Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My Anywhere Working Tips

As prompted by this.

I often find that I work from a combination of home, client site, coffee shop and even, sometimes, trains.
Here are my tips for anyone else who may be in such varied working connections, and yes, they all come under the umbrella guidance of ensure that you take responsibility for having power and connectivity.

  • Charge devices whenever you get a chance. - Whether it's laptop, phone or something else. It's when you get confident about remaining battery life that you run out.
  • Get spare batteries for everything and keep them charged. - Laptop batteries are the most obvious one, but don't forget phones and even a keep a few AA batteries around for your mouse.
  • Get a universal charger. (Probably a USB based one so you can plug any usb device straight into a waal socket/outlet). - With all these devices to keep charged you could end up with a lot of cables to carry around too. Avoid this as far as possible.
  • Get good headphones. -You want to be able to listen to quiet music/podcasts but still not hear ambient noise around you. Just make sure you can always hear when the phone rings.
  • If you're working somewhere public and distractions come to you (i.e. Someone noisy sits down at an ajacent table) move! - The short interruption of moving is better than a long period of being distracted.
  • Spare laptop battery. - Because coffee shops don't have enough public sockets/outlets.
  • Spare phone - Just in case or if you haven't got a spare batteryand you have to make, or take, that important call.
  • MiFi Unit - So you don't have to worry about finding WiFi
  • 2nd MiFi unit (or sim) for a different network - Once you get stuck somewhere with no WiFi and no signal on a particular network you'll know why.
  • Carry a tablet as well as your laptop. - 2 screens are a must for productivity but carrying a second monitor or laptop around isn't always practical. For moving web browsing or email off your laptop while you're working, a tablet can be a great alternative.


I hope some of this is helpful and doesn't just make you wonder how much kit I carry around with me each day. ;)

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