# [[My remote work setup while traveling for one month]] ## The video <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bV6mR6UwE90" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> ## Timestamps [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=0s) Intro [00:48](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=48s) Backpack and sling [01:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=72s) Outside and front compartment [02:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=148s) Camera, tripod, mic [03:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=233s) Inner compartment - travel docs and wallet [07:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=424s) Main compartment [07:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=475s) Clothing [12:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=770s) Toiletries [14:38](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=878s) Tech pouch [19:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=1167s) Laptop and accessories [24:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV6mR6UwE90&t=1445s) My remote workplace - set up ## Transcript - Usually on this channel, I'm talking about taking notes with digital tools like Obsidian. However, this month is a little bit different. This month is one of those months where I'm more using the effects of my having taken notes than taking notes or learning or researching itself. So I am currently in Singapore, and that's because for 30 days, I am going to be constantly on the go. Just to give you a rundown, I'm going to have been in six countries by the end of this, and I'm speaking in two. Actually, my first one is tomorrow. So I need to get this video done and get onto that. But I also thought that I'd show you what I'm bringing because I'm only bringing one backpack and one sling for the entire four weeks spanning winter and summer because I'm crossing hemispheres as well. So this is what I'm bringing, and what I typically bring really whenever I'm traveling. So this is my sling. I have actually already done a video on what's in that sling. So that's my husband's stuff. And this is my backpack. This is an Aer Travel Pack 3, small. So it's pretty full right now, but I'm going to go over what's inside each of these now. Well, let's start out with this part because it's the easiest to get to. So in here is a pretty shallow pocket, and I just keep two things in here. The first is this foldable water bottle that I've actually had for a long time. It's made of some sturdy plastic. The brand is Platypus. I think you can't find this one, but I'm gonna link something down below that's similar to it. And it's also one liter. The best thing about this is that when you fill it up with water, okay, it's a little bit flimsy, but it functions as a water bottle, but when I'm not using it, I can also roll it up so it doesn't have to take up a lot of space, unlike most water bottles. And this is a Pacsafe kind of cable lock, and I like it because it has a combination lock on it, and you can loop it around something and your bag. So just in case, like I'm eating at a cafe or something, I don't know, I'm still a little bit paranoid, so I loop it around my things and then I lock it in just so nobody can just come swoop by and grab my stuff. It's also retractable, so it's a nice, little compact way to get a little bit of extra security. So that's what's in this part. Now, let's open up this compartment. We're getting into the inside of the bag. Oh yeah, by the way, I should say the only thing that's not in this bag right now other than my sling stuff, is my camera and my tripod. So this is where I would normally put my tripod. I kind of thread it through this handle here, and I put it in the water bottle pocket of the backpack. It sticks out a little bit, but I mean, I could just have it lying like this and then strap it in. But I think that's not as secure. So this is what it actually looks like. You can see I've got my microphone case there, and then, I've got the tripod and the camera itself, which is recording me right now. So that's the only thing that I've removed from my backpack. But this is the Peak Design Carbon Fiber Tripod. And it is very compact. It fits into this. I mean, it's a tight fit, but it does fit. And this camera is a Sony A6600 using a Sigma f1.4 lens. It's a 16 millimeter lens. And my travel microphone is always the Rode Wireless Go. It's just really easy. It's still not the best quality, but it is pretty good for being as tiny as it is. There's like one part that is the receiver, and another part that I usually clip onto my shirt. I am using like a magnetic thing for it that you can buy separately, and it's just my favorite travel mic. So getting back onto the bag, if I open this up, there's another compartment here that doesn't open up all the way, and that's because this isn't the main compartment yet. So first thing is my jump rope. So this is a bit of a weird one to start with I guess, but I do have beaded rope, and I do use it. It's a good way to get some exercise on