Road Warriors

TECHNOLOGY

Consider taking a few extra accessories when
working offsite.

Working while on the road, whether at nearby job sites
or when travelling to distant locations, usually means
taking a smartphone, laptop or tablet.

The ability to work almost anywhere in the world is marvellous;
however, when we are working at a hotel, jobsite,
vendor or client location, or even at the cottage, we often
wish we had the same conveniences we have at home.

Before taking your next trip, you may wish to consider
adding a few of these travel essentials to ensure that,
if your makeshift workstation is more like your home
office, you will be less fraught with concern about your
ability to complete the project.

Productivity

• For many, typing on the touch screens or keyboards
  provided on smartphones or laptops is inefficient
  and tiresome. Why not invest in a rechargeable
  portable keyboard that can be folded and placed
  into your briefcase? (Cost: approximately $20)
• If you find your laptop’s built-in touchpad or pointing
  stick frustrating to use, try a miniature (travel-
  sized) wireless or USB mouse to make dragging
  and dropping a lot easier. (Cost: approximately $10)
• Check your devices and determine what kind of
  battery they use. If any of your devices use separate
  disposable batteries, always ensure you have
  some spare AA or AAA batteries in the event your
  wireless keyboard or mouse dies at an inopportune
  moment. (Cost: approximately $2-5)
• If you frequently need to enter numbers on the go,
  punching one number at a time into the top row
  on a laptop can be frustrating. An external USB
  numeric keypad will make this task go faster, be
  more efficient and less frustrating than one-finger
  typing. (Cost: approximately $10)

Always carry extra USB sticks
to create backups or share data.

Communication and Storage

• When you are on the road, Internet connectivity
  may not always be available, and even when it is
  available, there can be restrictions such as speed or
  port limitations. Before heading out on your trip,
  make sure you have copies of all the necessary files
  with you. Do not rely on the Internet to back up to
  the cloud or to transfer data to your office computer.
  Always carry one or two extra USB sticks to create
  backups or share data. Always check the USB stick
  for viruses after it has been plugged into any other
  computer. (Cost: approximately $10)
• If you are using Skype or another video or audio
  conferencing app, have a high-quality set of headphones
  with a microphone to provide some
  confidentiality when addressing private issues.
  If possible, find a model that is compatible with
  all your devices, including your computer, mobile
  phone and tablet. (Cost: approximately $30)

Ready for Business

• If you travel out of the office with any frequency,
  keep a dedicated power adaptor in your bag or
  briefcase. Grabbing your briefcase and heading
  out to a job site only to find that your battery is
  low and you have left the power cable at the office
  is not a good way to start a meeting or presentation.
  (Cost: approximately $50-100)
• Changes in technology have created situations
  where devices are not always compatible with each
  other. It is best to have dongles to make sure you
  are covered for the most common ports that may
  not be built into your computer or device, such as
  VGA, HDMI and Ethernet. (Cost: approximately
  $20-30)
• Older buildings were never designed to accommodate
  the proliferation of modern electronic needs
  and thus may not have electrical outlets close enough
  to be reached by your plug-in adapter. Consider a
  two-metre (six-foot) extension cord as part of your
  emergency kit. (Cost: approximately $5)
• You would never think of plugging your laptop
  into a wall socket at the office without using a
  surge protector; yet, every time you plug in at
  another location, you are undoubtedly not using
  one. Perhaps it is time to carry a small and affordable
  wall-mount surge protector that will not only
  protect your computer or other device, but can
  also be used as a USB charging station. Quality
  surge protectors have swivel mounts to allow more
  adaptability, LEDs that verify the unit is working
  and provide surge suppression, low clamping
  voltage, shutdown technology, and EMI/RFI noise
  reduction. (Cost: approximately $15)
• Many new vehicles have built in USB ports that
  allow you to plug in adapters to charge or run your
  devices. For vehicles that do not come with built-in
  USB charging ports, you can still take advantage
  of this “free” power source with a converter that
  steps down the 12 Volt output to the input voltage
  required by your device. Newer adapters will allow
  up to 4 USB plug-ins to allow additional units to be
  used or charged. (Cost: approximately $30)
• If your vehicle does not already have a power
  outlet, you can plug a power inverter into the cigarette-
  lighter port to convert the 12 volt DC power
  into a 120 watt AC outlet like the standard electrical
  outlets you have at home and at the office. You can
  operate and charge your computer, or any other
  electronics using the standard plug without having
  to buy vehicle adaptors for each device. Read the
  specs or go online to ensure output amperage is
  compatible with the more sensitive devices being
  charged through the USB port. The downside of
  these units is that your vehicle battery will run
  down quickly unless the vehicle is running all the
  time. (Cost: approximately $60)

Start Filling Your Shopping Cart

The list of available technology to make life more
bearable when you are working out of the office is
almost endless. Putting together a travel kit of practical,
inexpensive electronics can turn a potentially non-productive
day filled with frustration and anxiety into a
productive and successful venture — all for the low, low
price of about $420.