We pulled into the Grand Canyon Thursday night. We were going to be camping for three nights, giving us two days to take our time exploring one of Earth’s most famous wonders. I’d worked extra hours earlier in the week so that I could unplug and enjoy four total days of driving and playing tourist.

About five minutes after checking into our campground, I got an email on my iPhone announcing a bit of a work emergency, something that demanded my attention within the next 12 hours.

My cell phone service promptly vanished as soon as I finished reading the email.

We unhooked the travel trailer from the back of our SUV, made sure no dishes had been broken in the transfer, and put the TV back in its place. Then I went hunting for wifi.
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I asked my friends on Facebook to recommend a cleanse to start my 2012 off Gwyneth style.

I made a vision board that focused on health as a pathway to happiness.

I wrote about embracing the end of the year as a time to step back and relax, to regroup instead of moving forward.

So really, it’s my own fault that I spent about three weeks battling a combination of viruses I now refer to as the Iowa Plague. I basically asked to be knocked on my proverbial butt, forced to let work and my usual end-of-month organizing slide. My colon, I assure you, is cleansed.
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One of the things I appreciate about my lifestyle - that of a digital nomad who lives and works on the road full time - is that I am pretty much the boss of everything. I decide when I’ll work, play, and sleep. I pick which projects I’ll work on and which I’ll turn down. I get to choose whether I’ll accept or negotiate deadlines. I eat breakfast at noon if I want and have no consequences for spending the entire day in my pajamas. As you might imagine, it takes a fair amount of self discipline to keep this train on the tracks, what with no one waiting to tell me what to do.

I tend to keep that train moving by focusing first on activities that pay me. Specifically, I start my day with the highest paying tasks and move on down the list according to dollar amount and proximity of deadline. This perfectly sounds logical, yes?

Unfortunately, no one pays me to brush my teeth.
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I know that there was a time not so long ago when the Internet didn’t exist. And then the Internet did exist, but it was a luxury. And then it came to our homes in dial-up, then cable, then… well, you see where this is going. We’ve come a long way since Al Gore invented the Internet and today we live in a world in which a great majority of our ideas, products and services are exchanged “in the cloud.”

I make my living entirely online. I don’t have an office and every product I make or service I deliver is digital. And yet, I am currently living without reliable Internet for the first time in almost 15 years.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. My workload is nearly the same as what it was when I was living in a house with 24/7 wifi service, but I’m getting it done in three days a week instead of five or six.

Ironically, a lack of Internet has made me more productive.

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This is the last post I’ll write for Full Time, All the Time from the comfort of anything resembling an office. This is probably also the last week I can reasonably claim to work “full time.”

One week from today, my family and I are moving out of our suburban home and into a 24 foot travel trailer RV. For the next year, we’ll tow that portable house all over the United States with our old SUV, working and living in cities and campgrounds that promise free or cheap WiFi. My kids are calling it The Biggest Vacation Ever, but I won’t exactly be on vacation. I’ll still be working - although hopefully less than full time - because someone has to pay for the campground fees and cereal.

Things, they are a-changin’.

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One of the most amazing women I know recently returned to work after being at home with her two boys for eight years. The transition happened a little earlier than she and her family had anticipated, but the perfect opportunity came along and she decided to jump on it. I’m excited for her and proud of her.

And I was completely shocked to learn that her confidence isn’t what it used to be.

This is a woman my husband has met exactly once and instantly admired and respected. This is a woman who is smart, compassionate, and articulate. This is a woman that other women want to be like when they grow up.

And it turns out she struggles with some of the same nerves and doubts that may of the rest of us do.

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Last night, I began the process of making new business cards. (I would have finished the process, but I ran out of printer ink at 10:30 pm. Naturally.)

It pains me to spend the time and resources making new cards, even though my job description has changed significantly over the last few months. I still have well over a hundred perfectly good business cards (except for the outdated job description and really old picture). I have plenty left because I almost never hand them out.

It’s not that I don’t meet new people. I do, often.

But I also use technology to collect, store, and organize contact information. If you have an iPhone, I’ll use the Bump It app to swap details with you. If you’re on twitter, I’ll quickly start following you right from my phone. I rely on Google and Apple to work seamlessly together to keep my contacts organized.

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Women have discussed at length the merits of being a working mom. Most of us are familiar with the myriad of reasons that mothers work when their children are young and there’s no need to rehash what has already been discussed and decided:

It’s the best choice for many of us.

However, I’ve become much more aware recently of what I tell my kids about why I work.

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I spend a great deal of my life trying to motivate other people to do things.  Whether it’s asking my children to pick up their rooms or encouraging writers to meet deadlines, I’m often relying on other people to do their part to make my day go smoothly.  Such is life when no man (or woman) is an island, I suppose; even the most resourceful and self reliant among us must learn how to inspire action in someone else at some point.

The question is not if we’ll have to motivate others, but how we’ll choose to do it.  Specifically, will we rely on negative or positive reinforcement?

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Today is the last day of the non-holiday season, and even that is debatable since my children are home for Thanksgiving break.  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and then it’s a constant onslaught of holiday fever until January 2nd, 2011.  For most of my income-earning life, this has marked the time of year when I am most likely to give in to every single excuse to slack off at work.

Longer than usual lunches.

Mornings spent chatting with co-workers about upcoming parties.

Afternoons spent surfing for gift ideas, because it’s almost time to go home anyway.

Entire days and weeks spent struggling to concentrate, because it’s practically Christmas!

Struggling to stay productive during the holiday season has become a bona fide holiday tradition!

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