Nov 25 2008
Attempting to Fight the Social Butterfly Within
I’m sitting in a little office-like room at my temporary home here in Gonaives, Haiti with a wicked fast internet connection and loads of stuff to do. Am I getting any work done? Hell no.
People who eagerly flock to supposedly dangerous places to shovel mud for weeks or months on end tend to be just a little bit crazy, and those are the people I usually get on with really well. The volunteering project I’m on right now has 22 people on it right now and the numbers will keep increasing from here on in until it ends in January. It might creep up to as high as 40 volunteers at once, all of whom are interesting in one way or another and most of whom enjoy chatting each night over a few beers.
It makes sitting here in this little office pretty tough. There are people to get to know outside and I am finding it hard not to pack up my computer and head out to join in the conversations. It’s really hard when the people I’m around are so much fun. It’s obviously a good thing but it makes getting work done pretty difficult.
People tend to come home and pass out for two hours during lunch so maybe I can use that time to get some productive stuff done. Unfortunately, I’d prefer to pass out durng lunch as well. I am going to set myself a goal of getting my living in Sydney site complete befor ethe end of November and then set another couple of goals for December. It’s the only way I think I will be able to motivate myself to sit in front of the computer instead of enjoying good company, a few drinks and the beautiful starry skys.
This working on the road thing is great but it can certainly be challenging at times like these. Ok, blog post done… time to go socialise!
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I've been travelling since January 2008 living off earnings from the web. Follow me as I bum around Asia and beyond, getting up to mischief and working online as I go. 
Self-motivation, especially on the road, is certainly one of my weaker points. If you’ve seen What About Bob, I like to use the “baby steps” method of getting things done - setting micro goals for oneself rather than focusing on the larger task at hand. In such a great living environment, finding a balance between work and play should make for a fun challenge. Best of luck!
Alan
I am the queen of procrastinating. Staying motivated and getting work done - with or without goals, baby steps or not - is difficult for me wherever I am. Period. Good luck in Haiti.
I would get out there Kirsty! People are certainly more important than the Internet - a lesson that I have learned myself over the last three years.
Your days work is done so go have a few beers and meet peeps - well deserved!
People are more important than the internet, I think that goes without saying. But I’ve still got to make a living and that’s where the dilemma lies. I have to put in some work at some point… I just wish the people here were less interesting!
When my days work shoveling mud is done, I should still put in an hour or two of internet work. I’ve been doing ok tonight. Spent some time writing some stuff… but now the beer is calling me.
Hi Kirsty, I find it hard at times to fight the social butterfly at home and imagine it to be even harder when I’m travelling. In fact that has kept my ever-present wish to travel at bay for some time now (apart from the occasional 3 weeks escape) because I just know I wouldn’t get any stuff done. Guess the way to go for me would be to rent an appartment in a residential area of, say, Buenos Aires and work from there.
Regarding your situation, I second Working Nomad: go out and make the most of it, then think about work later.