the go. And I don't know, there's just something about jump rope that is fun and nostalgic. And I used to jump rope a lot when I was a kid, and this is beaded, so really good for doing like tricks. So it's also pretty compact, right? Like it's not anything that takes up a lot of room or space. So I always put that in that pocket. Also, in this pocket, I keep stuff for the countries that I'm traveling to. So I've got like a bunch of things here. So this time, I know in advance which countries I'm going to be going to and spending time in. So it's things like, these are my Singaporean sim cards, mine and my husband's. It's also like our Opal cards for Sydney. I mean, these are countries that we've traveled to before, and some money as well. Australia and Singapore are countries that we've traveled to a lot. So I actually keep separate envelopes for each country that I might go back to with maybe like cash or anything else, like transport cards that we might have. So I took out the Singapore and Australia parts for this trip. In this part, there's a little compartment here that goes down all the way. So I've got two things in here. The first one. So I've got this pouch. I'm a fan of pouches, as you'll see. I like having everything compartmentalized. So this one is like my main travel wallet, and I keep all of the travel stuff for myself and my husband. So this is good because it is multiple passport. If you haven't seen my sling video yet, I did do one, it's link over there, and I go through everything that's in it, including our two passports, the main ones that we're using. So in this trip, we're going to be mainly using our Australian ones, but I haven't actually switched over yet. So the two Dutch ones are there. And then, I've got a bunch of other ones here. So I've got my two passports here. Some cards, like transport cards, the ones that I'm not gonna use. And my driver's license in the Philippines, so I'm not going to. These are my two sets of keys for the Netherlands and Portugal, which I keep here. I really like the idea of not carrying around all of this stuff, all of the cards and transport cards and keys. I try to keep it compartmentalized so that if I get robbed here, the only things I'm gonna lose are like Singaporean stuff, which at least it makes the blast radius a bit smaller. This is my Portuguese wallet. And then we've got like travel stuff here for lounges. This is my husband's Australian passport and that's what I keep in this travel wallet. I will link it in the description, but I think it's like Zero Grid travel wallet, and I don't know, it's just been really useful for years. So this is a Bellroy Pouch. Bellroy is made in Melbourne, so I really like it. And inside, it's weird, but I keep a lot of stickers. I am going to conferences, and so I keep around a bunch of my stickers for my company that I work for and also for my own. So if you actually see me out and about, let me know that you've watched my Obsidian videos, and I will give you a special sticker that only gives to people I meet in real life. So now, we are getting into the main compartment of the bag, which opens up all the way. So it's really good. It's just the bottom part that stays closed up. And that way, I can spread it wide open. And this is what it looks like. This backpack is the X-Pac edition. The material inside is orange. It's like this sturdier material. So I don't really keep anything here. Sometimes, I might put some like toiletries here, or like lip balm or something, but I didn't this time. And this is my bag. This is what that looks like. I have actually a little bit of space here, and that's because of the stuff that's not there. So I have this kind of sweatshirt rolled up at the bottom here. Sometimes I do need that on the plane, even in hotter climates. This is my clothing bag, my tech bag, here are our toiletries for my husband and me. So here are the two bits of clothing that are loose in my bag, and that's so that I can just grab them at an airport or something because even if I'm traveling through a country where it's quite warm, it can be extremely cold in the airplane. So I've got a sweatshirt and just like leggings that I can put on. Other than what I've shown you and what I'm wearing, I'm just wearing like a branded company shirt here, and black slacks from Bluffworks. Bluffworks is a great brand. I think they look pretty good. I don't think that they look too sporty. They look like they could pass for business casual. They're just slacks, and they're plain black. They have zippers on the pockets, which I love and they're super stretchy. So I could actually like wear them just walking or hiking or something, and it wouldn't be a problem. I've worn them to sleep because they're just that comfortable. So I really recommend them. So those are the clothes that don't go into this clothing packing cube. I like to use these packing cubes so that when I come to a new place, it's just like it's already all in buckets, and I just like remove them and I'm unpacked. This is like a Tortuga Packing Cube that came with a