I’m away from the office for five weeks. I guess I really should say I’m away from the home office, as we don’t actually have desks in our office spaces since we’ve converted to a conference-room-only layout.
I’m working from coffee shops when I need Internet service and from a house up in the mountains of North Carolina when I don’t (since getting Internet service to that house is apparently nearly impossible).
So what technology do I have with me that’s enabling me to be as productive here as I am anywhere?
Most importantly, I’ve got my phone. At the moment, I’m carrying an HTC Thunderbolt with Verizon service. The Thunderbolt is a 4G phone that I’m using with 3G service up here (when all is going well). I can do most anything I need to do on this phone if I don’t mind the small screen and challenging keyboard. I can e-mail, browse the web, access our client files and client data, check marketing stats, Skype with our team, participate in our group chat, and stay up to date on social media. Of course, I can listen to podcasts, audio books, and watch movies and TV along with all the other things you’d expect a smartphone to do. I have a Jambox bluetooth speaker with me for making speakerphone calls and for cranking up the music.
If I were willing to tolerate the keyboard, I could survive with the phone alone.
I’m not, however, willing to put up with the phone keyboard since I can easily add my Macbook Air to the mix. I’ve got a 13″ Air traveling with me. I’ve got a power cord and an adapter to connect the Air to a projector (for a presentation I’m giving at the North Carolina Bar Association Annual Meeting). I’ve also got two pairs of earbuds with microphones.
In addition, I’m carrying two 12″ USB cables for charging my phone and the speaker.
That’s it. It all fits in my pocket and a very thin laptop bag.
Issues?
Just two:
First, it’s annoying that we don’t have Internet service in the house. It forces me to batch my work into Internet and non-Internet tasks. In fact, that might be boosting my productivity since I’m not as distracted (by e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) when doing non-Internet tasks.
Second, the microphones on the earbuds pick up a great deal of background noise. That’s sometimes a problem in coffee shops (and Wi-Fi enabled breweries). If I’m on my phone and it gets noisy, I can just wander outside. If I’m on a Skype call, it’s challenging.
I was on a Skype call helping with an employment interview the other day, and the background noise in the coffee shop was distracting to the interviewer and the interviewee. I finally disconnected from the call so they could continue in peace.
Otherwise, all is good for this road warrior. The equipment is light and functional and allows me to be where I want to be this summer.
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Lee Rosen has practiced family law for more than twenty years. With three offices, 