Do you have a dream of being able to work from anywhere, at any time? Perhaps you’re tired of being limited to the office, or your home, for working. It’s certainly more interesting to be able to go out and work somewhere for the day; or even to be able to go travelling around the world, and not be held back by your work. We spoke with TechQuarters, a tech company providing IT services in London. They confirmed that it is very possible for someone to work from anywhere and at any time, with technology that can be fit into a single bag.
If you want to be able to work and travel light whilst doing it, you will be a mix of software and hardware solutions that enable it. Here’s is what you’ll need:
- Laptop
The first and most important thing you need to enable work from anywhere is a laptop. A few years ago, desktops were a more popular solution; but as the technology has advanced, we have seen more powerful laptops that balance performance and portability in a way that is hard to beat. Consider what type of work you do. Are you a consultant? If your job is mainly communicating with people – writing emails, instant messaging, reviewing other people’s work, etc – then you won’t need a massively powerful laptop, and a small notebook that slips into a bag will do just fine. On the other hand, some people might have to edit photos or videos, or do some graphic design for their work – in this case, a decently powerful laptop, like a Dell XPS 15 or 17, will be the best option.
- Hard Drive
Always having storage on hand is a very good idea if you want to be able to work on the go. If your laptop breaks, and you need to find an alternative device, it will be handy to be able to transfer all of your files and data to the backup device – an external hard drive will be perfect for this.
As well as this, an external hard drive can also help relieve some of the pressure from your laptop if you’re performing intensive tasks like graphic design or video editing. For instance, Adobe Premiere Pro works more efficiently if you use a separate hard drive for saving caches – otherwise your laptop’s internal hard drive will be taking up all the strain, and that will reduce performance.
- Power Bank
The disadvantage of working on the go compared with working in an office is that you’re not guaranteed a reliable power source. Your laptop may have a battery, but that will run out eventually. Luckily, there are plenty of reliable power banks available. These are just portable batteries that you can use to charge devices. Most commonly they’re used for smartphones, but the technology is advanced enough that you can get relatively lightweight power banks powerful enough to charge a laptop when you need the extra juice. Look for a power bank with a minimum of 20,000mAh.
- Headset
Remote working is very common nowadays, and so is frequent video meetings and work calls. You don’t want other people listening in on your work calls, and you also don’t want to disturb other people around you with your work calls and meetings. Therefore, a headset is an essential solution for working on the go. Look for a high quality headset that effectively blocks out background noise. The headset should also have a built-in microphone, so that your colleagues on the other end can hear you properly.
- Smartphone or Tablet
Your laptop will be the main device for work, but there might be times where you are literally on the move but need to be reachable. You can’t just whip out your laptop. Instead, a decent smartphone will suffice in these situations. You’ll be able to contact colleagues, make and receive calls, and even access files, calendars and schedules thanks to mobile apps.
