I think I am finally getting my office simplified. I have determined in order to write my daily articles I need at the minimum:
- Laptop
- Mouse
- Headphones
- Internet connection
- Electric connection
I have some books that occasionally I need to access but most of the information is either in my head, contained in digital books on the laptop or available online.
With these few things I can pack up my office and take it almost anywhere. Anywhere being my sister’s, my auntie’s house, friend’s homes, McDonalds, the library or wherever there is an internet connection. I’ve sat at the Riverfront and in various restaurants plucking away at this keyboard over the past year and a half, and I’m starting to get this down to a science.
I don’t even need a cell phone—I have a MagicJack which I can use for all of my phone calls incoming and outgoing so long as I have a live internet connection.
I don’t require a printer for my daily needs. If I need to print something I can print up to ten pages for free at the library on a given day. They are open seven days a week unless there is a holiday or some change—and I should never have to print something with a real desperate urgency!
I could possibly do without the mouse but I have found that it helps productivity immensely so I carry it and at home I use a wireless keyboard/mouse combo to not only make typing faster and easier but to preserve the keyboard on my much used and abused laptop.
The headphones are used to listen to music while in public places and at home while the kid is asleep. We actually both use headphones while watching movies and the like to avoid disturbing the other one. They are also used while making phone calls on the MagicJack as they have a microphone built in as well, so I guess you could say they double as a phone handset.
The last two are a given as I use Google docs for word processing, Yahoo IM for communication, MagicJack for phone communication and a laptop for work, period. Sometimes I can slide without an electric connection for a time by putting the laptop into eco mode and working that way. This makes it great at some restaurants where electric sources are not readily available.
Instead of paper and pencils for notes I occasionally type some notes out on my PDA or on the laptop, and I listen to Internet Radio through my headphones for mood music. When at the library I can walk to a shelf and grab a reference volume if I need it without the expense of having to buy them.
I could work at home and reduce the amount of travel to and from the library but I seem to get a lot more accomplished there than when I’m sitting at home so I try to go at least a couple times a week to boost my productivity. It also serves the purpose of getting me out of the house some.
What have you done to simplify your office? Could you get by on less supplies, or perhaps convert your office into a mobile workstation to get away from the office some?