I have no main office for myself; however, I have a hundred offices. I prefer desks, but my lap works fine. I prefer office chairs, but picnic tables and recliners work, too. Here are a few locations from which I work:
- Man cave – Potwin, KS
- Hotel Room – Anywhere in the world
- Picnic Table – Any sunny day
- Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam, Holland
- American Airlines – 32,000 feet
- Alliance to End Hunger office- Washington, DC
- Catholic Social Center- Singida, Tanzania
- Debaab Refugee Camp – Kenya
- Outreach, Inc., – Union and Des Moines, Iowa
- Paneras – Any city, USA
- Log Cabin in the Rockies- Colorado
- Carnival Cruise Lines- Caribbean
I have not punched a clock for thirty years. The great thing about my life; I can work from anywhere on earth. The bad thing about my life: I can work from anywhere on earth. It’s hard to stop working, sometimes.
I’m fortunate to be able to make a living at something I’m incredibly passionate about: feeding hungry people. However, my work involves a lot of travel to multiple locations so I’ve learned to take my office with me.
Here are the five things I can’t-live-without to have an office anywhere.
Cell phone – I have an iPhone with the capabilities of having a “hot spot.” As long as I have cell strength, I can activate my “hot spot” and connect my computer to the internet. My phone also has these can’t-live-without tools
- Camera
- Video Camera
- Voice Recorder
- Map (GPS) (I use this most of all)
Laptop Computer- We have a desktop at home and I’m so unaccustomed to it that I try to pick up the monitor and carry it with me when I leave.
- MS Word, Powerpoint, and Excel
- Evernote- This is a premiere task management system. You can get a version for free, but if you use it a lot, you’ll want to get the $50 a year upgrade. I have Evernote on my phone, iPad, and laptop so if I create work on any of those devices, I can access it anywhere at anytime. Evernote automatically syncs between all three devices.
Ipad- It’s a library, concert hall, movie theatre, game room, scribe, and camera.
- Penultimate- it is a program that lets me write in freehand with a stylus so I can take notes.
Portable Battery Charger
- Sometimes I don’t have time to charge my phone so the charger slips into my pocket and I’m assured my cell phone doesn’t die. There are various levels of power that can even power a laptop.
Earphones with a built-in mic
- Listening to music to eliminate noise- I prefer to work in silence, but noisy airports, hotels, and coffee shops, make it difficult to concentrate so I listen to classical music. I can’t listen to music with words or else I start singing along which generally annoys people around me. My son also taught me that if I have earphones in, it keeps the person beside me on an airplane from wanting to talk from Chicago to Amsterdam.
- Mic for quiet phone conversations- I am baffled about how loudly some people speak while on a cell phone, especially people doing business. I often want to say, “Do you realize you’re giving away confidential information or trade secrets?” My earbuds have a mic built in so I can have quiet conversations.
My office fits into my bag.
What tools do you recommend for a mobile office? I’m always looking for new gadgets or programs that I can’t-live-without.