I was recently looking back at the year with my husband and roughly calculated that I had been away from home on business two out of the last twelve months. Considering I have a full-time job and have hardly missed a deadline, this seems somewhat implausible. But, in reviewing my Google Calendar, it seems to be true: New York a handful of times, Germany twice, Mexico, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia…I can go on, but you get the idea.
For me, I have maintained a love-hate relationship with travel. I love bragging about it on social media; but I hate having to work while away from my cozy little writing studio I keep in a nearby town. It’s stressful for me, having gotten into a routine of total silence and minimal distractions, to be filing an article from a hotel room with spotty Wifi or one too close to the elevator. And while it may seem glamorous to be tapping away about fashion week while waiting to board a plane, I can assure you I’ve been nearly brought to tears by my neighbor next to me watching a TikTok video without headphones – a level of hell that even Dante couldn’t have fathomed, if you ask me.
But that’s the thing when you travel for work: you actually have to work while you’re traveling. And this is especially so for those in creative jobs, where missed deadlines, unanswered emails, and rushed articles can ultimately have an impact on your paycheck. On more than one occasion, I’ve had to buy WiFi on a flight (not expensed, mind you) to file an article or cancel dinner plans to make sure my month-end invoices were submitted in time. Yes, it all sounds very grown-up and spoiled of me to admit all of this here, but I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t think longingly about my messy little desk and comfortable little chair whenever I check in and see the impersonal desk-slash-mini fridge combo at whatever economy room someone else booked for me.
Because of all of this – the inconsistencies that come with travel, the neverending deadlines that seem to pile up – I’ve become something of an expert on packing a mobile office that works for me. I’ve had to find ways to, if not recreate the creature comforts of my writing studio, at least minimize distractions and become a more efficient writer to produce the same level of work my editors, my readers, and myself are all used to. And in doing so, I’ve mastered a way to feel, in some way, a sense of control and familiarity when I’m opening up a Google Doc in Berlin’s U-bahn, an Amtrak dining car through Amish country, or in a cabana in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
First and foremost, I’ve had to reduce my needs to the bare minimum. On more than one occasion, I’ve had to ask myself the hard questions, like: Brett, do you really need four fountain pens for this trip? Now, I stick to one unfussy pen that I can use easily on-the-go and won’t, for instance, leak while on a plane. Through trial and error, I’ve become a Pilot G-2 convert (.5mm, if you’re curious). They’re cheap, easy to find if I need to replace a lost one, and are capless, so it’s one less thing I have to worry about leaving in my seatback pocket. I’ve also stopped worrying about highlighters, pencils, Post-Its, and all the little extras that populate my desk.
Most importantly, perhaps, is finding a system that allows for flexibility but can, at the same time, keep me well-organized. Ostensibly, I have four jobs and write for about eight publications on a regular basis, I can’t cram everything into one notebook and call it a day. Instead, I have to find a way to separate my notes – which, in turn, creates a new set of problems in keeping those all together. Luckily for me, Roterfaden is a German brand that specializes in a multifunctional notebook organizer called the Taschenbegleiter, which can hold three notebooks together using their proprietary metal clips system. Because of this, I can rotate my various notebooks, depending on any upcoming deadlines during my trip, under one cover.
The Taschenbegleiter hasn’t simply allowed me to tote around three notebooks while abroad more easily; it has forced me to reduce my own needs to the bare minimum. On some trips, I haven’t even packed a proper laptop. Instead, I’ve opted for an iPad Mini, tucked into the back pocket of my notebook cover, and a little foldable Bluetooth keyboard for writing on-the-go. While my iPad Pro or Macbook don’t take up that much real estate, I realize, having a mobile desk where I can keep everything in one place feels extremely satisfying, I must admit. To me, that’s the real meaning of EDC: everything I take with me has a use, and I use everything I take with me.
From looking at my calendar, I can already tell 2026 doesn’t seem to be letting up in terms of travel for me. And while I still haven’t gotten a REAL ID and I need to replace my one checked bag with a wobbly wheel, I can at least find some comfort in knowing that, whether I’m in Helsinki for Design Week or New York for Wind-up, I’m going to be just fine. A little stressed, I’m sure, but that’s nothing an $8 can of gin-and-tonic at 40,000 feet can’t fix.
Brett Braley-Palko
2025-12-23 15:00:00