Tortuga backpack that I actually no longer use, but I still use the packing cube for it, which has held up pretty well. I'm gonna briefly show you what's inside. The first thing is this microfiber PackTowel. It's come in handy a lot. I mean, I have long hair, and sometimes I dye it. And sometimes, I get really nervous about staining the white sheets, but also, it's come in handy for like if I wanna go to the beach or the pool or something, this dries so quickly. It is the best. And I don't travel without it. This is my eye mask. I mean, I don't know if it's got a brand, but I just buy like black foam. I do always buy foam. A foam eye mask from like Amazon or something. I think this is essential on the plane. So here are my clothes. In general, what I'm bringing to this trip are two pairs of socks, one that I wear. Here's the other one. I am bringing a black dress because I love black dresses, and when it's the right temperature, I like to wear them all the time. This is my black dress, and these are the tights that go with it. I also travel with three shirts, one that I'm wearing now. This is a plain black or navy blue one, and this is another one. So I have three shirts that I travel with, and I already have the two pants, the one that I'm wearing and the one that I showed you earlier, the leggings that I rolled up. I have one tank top in case it gets really warm, or like to sleep in. I do also have this buff, so it is a Merino wool buff. I can use it as a scarf or like a head scarf or an eye mask or something. And it's really handy 'cause it's super stretchy, and you can do a lot of things with it. It can even be a headband. And it's Merino wool, so it never, never stinks. So if you're doing the math and you know I have three shirts and one dress, that's four outfits, not counting the combinations for 30 days. Well, I guess the first thing is that I'm not really that much into fashion. I think what, especially when you're traveling very quickly, people aren't really going to remember whether you wore that before or anything. I also am going to a few conferences, which means I must wear company-branded stuff. So I don't also have that many choices in that area. But I also wash my clothes, and sometimes, we're lucky and we stay with people. Like I just stayed with my brother here in Singapore, and of course, we use their washing machine. But I also have this thing which is from an Australian brand named Scrubba. And it's basically like a portable bucket that you can roll up, and it has a wide opening. You'll see I've got some clothes in there already. These are dirty ones that need to be washed. It kind of has this rubbery material inside, and you put your water in here. And I also put in some Dr. Bronner's soap, which I have in my toiletries bag. And then you cinch it up like this. It's got like a little spout, a little valve there, which then you would undo to kind of let the water out just like that. I mean, let the air out just like that. And then you kind of press it flat, continue rolling and then you can buckle it up like this. And then because there's water and soap there, you can kind of agitate it, and then you can wash it in that way. And then after a while, you can do the same thing, but this time, just to rinse it out with just normal water. This is the wash bag mini version. You can get bigger ones, but you know, I don't have that many clothes. And this just sits in my packing cube for my clothes. I also have two earplugs, one for me, one for my husband that are in here. I put them in here because they're like for sleeping. So just in case, we can still get a good night's rest even if we're in a noisy place. I also found this ZWILLING nail clipper. Look how cute it is. It's really flat. This is what it looks like. It packs up really flat, and it doesn't work as good as like the normal nail clippers, but it does work pretty well, actually. I really like that it just slips into this little case. I love it. It's just so tiny. Next is my toiletries. I'm not gonna go through these because they're pretty boring, pretty standard, like two toothbrushes, you know, lotion, deodorant, that kind of thing. There's nothing really weird about them. I do have them in like these little go tubs, and they're like these silicone tubes that are, this one is like the 54-milliliter one, and I fill them up with like different things. So different shampoo or different conditioners. And it's not gonna be enough for a month. But what I do really like is when I go to a different place, I like to buy stuff from that place. So I'll buy like Singaporean shampoo or whatever, a brand that I don't know, and then I'll refill these bottles with them. This is kind of a nice way to keep replenishing your stock. For toothpaste, I have this instead. These are Natural Super Clean Zahnputz Tabs. They are toothpaste tabs. They are not liquids. They look like this. They're like little tablets. And they're pretty good because they don't count towards your liquid allowance, so they can just be in this little like sort of plastic bottle. And you just