✍️ Desk of Amy Suto: 3 Ways Traveling Has Made Me a Better Entrepreneur
How being a digital nomad makes you better at business.
Happy Sunday! In today’s newsletter, you’ll learn about…
✍️ How we use our routines as a crutch
☕️ Different ways we procrastinate on the things we know we need to do
😎 How traveling played a role in helping me build six-figure businesses
📖 3-Minute Story: Travel as a Magical Business-Building Potion
When I lived in Los Angeles, I needed my routine and creature comforts:
I liked my French press, which I filled with coffee beans from my Bird Rock subscription, that arrived at my door every few months. I liked sitting outside in the afternoons to take calls. I liked having food just show up on my doorstep.
And if anything disrupted my routine or space? I had to jump into action and fix it immediately:
Time to re-organize my office.
Time to wash down my deck.
Time to water my monstrosity of a mint plant that had cannibalized all of the neighboring spices (beware of the mighty mint plant/gardening atrocity waiting to happen!)
Obsessing over my physical space was my method of procrastination. It was how I kept busy while not doing the things I actually needed to get done in my business.
When I started to travel as a digital nomad, it was easy to blame bouts of distraction on movement:
I’m not in my space, I can’t get this done.
I don’t have my French press full of coffee the way I like it, I can’t focus today.
I can’t reorganize all my books by color and alphabetical order, time to clock out because I can’t get my day back on track.
It’s amazing that I got anything done at all with that kind of mindset.
Here in Costa Rica, things aren’t perfect. I don’t have the just-right desk setup. Sometimes the power goes out or the Internet is slow. The mosquitos occasionally get me as I work outside on the rooftop overlooking the pool. The only good matcha latte in this town is too far to get on a daily basis.
Instead of using these things as excuses, I see them for what they are: simple challenges to be overcome, but not obstacles to having a happy, productive day.
Even though I don’t have the just-right desk setup, I love working in the open-air cafes or overlooking the pool in the boutique hotel we’re staying in.
The power might go out, but we’re steps from the beach, and I love walking next to the waves after my work is done for the day.
Mosquitos love me, but I love the yoga classes by the ocean. I may not be drinking my favorite matcha every morning, but there’s a chai latte next door that’s a great substitute.
Being a digital nomad taught me that I can do my best work wherever I need to: on boats, planes, trains — you name it.
Travel has forced me to be an essentialist with my energy. If I want to explore the city I’m in, I have to get good at getting my work done efficiently — and knowing exactly what to prioritize to move the needle.
In short?
I am now in the business of keeping the promises I make to myself.
And that business, as I’ve discovered, is one of the most profitable there is.
✨ 2 Quotes to Inspire You
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." - Helen Keller
"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list." - Susan Sontag
✍️ 1 Journal Prompt for Reflection
In your own life, what are obstacles you can solve, and what are obstacles you may be using as excuses that keep you from making progress in your work? Write about your day yesterday. Did you do everything you wanted to do? If not, what held you back?
Feel free to share your reflections in the comments:
💻 New Blog Posts on AmySuto.com
3 Mistakes to Avoid When Self-Publishing Your Book on Amazon KDP
3 Steps: How to Write a Book Outline for Your Memoir or Nonfiction Book
🎙 New From the Desk of Amy Suto Podcast Episodes
#107 Three Mistakes to Avoid When Self-Publishing Your Book on Amazon KDP (5 min)
#106 Three Steps: How to Write a Book Outline for Your Memoir or Nonfiction Book (3 min)
#103 Four Lessons From Eat, Pray, Love: Best Travel Memoir Example (9 min)
I create these podcast episodes from my blog archives using the tool Wondercraft AI, a text-to-speech tool that speaks in YOUR voice. 🎙 Use my code SUTO50 or this link to get 50% off your Wondercraft AI subscription! (paid/affiliate link)
📸 Photo of the Week: Jungle Espresso Continued
I’m just here to drink espresso at all of the aesthetic spots around the world, don’t mind me 🙂
Follow me on X/Twitter or Instagram for more!
⚡️ Upcoming Wednesday Edition: 10 Branding Secrets for Service-Based Businesses + Freelancers
This Wednesday, ✍️ From the Desk of Amy Suto paid subscribers will get an exclusive issue about…
✨ 10 branding secrets for all service-based businesses
🧪 How branding and sales need to play nice together
📚 The key role branding played in building my six-figure service business
Sending creativity and good writing vibes your way,
-Amy