What is something that would keep you from working while traveling? Or better yet, traveling because you have to work? For me, it is staying connected. My job, my work life and work relationships, and my team are all connected online.
My kids often Facetime with their friends and their cousins in Spain. And, even for two of their homeschool curriculums they need the internet. For my family’s lifestyle, having a reliable and portable internet connection is a necessity.
Having the internet at our fingertips is something we too often take for granted. Since I do a lot of traveling for work, having a reliable connection is something I have to think about. I’ve partnered with Karma to give you an inside look at my work life and to give you the chance to win your own Karma Go to take the WiFi with you! Giveaway details below.
While I mostly work from home, there are many times where I need to get work done outside the home. A few times a week my oldest kids have homeschool classes, so the hour wait is best spent working -they work I work, right?
And then, there is all the waiting that happens during activities, while I wait for one to finish gymnastics and the other is at art, or while voice lessons are happening. You could safely assume that I spend a lot of time in our van or car working. I usually sit in the back seat (I have more room there) and write articles, posts, watching videos, and replying to email.
To be productive on the go with my Karma Go all I have to do is connect it to any of my devices by adding a new wireless network and then it remembers the connection for next time.
Even when I travel, it can sometimes be a challenge to find a location with WiFi, and at some hotels I have to pay extra per night for internet access from my room. And at conferences hundreds of people sharing the same connection often makes any kind of browsing speed compete with a turtle.
Until recently, my only solution was to pay extra to my cell phone provider every month to turn my phone into my personal hotspot. However, my carrier is quite slow in a lot of the markets I travel to, making speed worse than dial-up, and there is also the fact that I am paying extra every month for data that I don’t always use up -and don’t get me started on the fees that occur when you go over. Sigh!
Today, I am sharing this post from Hawaii. My husband and I are on our first vacation together (no kids!) in nearly a decade; and while I’m not working much, I am still checking on a few loose ends I was not able to take care of before leaving our house. Please excuse the lack of bikini picture, I am working on my tan standing up while you enjoy the sandy beach and laptop photo. LOL!
Yes, I know I should not be working… but having portable WiFi provides me the opportunity to really work from anywhere, and it puts me at ease knowing I can get online if I want to. I love the flexibility it provides for me to work when I’m on the road!
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From time to time, I work with awesome companies to develop recipes for this website. Today’s post was brought to you by Karma. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that encourage my creativity.
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I currently use an internet device thru my cell phone plan but am thinking of getting something else.
I usually am left squinting at the tiny screen of my phone, trying to answer emails, or struggle to read a website.
on the go: in the car we try not to use any devices that requires internet access. when we stay in the hotel we always choose hotels with free wi-fi. Everywhere else, I will find free wi-fi places. Thank you for the chance.
I use my phone but also find the small screen challenging. Would love a mobile option for work.
Trying again because my first comment didn’t post. I currently use my tiny screen on my phone and have to zoom in and out a lot.
I use my phone and any wi-fi available to use my tablet, so if I’m not close to a wi-fi I can’t get connected in other device than my phone.
I have a 6 year old netbook that I rely on free wi-fi (at restaurants/visitor centers) to check on statuses (school projects/grades/available jobs for me) while we travel.
I have to rely on my phone for internet on the go.
I look for free wi-fi or use my phone……
When I’m on the go, I use my phone as a hotspot.
I use my phone, but as others say, it is so small and doesn’t allow you to do all that is needed a lot of the time.
Usually just our cell phone data.
I just use my cellular on my iPhone and sometimes my kids will tap into it using my hotspot on it. But this eats up data really fast, so we’ve only done it a handful of times…
My family uses my dad’s phone that has a hotspot on it.
i use my phone as a hotspot
We have tried using a free hotspot device but it is not always reliable, in hotels we have to pay extra for the all important surf
I always use my phone plan which is never enough for my 6 year old son 🙁
I use my phone as a hot spot but it is so small to read that at times it’s useless.
I am stuck working on my phone these days and squinting at my tiny screen.
