Being Productive, On-The-Go!

January 11, 2010

In today’s world, you may find yourself working from many different places. Work can often be done not only from an office, but from a local coffee shop, a hotel room or even from the home. An idea may strike you at any moment. Fortunately, the internet continues to provide tools, many of which are free, to accomodate people who may be working on different computers and in different circumstances. Here are some ideas to make you more productive wherever you are.

1. Look into an online office suite.

If you work from more then one computer, or would like to, looking to the internet to do your more basic work can be a lot more convenient than booting up a desktop application. The biggest upside is that you can edit them from any computer that has internet access. You don’t have to email them to yourself, and the computer you are using doesn’t have to have an Office suite on it. Another benefit is that most online documents are easy to share with others, and even collaborate. Online office suites make sure that people can be up to date with the latest version of a document without having to spam their inboxes with emails every time they are updated. Of course, the documents can be downloaded and saved to a computer circumstances that require an actual .doc file. Two of the most popular free online Office suites are Google Docs (docs.google.com) and ThinkFree (thinkfree.com)

Of course, it must be said that like all things online, there is a small possibility that your data may be compromised. Always be careful what you put online, and it’s probably best to keep your most sensitive data to yourself.

2. Don’t wait to document what you are thinking.

Ideas can strike when you are at your office, sitting on your couch watching TV, or pretty much any time. Fortunately for us, we almost always have our cellphones on us. Even if you don’t have a “smartphone” this technology can allow us to record our ideas for later. See something on TV that you want to learn more about later? Send a text to yourself. Just remembered that you have a meeting tomorrow that you are worried you might forget about? Set an alarm on your phone. Making a habit of of doing these type of things can boost your productivity and augment even the most forgetful among us.

3. Remember to be respectful of those around you.

All of that said, It’s important to note that safety and respect for those around you should be the primary concern. Don’t text and drive, no matter how good you think you are at it. It’s illegal in many states (including Illinois) and has statistically proven to be quite dangerous. If you’ve got a great idea that you think you’ll forget before you get home, pull in to a parking lot. Also remember that just because it’s safe to use your electronics, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is polite. Make sure that you aren’t buried in your laptop or cell phone when you should be paying attention to those around you.

With those warnings in mind, we encourage you to go out and explore all of the emerging possibilities that mobile productivity has to offer you!

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