Not long ago, the idea of working from anywhere was met with raised eyebrows and sounded like something out of science fiction. But in today’s digital age, you can now stay connected and access a business document virtually anywhere. You bounce from out-of-office meeting to out-of-office meeting, rehearse presentations when commuting, pitch over drinks and make your office anywhere that has Wi-Fi.
But staying productive when you’re out and about can still be a bit of a challenge if you aren’t accustomed to it. If you’re unsure of how to go about it, here are some tasks that you are easily handled while on-the-go:
- Plan your day and week
Instead of sighing and turning to mobile gaming, create a to-do list. This will give you a sense of both what you need to do, and help you feel like you have already accomplished something. Planning your day ahead will give you a chance to prioritise your tasks and set realistic goals for yourself. While you’re at it, outline your entire week – check your calendar for appointments and obligations so that you have an overview of tasks to focus on and deadlines to keep in mind. - Check your emails
In this digital age, we can be online anywhere in the world. So use your time on-the-go to check and reply to your emails. Sometimes we can be bombarded with so many other things to do that we forget to respond to important emails or we end up with a backlog. Use your time on-the-go to catch up on all your messages so you don’t end up trying to sort it throughout the day. - Get organised
On top of just checking emails, it’s great to organised your inbox, too. Sort your emails into categories, remove junk mail or set up filters to manage your daily distractions. If you require more assistance, consider investing in productivity tools and software that can be integrated across devices. There are also organisation apps that prioritise daily tasks, and consolidate notes and projects in one place so that you can see the big picture. Storing your business assets and documents on the cloud also makes everything available on any device no matter where you are. - Make phone-calls
This may be a good time to catch up on those “lets stay in touch” phone calls. Building and maintaining relationships with a vast network of people takes time and effort, but it pays off in the long run. Valuable business intel and opportunities can come as a result of just ringing people you haven’t spoken with in a while. It’s important to go about rekindling old networking relationships the right way – do your research first about what the people in your network are doing and how their career or interests have progressed if it has been months, or even years, since you last spoke with them. - Hold a meeting
Don’t miss out on important meetings just because you are out of the office. The key to successful, productive virtual meetings is to plan ahead. Before you head out on the road, figure out the software or app to use for conferencing, and make sure the people on the other end know how to use it too. You will also need to look for a quiet space with minimal distractions and it’s essential to avoid areas with spotty reception that will cause the video or audio to drop out.
