Patagonia and Back Again

By Dan Rogers \ October 22, 2024

Five Lessons Learned from a Developer on the Road

Taking a journey that included the Canadian arctic, majestic landscape of Alaska, rafting the Grand Canyon, exploring the tip of the Baja Peninsula as well as the dramatic zigs and zags of Patagonia—by boat, plane, or miles and miles on a motorcycle—was more than an extraordinary journey. The experience served as an invaluable lesson in resilience, adaptability, and creativity—key traits for a successful creative, or web developer like myself.

As I think back on my sabbatical from my day-to-day work developing innovative websites for our idfive partners on a mission, there are definitely some parallels between the 16,000-or-so-mile trek and the challenges many creatives face in website development, UX, design, branding, and beyond. Navigating diverse landscapes, whether they are made of asphalt or computer code, requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to explore new solutions. Here’s some food for thought.

1. Set the table for the day ahead. While some things are indeed best left for the energy that comes with a new day, that motorcycle chain won’t oil itself overnight, and you are gonna want an oiled chain for the day to come. Whether a road trip or a project, set yourself up to jump into the day, rather than saving small tasks for the morning, which ruins your flow.
2. Be flexible, and go with the flow. When you take an 18 ft raft and thousands of pounds of gear down the Grand Canyon, “where you are” and “where you want to be” are not always the same. Plan an ideal line, but deal with the reality, that it won’t go as perfectly as in your head.
3. Leave room for “game time” decisions. Planning is great, but being too rigid in an itinerary can wreak havoc on travel, or a project. No matter what plan you had for the day, a rainy day in Patagonia is better spent reading books by a fireplace, rather than riding a motorcycle 300 miles. Leave room to make the right decision for the day.
4. You will wreck, and you will break things. To be properly outfitted for motorcycle travel means wearing armor and carrying tools and spare parts. For projects, it’s building in time for collaborators to “help you get unstuck” or to help architect a solution you are struggling with.
5. Enjoy the small things. The most memorable part of this journey for me, was not the grand vistas, or stunning locales (though they were awesome), but rather the little moments. A cup of coffee at a cafe after 100 miles in the rain and mud, a cocktail on the beach with friends after a challenging day on the oars. Find joy and victory in the little moments of a project, such as a skill learned, or a particularly slick function, even (and especially) if the project as a whole may be routine.

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to execute my own personal and professional discovery through (quite literally) following a road less taken. It reaffirmed the importance of adaptability, perseverance, and creativity in everything we do—work and life—proving that the best lessons often come from the most unexpected journeys.