The Perfect Hack for Working From Your Next Vacation
This is One Thing , a column with tips on how to live.
Summer travel season is upon us, and as I line up weekend getaways and longer trips, I'm always looking for ways to extend my time off by a day—or even a week!—by working remotely.
Which means I need to ensure I'm set up to comfortably use a computer at my destination. This isn't nearly as easy as it seems. Working poolside is complicated. There's glare; there's splash. Working under an umbrella at the beach is basically impossible—and just feels wrong . Desks, whether in a hotel room or in an Airbnb, often face a wall or are tucked away in corners of bedrooms, making the whole experience isolating and dreadful, which is the opposite of the point.
On a recent vacation to beautiful St. Pete, Florida, I splashed out on a balcony room with a pool view, figuring I'd be able to work while also enjoying the scenery. However, balconies are usually furnished with only a couple of chairs and a small, cutesy round table that isn't well suited for anything other than two glasses and a bottle—definitely not a laptop. After trying to use this configuration anyway, I felt forced to move back to the desk inside. It was torture knowing that just a few feet from me was a beautiful view I had paid for but couldn't enjoy, while I spent the better part of the day typing away.
In a stroke of genius, I discovered the perfect vacation desk hack: the ironing board. Which was, in fact, already set up across the room—it was just covered in sundresses and tops. I took them off, moved the ironing board outside, and adjusted its height so it could hold my laptop while I sat in a balcony chair.
Ironing boards are lightweight, so they're easy to carry from room to room. Their long span can easily accommodate a laptop, notebooks, a snack plate, a cup of coffee, and even, if you need, a second laptop. The adjustable height is clutch, so it works no matter how high or low to the ground you'd like to sit; it can also serve as a decent standing desk if that's the preference. It's easy to run wires for charging through the open crisscross legs—and the “feet” easily tuck under sofas, bed frames, and lounge chairs, allowing you to scoot it up close no matter where in the hotel room or rental home you want to be.
This hack has added so much joy and freedom to my travel plans. I've already toted an ironing board–desk onto balconies, bedside, in front of the sofa during Netflix binges, and even alongside the kitchen counter (making an L-shaped extension) so I can work and cook with ease when I'm in vacation rentals for longer stays. Bottom line: Next time you're booking a trip and need to get a little work done, be sure to get a room with a view—and an ironing board.
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