I use my phone, which isn’t small (Galaxy s6) but it would be better to be able to use a laptop or large-sized tablet.
I use wifi if I’m in the car and look for hot spots where ever I can fine them.
I currently just use the wifi on my phone, which is not productive for someone like me who is a freelance web developer and photographer. When I say wifi on my phone – that basically limits me to just responding to emails, browsing the web or reading. When I travel, I need to use my laptop — but if the location doesn’t provide free wifi – i’m just out of luck. I usually just search for a Starbucks, Panera or other venue I know that has free wifi. I would love to have a mobile hotspot with me wherever I go so that I can increase my productivity!
I usually use my phone….but give up when I can’t read what I need or access the page the way I want.
i don’t have a phone which can connect to the Internet, so I wait until I get home, or steal my husbands phone!
Cell phone data or shared wifi at a location like Starbucks or our destination hotel
I don’t have access to wifi unless I stop in someplace that has it. I have no cell service at home, so don’t have a smart phone – I can’t see paying for a smart phone plan when I can’t use it over 50% of the time. When I drive the 20 miles into town, I have to make sure anything I’ll need, like my shopping list, or recipes that I want to get the ingredients for, are downloaded onto my tablet. I was quite excited to find, quite recently, that the Walmart where I do a lot of my shopping just added wifi access for shoppers! But, half the time I am in there, it isn’t working properly, so I still make sure info is accessible without wifi on my tablet.
This would be perfect for my parents since they refuse to have a computer & they live on a farm where cellular coverage isn’t great! They could finally FaceTime with my 3 kids without worrying about being locked into a monthly fee!
I use my phone everywhere I go. I am addicted to my Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Thank you for this opportunity and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
When I’m on the go I use my phone.
Just working away from the house. We rely on the internet connection at the cafe, but it regularly either gets too congested to load much, or fails entirely. Working from home often means never leaving home, so going out to work somewhere else helps break that cycle.
I use wifi wherever I can get it! My job involves virtual data management, so staying connected is everything. This would literally change the way I work.
I use my phone 99% of the time for internet use. Can become a pain because the screen is so small!
I don’t have any way to access the internet when I am outside of our home. So this would be wonderful to have!
On the go I use free WiFi whenever i can and use my cell phone most of the time. I’m a teacher so when I travel to other shools or seminars/wirkshops i use the credentials they provide. This Karma you talk about sounds amazing!
No smartphone so I have to rely on my laptop!
My phone for NEEDS and only free WIFI in the hotel for WANTS. It is tough with a 4 year old because when travelling we are rarely in the hotel and not sleeping.
I have to make my phone a hotspot to access internet for my kids while driving This is difficult especially going through mountains
I need Wi-Fi to work, period! With out it I’m lost. I recently bought my dream house and the signal is terrible!! I live in Charleston, SC and am surrounded by water. I lose connection all the time. It’s so frustrating!! I have to use my phone a lot, and we all know it’s way easier on a laptop. Something’s you just can’t do on a phone. Wi-Fi wherever I go, would be a dream. Thank you Laura.
We use WiFi or the hot spot on my phone.
I just use wifi on my phone but it’s a pain! 😉
I connect the hot spot on my cell phone to my iPad or laptop. It’s expensive and definitely not an ideal situation. I’d love to have a Karma Go. Not to mention the fact that with 4 devices on our cell phone contract we area way overloaded. LOL This would be a perfect alternative. As soon as I read about it I immediately texted my oldest daughter at work to check it out.
I use my cellphone because we have a big data plan
I generally pray for free wi-fi wherever we are at and if not – I start racking up data overage fees on my phone!!! :o(
This is quite a neat little gadget!!!
I once loaned my 3yo my hotspot for the ipad and I had $278 in overage charges the following month! OY..