take two of them in your mouth, start chewing them, and then you get your toothbrush with some water, and it actually works pretty well. So I've tried like using, I know you can use Dr. Bronner's for toothpaste. I mean, you can in a pinch. It's not great though. This actually gives you like that minty fresh feeling. So this is what I bring. If we don't have toothpaste, then this is a pretty decent alternative. It's even husband-approved, and my husband's pretty picky about that stuff. This is my tech bag. It is the Peak Design Tech Pouch. It is the same one that I've had for a while. It has like these straps here that you can use to kind of just handle it, which is great. And then when you open it up, mine is like really, it's bursting at the seams, honestly. It still has this awesome accordion design that I just love. So I actually already talked about this when I went through like my work setup over here. So I'm just gonna show you the things that are different from that video. One thing that I didn't pack and just bought on the trip is this Logitech Pop Mouse. I thought that I could get away with just having a trackpad, but no, I like having a mouse. So I bought this. The downside is that it does take AA batteries, which really sucks, but you only have to replace them once every 24 months, and I figure every country will have AA batteries. It is pretty thin though, and I do love having a mouse. And it's red. So you know. So I do have my two speakers here, which did come in handy recently. I do have an adapter. This is for all of the countries. I think one of them is already out because I'm using it to charge something. There's another one usually that's on top of this. I have a spare battery for the camera, I have a bunch of cables. I have my WHOOP band here. So sometimes, I wear my WHOOP band. I also have my Oura ring. I also have a Samsung Galaxy Active Watch 2, I think. And that's all the wearables I've got. I love this thing. So this is a UGREEN GaN X100 charger. It is a gallium nitride charger, and it is really small. And you you might think this kind of is the same size as like a MacBook charger, except it has three USB-C ports. USB-C is hard to find on these adapters. A lot of them are still on USB-A, which it does also have one USB-A port. So there is that, but I just haven't seen something that is this small, this powerful with three USB-C ports, and a USB-A port. And this is really the only, this is the main one that I have. So I only bring two power adapters, actually. One that is my main one which is this one, this is what is going to charge the laptop and pretty much everything that I've got. And then I have a tinier one that is in my sling that's just like for emergencies if I'm out and about, and I need to charge my phone. Than I have a really tiny one that I also love. Let me quickly show you that. So this is from my sling. This is the Anker Powerport III Nano. Look how tiny it is. This is what it looks like. It's the European version, of course. It just has a single USB-C port. And I usually pair it with this silky soft Anker kind of power cable. These two always go in my sling. I have my Logitech presenter here, which is like a clicker for when you're presenting slides and you just wanna go to the next one or back. And it also has this like little Bluetooth dongle that attaches to your laptop. Unfortunately, USB-A, so I need adapters for it, but it fits into this nice, slim little kind of case. And I'm still using the Samsung X5 two terabytes solid state hard drive. I love it. It is red so that's always a plus for me. It's where I do all of my editing 'cause I don't do it directly on my laptop. And I also double-sided taped this PopWallet on it. And this is for something that I'm gonna show you later. It attaches basically to my laptop. And it's USB-C. This is the light that I usually bring. This is a Lume Cube LC Panel Go, and it's pretty bright. This is like 25% of it. So it is really good for if it's dark. Right now, it's daytime, so I'm just using natural light, but you know at night, I'm definitely going to be using this. And it is super slim. It can also be mounted on like a tripod, and you can change the brightness of it. So this is like, all right, this is 100%. So yeah, it's more than enough for my needs. You can also change the warmth of it. And it tells you how many hours you have left to go, which I find really handy for like filming or something. And also already comes with this diffuser. So that's what the actual light looks like, but it comes with this nice diffuser so that the light isn't too harsh, which can be a problem with some of these smaller ones. For my watch, I also have this kind of portable, rechargeable USB-C-powered watch charger. So I would put this on here, and this is actually the only charger I've brought for it because the cable that came with it, it's annoying because it needs a USB-A cable, which I don't have and I'd need to use an adapter for it. Anyway, it's just easy because I can recharge my watch with this like 2 1/2 times or something. Next thing is my