When you’re a work-from-home solopreneur, your schedule is pretty much up to you, right? You’re not commuting to and from a job each day; your office is right there in your own home. You’re your own boss, right? You’re not tied to someone else’s idea of when and where you should be doing whatever it is you do. Sounds easy enough to manage, doesn’t it? Well, not when you’re living it!
It turns out that many “work-from-home” solopreneurs really aren’t home all that much. We go where our clients are – to their location, instead of them coming to ours. That means, if we’re a consultant or real estate agent or an in-home service professional, we spend a good part of each day in our cars, going to and from client appointments. We’re likely to be gone from our home office most of the day. And when we do get home, there’s more work. There are records to be updated, and calls to be returned, and bookkeeping to be done, and marketing plans to be made – and that’s not to mention household activities and responsibilities that are waiting for us!
How can you maintain your sanity and keep your business from completely taking over your life?
The simple fact is, the more you can get done during the work day, the less you have to do later, when you’d rather relax or spend time with friends and family. The simple solution is to be on the alert for those little bits of time that pop up throughout the day when you can get some small tasks done. The unexpectedly cancelled meeting. The gaps between appointments. The travel time that was less than you expected because the traffic was so light. These little snippets add up, and the time-conscious solopreneur doesn’t waste them.
While it’s possible to stop in to a coffee shop or hotel lobby if you have a good-sized chunk of time, in many cases it’s more convenient to have a mini-office ready to go in your car. Besides, in your car, there’s no setup time, no lugging things back and forth, you don’t have to search for a free table or unused outlet, and there’s no temptation to indulge in unnecessary snacks!
Here are some ideas if you want to work efficiently and effectively from your car:
Get ready
It’s time to make maximum use of all those mobile devices you’ve acquired! Since many of us already have smart phones and laptops or tablets, take the next step and put them to work in your car. When plans change, don’t we often think, “If only I had_______ with me I could be doing __________?” So take your tech tools with you! Then there’s no need to go back home in order to plan projects, update records, or make phone calls. When you discover “found” time, you’re prepared with work you can do.
Get powered up
Few cell phones or tablets, and far fewer laptops, will get you through an entire day of serious work without being plugged in and recharged somewhere along the way. Fortunately, your car can supply all the power you need. But what’s the easiest way to keep your productivity gadgets powered up?
When outfitting your mobile office, don’t go to the expense of specialty auto adapters for each device. Instead, buy a single 12V DC to 110V AC inverter/converter that plugs into the cigarette lighter. The one I have is rated to 400 watts continuous power (I wouldn’t advise getting anything less), and cost me less than $40. It has two 3-prong outlets and a USB port, plenty to keep my equipment up and running all day. I can use my smart phone and laptop or tablet at the same time, with their regular AC adapters.
The fact that I can use normal AC power cords in the car means that I have an extra set I can toss in the suitcase when I’m going out of town, and I don’t have to undo my home office setup. I can even pack my inverter if I know I’ll be using a rental car. It’s compact and not that heavy.
Get directions
If you spend any amount of time in your car finding your way to unfamiliar locations, I highly recommend either a stand-alone GPS device like a Garmin or a GPS app on your smart phone. Many people have these by now, and some even have a factory-installed, in-dash GPS system in their car.
The portable devices have the advantage of being transferrable to a rental car, as well as accompanying you on foot as you walk around an unfamiliar city. In my car, I simply use a dashboard-mounted holder for my smart phone, with a retractable USB to micro-USB cable to help reduce the clutter a bit.
Get work done
Just in c
ase it needs to be said, I am NOT recommending you multitask as you drive; working in your car is only for when you are parked somewhere! That said, if you’re planning to do anything but the most minor tasks, you’ll need a better work surface than your lap or an armrest. There are many choices, ranging from a little shelf that hooks onto your steering wheel to hold a small notebook computer or tablet, to a large, passenger-seat desk workstation with several work surfaces, a place for files, and hidden storage underneath. If you keep a small box of office supplies there, you won’t have to think about what you might need to take every time you head out.
Get connected
Having an Internet connection is often the key to being productive when you’re away from your home office. Lots of mobile professionals find they
can tap into a coffee shop’s Wi-Fi from the parking lot, which is very convenient. And if you can’t get a strong signal where you are, it’s easy to relocate to a better spot. However, since public Wi-Fi networks are notoriously insecure, I strongly recommend downloading Hotspot Shield, which creates a Virtual Private Network, masking your IP address, and securing and encrypting yourfiles, passwords, and financial transactions such as online purchases. It’s free!
As an alternative, many cell phone packages include using your phone as a hot spot so that you can use it to get online as well as to make phone calls. With a smart phone, you can do business from anywhere, and you’ll always appear professional.You’ll always have your email and calendar with you and can make appointments on the fly. Ideally, your phone’s calendar and contacts apps sync wirelessly with your computer at home so both are always up to date.
If you want remote access to all the files that are on your home computer, try TeamViewer, whichenables you to do that (and other things) anytime, anywhere – and is free for non-commercial users. Other free options, such as Google Drive, SkyDrive, and Dropbox, provide cloud storage for files that automatically sync among all your devices, keeping the files on your laptop, smart phone and desktop updated whenever you make a change on any of them.
So get going
If you’re struggling to get everything done without spending every waking moment at it, this may be the solution you’re looking for. Having a well equipped and well organized mobile office will add an extra level of efficiency to your business, knowing that you can make good use of your time while you’re on the go. As an extension of your home office, it will make your work easier and more convenient throughout the work day so when you finally head home it’s to an evening you can enjoy!
How do you keep a sensible schedule? Share your tips in the comments below!
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