I live in a rural area, where the only internet we have access to is $200 per month. Which means I am ALWAYS traveling to a wifi-friendly area in a parking lot, or the library, to get any internet other than what I have on my phone. Ever try to do work in the driver’s side of your car, with your files in the passenger seat? Whew! I’m about to go back to school online because I work full time and come home to my family at night, so we will be cutting corners for sure to finally break down and get internet! It will be worth it in the end though. Work hard now to play hard later, right?
Right! wow, then maybe their unlimited option might be a good one for you!
I’ve been looking into this, but wondered how fast it was. We are getting ready to move to a rural part of our county with no high speed internet, I would be thrilled if this was an option!
It’s faster than the hotspot in my phone. They have a wide coverage area, but I’d check first. 🙂
Oh my, how I could use this! I am always on the go with my kids and getting wifi at the park is near impossible. What a much needed device, and I love how small it is.
Would love to use this while we RV camp this spring and summer.
I NEED THIS DEVICE! We currently only use wifi on our phones, which can be really inconvenient when I need to google something or answer an email. I would love to win a Karma Go! 🙂
I can totally relate to everyone and your whole article! I am one not for spending the extra with my cell phone provider as it already cost an arm and a leg and also at Hotels and so on.
I can definitely use it as I am getting back into web designs and take more work mobile and spend more time with my kids and make it much easier when I am traveling with my ninja to her Taekwondo tournaments and lessons 🙂 and also when my kids wants in on the internet with their techie devices 🙂 oh WiFi help me mercy! haha lol Thank you for the awesome opportunity!
We often ask to use an existing wi-fi network or go somewhere that has free access, like the library.
I am limited to places I can get free wifi – coffee shops or the library.
While we don’t travel an awful lot, we usually just try to find free wifi to use.
I use my phone on the go which connects to wifi or uses its own depending on what is available.
I always try to stay at hotels with free wifi, and if not staying overnight I’ll search for businesses who offer free wifi for paying customers (price of a coffee is well worth the free wifi!)
As there is no reception within a twenty-mile radius of our house, we, sadly, have no use for cell phones. Which means our WiFi outside the home is limited to whatever hot spots we happen to run across in our travels. This gizmo sounds like the perfect solution!
In order to get on-the-go wifi in barren lands, I have been known to wrap my head in tin foil and bend wire hangers into antennae while standing on one foot and singing “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean!” I don’t know why strangers look at me funny, why my daughter disowns me…I just laugh and hit SEND on my emails. But even this approach does not work everywhere, so perhaps Karma Go would be a tiny bit subtler and– more importantly– save my daughter excruciating embarrassment…
BEST COMMENT EVER Award.
I would use this device to help my organization register children to participate in our arts based educational programming that is inspired by the 1960s. We focus on providing access to all and the Karma Go would help us bring technology into the communities that do not have this access and allow them to be just like everyone else through the registration and scholarship process. It is the first step to normalize their access and to start a wonderful, fun and creative program to foster each participants ideas of self expression.
Hi Laura! Saw your photo when I visited the Karma Instagram today and recognized you! Thank you for sharing this review…it seems like a great product + gift idea for bloggers!
I’ve been on Periscope several times and always get spotty coverage when I’m out and about…this would be great for bloggers on the go who broadcast live or need to get a quick turnaround on a post for a client or brand.
I used to have wifi on my old internet plan, but it was only local. My current plan has nothing. 🙁
This sounds awesome! *fingers crossed* Would love to win this and use it when we relocate to South Texas this Spring! 🙂
this is definitely a lifesaver for bloggers! My cell carrier is terrible and I can’t rely on “free” wifi all the time. Good luck!
Would love to be able to use the Karma Go to answer work emails and look up answers for customers when I’m on the go. Also might come in handy when hanging out in waiting rooms for my son with autism. He’s not much into apps but loves to watch you tube videos.
I pray that the hotel has free wifi with our room rate but often it is not included and an exorbitant fee. I’d love to have this prize to be able to get work done on the go!
Any experience with using with driving on a roadtrip? We are getting ready move from Boston to Austin and want to take the dive slowly, but I have to work still 🙂
It worked for me in rural areas in hawaii, so I imagine it should work there!
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