometimes

304

:

it's a one hour block of learn something

new, dive deeper into SEO, like for me,

305

:

dive deeper into SEO, dive deeper into

podcast marketing, dive deeper into AI,

306

:

you know, this helps keep me On track and

focused and the reminders and the tasks

307

:

and all the things that are on your phone.

308

:

Uh, like I used Asana, I've used a

lot of other project management and

309

:

time, they just, they don't have

that, that sense of, um, urgency,

310

:

I guess is the best way to say it.

311

:

That, that I need and that

I've come to appreciate.

312

:

So, that is my secret on how I...

313

:

Have a routine, how I create my routines

daily, weekly, and monthly, how I

314

:

track my business side, how I track

my travel side, how I communicate with

315

:

people from the outside world who are

still in their sticks and bricks, and

316

:

that's how I kind of move forward.

317

:

Now, every day is a new day, not every

day is the same, but for the most

318

:

part, I like to be up at 7, I like

to be able to start my day with some

319

:

coffee, jump into the news, and just

start on the hard stuff right away.

320

:

I don't want big headaches,

big projects, following me into

321

:

the afternoon and the evening.

322

:

That's just my style, everyone has their

strengths on what works best for them,

323

:

and as you start developing your habits,

when you get onto the road, you're

324

:

gonna find that certain things work

great for you, and certain things don't.

325

:

Now, here's the other thing.

326

:

I am probably going to need to

change some of my habits pretty soon.

327

:

Because as the days get shorter, I like

to be parked in my campsite before dark.

328

:

Like, I don't want to rush, I don't

want to go into dark campsites,

329

:

especially if you're boondocking or

going into a place you've never been.

330

:

So, right now, during the summer, I

could leave a campsite or a boondocking

331

:

spot at like 2 or 3, drive for 3 or 4

hours, and still have plenty of daylight

332

:

to be able to do what I need to do.

333

:

But coming up here in just a few weeks,

we're going to be changing our clocks, and

334

:

now it's going to start getting dark at 5.

335

:

Which means I can't leave at 2 o'clock in

the afternoon and get a 4 hour drive day

336

:

in without it being dark upon my arrival.

337

:

So everything's going to have

to shift back for a little bit.

338

:

So if I have a 4 hour drive, I'm going to

need to leave no later than 11 or 12 to be

339

:

able to get to a spot where I want to be.

340

:

Get settled before the

sun starts going down.

341

:

So always having some adjustments,

always having some, you know, changes

342

:

and some tweaks here and there.

343

:

And I don't know about you,

but I am not happy about this

344

:

whole daylight savings thing.

345

:

I am not, I want longer days.

346

:

Like, I want, I want light up

until 8 or 9 o'clock at night.

347

:

It just makes everything

so much more fulfilling.

348

:

That's just me talking though.

349

:

Anyways.

350

:

I hope you got something

out of this podcast.

351

:

, and, and I appreciate you taking a little

bit of time to, for me to share my day.

352

:

And how I organize and how I think.

353

:

Um, and tackle certain projects.

354

:

But again, it's gonna be

different for everyone.

355

:

Utilize the tools that I talked about.

356

:

I really believe in that

time blocking thing.

357

:

It's working well for me I've been

doing it for about a year now and it's

358

:

really been the easiest thing for me

When trying to manage my life on the

359

:

road So now thank you for listening to

the RV dream podcast If you like what

360

:

you heard or you got something out of

this episode Please take a moment and

361

:

leave us a review on Apple podcast or

Spotify It really helps us get more

362

:

exposure and it helps more people just

like you thrive on the road Until next

363

:

time Enjoy your travels, make them safe,

make them fun, and make them memorable.

364

:

RV Dreaming, start here, go anywhere.

365

:

I'll see you in the next episode.