keyboard. This is a Keychron case. I'm saying it's a Keychron case because it's not a Keychron keyboard inside. I do have, I think this is the case for the Keychron low profile ones, but I found that it was a little too big, and I don't know, the low profile thing, I just, I can't get used to it. So instead, what I've got here is my recent keyboard of choice. This is the NuPhy Air60. And I like the 60 size for it. There's like a 75 which has more keys, but this is perfect for me. I'd honestly go a little bit smaller if they made it. It's like, I mean it just feels good to type on. I love the sound of it. The keys are like tactile without being mushy. And it's just a solid Bluetooth wireless keyboard that doesn't require any extra dongles or anything. It doesn't have an adjustable height. So that's something, if you like that, then it might be a problem. It is Windows and Mac. I only use it with a Mac. But for me, it is just perfect and about as thin as you can get while still being mechanical. So I do like to have it in this travel case just because it can get banged up otherwise. This is my Roost laptop stand, and it's great because it's really thin and folds down really flat. How you do it is you kind of pop these things open, and then it goes like this. And you then put your laptop on top of it. And it's just a riser for your laptop because I have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse anyway and trackpad. So I can put it up, and that way, it's more ergonomic. When you're traveling for a very long time and working on your computer almost every day, I don't know, maybe I'm just old, but like I definitely feel it when I don't have this. So I love this and it's also very satisfying to pack up very quick. And this is nice to be able to do that. It's just really satisfying. It is also adjustable, so it's got three different heights. Now, I think if you're really tall, like my husband's six feet, and so he has issues even with the highest one. So you might want to get something with more height than that, but this is fine for me. I actually usually use just the lowest one. And this is my laptop. This is a Nedrelow case that I got from, I think this seller was originally on Etsy, but now they have a special site because it's been so popular. What makes it so cool is that it is all magnetic. So there's no zippers. There's no, it's not just being held in there. It's entirely magnetic, and I hope I don't drop my laptop like this, but it just closes like that and then you can take any end of it and it's strong enough. The magnet is strong enough that your laptop is pretty safe inside it. So I actually keep both my laptop and my track pad on here. Here's my Apple Magic Trackpad. I don't think anyone else makes a nicer trackpad. So that's the one that I use. This is like what my left hand is doing, my right hand is on the mouse usually. Yeah, I know it's weird but I really miss it when one or the other is gone for editing, and for like moving between panes. This is just so handy with all the gestures. Yes, I've tried a Magic Mouse, and I hate it and I can't get used to it. So for now, I'm traveling with both a trackpad and a mouse. And my laptop is an Apple MacBook Pro. This is actually, ooh, I nearly dropped it there. This is actually a very old version. It's still on the Intel chips. I need to get the new one. I need to get on the M2 bandwagon, which I can, it's been approved at work, but like, I don't know the thought of having to move out and into something else. Yeah, I need to do that later. So this is what I was talking about earlier, this is like for the PopSocket. So this is my hard drive. And what it does is it connects exactly to this. It's actually meant to be for your phone, right? But it works pretty well for this purpose too. So I really like this because when you're editing, you usually have a cable going from here to the port, and that means that every time you bump it against something, it's just so irritating when you move this, when it's not connected on here, you can like lose your work, which obviously sucks. So this is a way that I can like move around so I can be moving my laptop around, or moving from one table to another, and it's actually self-contained. There's nothing that I also then have to carry separately. This is a, I think this is a ColorWare skin that's on it, by the way. The red on the outside and black on the inside. So just to show you what that looks like, this is my full working setup. All put out on the table. So this is just a hotel table. This is my iPad Pro 11-inch, this is that case that I said, that I talked about that now also functions as a mat. Keyboard, trackpad on the left mouse on the right. The Logitech presenter, clicker. I've got my speakers here in case I wanna play something. My laptop is on the laptop stand by Roost. This is my SD card reader. This is my Yubikey Nano 5C Security Key. Over here, well, I've got my water bottle over there. This is my Sony A6600, my main camera. This is the Lume Cube light that is also on top of this Joby Smartphone Tripod, but I