Can you really work productively in a van?

Last year, I bought a van.

I got it setup as a camper, and my Dad and I took it to the Outer Hebrides. It was ace.

We spent our first night of that trip on a campsite in Tyndrum; Dad was in the van, and I was in a bivvy bag under my tarp.

As I write, I'm back at the same campsite. But this time, I'm on a different kind of journey.

I took that photo a couple of hours ago. It's just gone 10pm and the daylight is starting to fade. As I peer through my window, I can see the light from several campfires that are dotted around the site.

My laptop is setup on a fold-out table. I've no mobile reception, and no Internet connection (if I remember, I'll publish this from a café while getting breakfast tomorrow morning).

This will be my office for the next week (or maybe two).

I've been curious about working from a van for a long time. The romantic ideal really appeals, but I've always had doubts about how much I'd get done.

There's a myriad ot things that I think could go wrong.

• Will I get lonely?
• What will it be like trying to work from a small metal box in bad weather?
• Or worse, in hot weather?
• Surely the ergnomics of working on a laptop at a small table will be terrible? (I normally work at a standing desk)
• How will I keep the laptop charged? (I'm assuming my solar panel won't cut the mustard in the rain)

But if we always listen to our fears, we'll never amount to anything!

This week is the perfect opportunity to test everything out. I've just finished working on a client contract, and the weather in Scotland is beautiful.

Update: I learned an important lesson pretty quickly. You can read about that in my next post.