Tips for Setting Up Your Mobile Office

Community Manager — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:01:00 GMT

If you have any lingering doubts that today's workforce is on the go, take a look at recent statistics presented in this report on strategies for managing mobile workers (pdf):

Where Do You Work?

By 2011, mobile workers will make up 73% of the total U.S. workforce
30.4% of workers worldwide will be mobile in 2011
The number of virtual workers has increased by 800% within the last 5 years
60%-70% of all employees work in different locations than their supervisors

As the report also points out, we have become mobile in a number of ways:

We work for different companies at the same time
We frequently change jobs and shift careers
We work on multiple teams and projects within a company
We change company job sites and locations often
We telecommute from home offices and other remote locations

Whatever gets - and keeps - you moving during your workday, you can benefit from practicable tips on setting up a mobile office.

According to this post from A Nomad's Lot, an important first step is to make a list of attributes you desire in a workspace. Be very specific and consider aspects like:

Lighting
Air quality
Noise level
Seating
Accessibility
WiFi

Doing some advance detective work via the Web and local contacts also helps if you are setting up shop in an unfamiliar community. Upon your arrival, walk around the neighborhood and note the locations and business hours of cafes, libraries and bookshops. Be sure to head inside and get the staff's perspective on using the space for remote work.

With this groundwork, you are ready to focus on setting up your workspace. If you need a basic walk through, sitepoint offers these 7 Essential Steps to Creating an Efficient Mobile Office:

Get a laptop
Use an online data backup service
Make sure you have secure wireless access
Create electronic copies of paper files
Set up a virtual phone line and digital fax service
Update your computer's operating system and software
Set up peripherals (trackball, surge protector, extension cord, wireless mouse, portable scanner and extra batteries/chargers)

To take these steps with confidence, check out 20 Crucial Tools for Working On-the-Go and (especially for mobile Mac users) The Ultimate Mobile Office Set Up For The Location Independent Professional.

We would love to hear from you and invite you to share your mobile office setup tips and photos with the Beyond Folder Community here and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako

Beyond Folders : mobile office, workplace organization

Tips for Setting Up Your Mobile Office