don't usually use it for a tripod for smartphone. So I use it for lights, and it's got an adapter here with some cables. One goes and connects to the Elgato Cam Link 4K, which is connected to my computer, which means that I can use this camera as a webcam on the go. And this one is charging right now through my UGREEN gallium nitride power adapter. And this is my travel adapter. I've got my Peak Design stuff here, kind of propping it up because without it, it does kind of falls. So that's a downside of it. There's all my other cables, and like chargers and stuff, my secondary phone here. And that's what this all looks like. And I'm taking this on my phone, on my main phone, which is a Galaxy Z Fold3. I also currently connecting my smartphone to these RODE Wireless Go microphones, otherwise, they would be connected to the 3.5 millimeter jack on the laptop. And this is what I would use for my microphone. The last thing in this main compartment is this. I think this is a little bit weird, and very niche for sure. This is like a felt dice tray. But it folds flat. I mean, it doesn't fold. It is just flat and it has the snaps on it. And what you do is you snap each end together like this, and now, you have a little tray. And I mean, you can use it for anything, but I use it for rolling dice on the go, and it's really nice 'cause it really takes up next to no space and weight. And I've been traveling with it for years. I bought some dice from an Etsy seller named URWizards. I'm gonna link to them down below. And when I got it, the order came with this, so I didn't actually order it, but it's great. So that is pretty much the main compartment. Now, the only thing left is the stuff here, which is like the laptop compartment, but I already showed you my laptop. So the thing here, oh, this backpack has like this little ledge, which I really like. And in here, I keep my Apple pencil while I'm traveling because I've lost so many Apple pencils that way, when it got knocked out of my iPad at security. So now, I just keep it there when I'm traveling. And here is my iPad. My iPad is, I think about a year old. It is the 11-inch iPad Pro, and I'm just using the folio, the Apple Folio for it. It is great. I think I use the heavier one, the heavier case for it, but that's for at home. I don't think I need to do that on the go. And I also like that I can detach it. So if I just wanna read something in bed, then I can still just do that. I can type on it and take notes on the go as well. If you watched my sling last time, I do usually, at home, bring this like Bluetooth keyboard just for my phone. But because I'm traveling, I've got all my devices with me all the time anyway. I didn't bring it and my iPad becomes my like work from a cafe machine if I don't feel like bringing my laptop. One of the hardest things about traveling the way that I do is that I'm not going somewhere just for a vacation. On a vacation, I could leave behind like computers and laptops and most of all the gadgets that I bring with me all the time. But because it's kind of a mixed thing, like I'm seeing friends, I'm seeing family, I'm going to a place where it's summer, I'm going to a place where it's winter, I'm speaking at two conferences, I'm on the go all the time. Like, we're doing a mix of activities and I'm still maintaining this YouTube channel, hopefully. And I am also doing a lot of stuff for work. I'm live streaming every week still, so I kind of have a unique mix of gear that allows me to be able to do this. The good thing though is this is a one-month setup, but I've actually lived on this setup or similar with some changes for up to three months away. And I've been working and playing and meeting people and all that stuff as well. I think when you think of travel as just a vacation, you wanna bring all the things, have new clothes every day, and it means that you bring like more suitcases, like real big, rolling suitcases. But I like to think of traveling lightly. And yes, this is still light. I have very few clothes and all the gear that I have has been considered. And I actually do use all of it. And at the end of the trip, the things that don't get used, especially the ones that don't get used at all, but even ones that only get used once or twice, I would kind of question that and think, well, could I just have spent the five bucks or whatever and gotten it there, and then left it behind or given it to somebody? Usually, the answer is yes. And then the next time, I'll kind of rejig my setup to remove a little bit more bulk. I don't necessarily think that this lifestyle or this way of of traveling is for everybody, but if you think that some of these might be useful for you, then check out the links in the description below. I'll do my best to put everything that I've mentioned, or like a similar product so that you can find it too. If you'd like to see more about my sling, because I usually travel with a sling on the front and a backpack on the back, then check out this video where I go into every detail of the contents of that. Thank you for watching.