A Road Warrior’s Guide to Keeping the Mobile Office Organized

It’s the daily grind. You’re in your office. Then you’re in your truck to go to a work site. Then you’re in your office again, to pick up something you need. Then you’re in your truck driving back to the work site. Then you’re in your office again picking up new papers. Then you’re in your truck driving to the next work site. What if it didn’t have to be this way? Guess what? It doesn’t! A well-organized mobile office in your car or truck can save you hours of back-and-forth time a day. How much time do you spend in the vehicle away from home base? And how handy would it be if you could turn idling and driving time into work time? This doesn’t become writing a work order, while eating a sandwich, while driving. That’s not safe, and you’ll get heartburn. The idea is using those wasted moments sitting parked to pull out your tablet or laptop and get some constructive work accomplished. Although if you want to work while driving, there are voice activated devices that can safely help you with that, too.

The Wide World of Mobile Office Products

There’s a small industry, in fact, built around helping you work anywhere but at your regular old desk. Desks and pivoting stands are specially-built for cars and trucks of different sizes, in laptop, tablet, or notebook sizes. Many models feature “no drill” fasteners, and heavy-duty hardware for tough environments. There are mobile office caddies, with nooks and crannies for anything you might need, and handles so that when you park you can pick it all up at once and put it in the trunk for safekeeping. Power inverters are available so that you can safely connect your computer and/or printer to your car battery for hours of life. Even coolers and warmers are on the market if you become peckish on the road.

A Perspective From the Field

While there are those enthusiastic road warriors who keep scanner/printers and extra hard drives in special foam crannies in the trunk of their cars, most businesses will be fine with something a little less hardware-heavy. We spoke to Michelle Seidel, a legal contractor working in banking, and on the road more often than off. She doesn’t bother carting her own printer around, and she’s careful about using those oh-so-convenient office supply and service stores. The cost adds up. “I just do all my printing from home and then drive to the bank branches. I did the research on using Staples (~$40 per file), the library (~$25 per file) and buying an inkjet to connect to my iPad (~$5 per file) if the technology works as it`s supposed to. It`s a big IF I think.” And if the printer is in your vehicle, getting alternately roasted and frozen, that shortens its lifespan considerably. Keep the printer at home, and take the tablet with you. Printers are cats. Tablets are dogs. She also points out the importance of knowing yourself and what you need to get through the day. “If I get into bad traffic and have to miss meals as a result, I get really bad headaches so I need to have snacks available! In winter months I stock chocolates, granola bars and licorice; in summer, I can`t keep the chocolate.” As for what she takes with her to signings and meetings, she’s a minimalist. “Just my iPhone usually. I can pay for parking meters, check on bridge traffic cameras, check email, text messages. I bring the iPad when I know I’ll be out for a while, but is more to read up on the news when I need the bigger screen.” She’s not of the school that believes spending more money always gets you the better solution. “I just sent off my ultra cheap mall outlet kiosk car charger to my sister as a present and replaced it with a slightly more expensive one from a phone store and it gives minor interference with the radio!” One tech toy she is a big fan of is Bluetooth connectivity, giving you hands-free and legal phone and internet connectivity using voice alone. “I have had rental cars with fantastic bluetooth connectivity that have a better handsfree telephone one than that add-on I have on the visor. A car with built-in Bluetooth would be wonderful! The sound quality is amazing, unlike the visor mount which has much more outside noise to compete with.” As with any busy professional, ease of use is key.”I can theoretically do a lot more hands-free with Siri on the iPhone but haven’t figured out how to do much more than get it to dial a phone number for me. Generally I only think of what I would like it to do whilst driving and can’t read the screen or correct it or look for the right way to use it for other things.”

mHelpDesk Can Help

Connectivity with your home office and access to your files while on the road are key to increasing efficiency, and that’s where mHelpDesk and its solid mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android come in. With our software, you can update work orders, issue invoices, check on your team’s locations and job progress, even accept customer signatures and payments digitally on your tablet or phone. Install apps before you need them, and test them out to make sure they work smoothly. When you’re all on your own, you need your technology to work the first try. As Seidel highlights, all the gadgets and bling in the world won’t help you if they don’t actually function properly. Know what you need, find out what works, and take it with you. Oh, and don’t forget to lock it in the trunk when you park the car.