Have you read that to be more productive you should wake up earlier? Me too. I’m in Montana and I’m starting to believe it’s true. We’re crossing time zones and I’m waking at the same time of day so I get up a whole hour earlier now. My primary team and almost all of my clients are on the west coast so this makes me super prepared for the day.

Traveling takes time. I can’t write docs or code while driving (There are no voice-command development tools that actually work. Before I had a handle on my carpal tunnel and couldn’t type I tried all of them.) and I wouldn’t want to anyway! Seeing the wild landscape unfold is one of my favorite parts of traveling by road. Here are a few things I do to make sure my day goes smoothly:

0. At the end of the previous day I schedule tasks for myself in Google Calendar.
1. I use Google Calendar’s Daily Agenda feature to email myself a task list every morning.
2. I eat and brush my teeth and get some exercise (or not) before my first task (or call) is due.
   This is where I get more done because I have an extra hour.
3. Organizing my thoughts, making notes, testing nightly builds, reviewing customer requirements.
4. Mapping the distance to a town that looks like it has a good coffee shop. In case I miscalculate how far I can drive between tasks, I’ve always got my cell modem and I can work from a truck stop.