Given current level of technological achievement that we find ourselves in it is no wonder that there is such an abundance of shiny gadgets and gizmos vying for your attention, but poor design and cheap manufacturing can all too often turn a great idea into an inconvenient hindrance to your productivity. The fact of the matter is that whether you are working from home, or on the move, you need to be tooled up for the task in hand.
As far as essentials go, I’m going to start with USB memory. Without going into details, I once turned up on a job to find that the entire project was being passed round the office on USB memory sticks. The lesson that I learned was that you should never be without this essential weapon in your arsenal. Arguably the best range of general purpose memory sticks is the Kingston DataTraveler series. Available in a spectrum of capacities, The current king of the crop is the 64Gb model, which offers enough storage capacity to back up your entire system, hold a decent music collection and store a few films, all in a keyring-sized package. If you are just handling documents and spreadsheets, their 2Gb model will probably suffice, but for heavy multimedia and system backup purposes, the freshly-released 64Gb option will ensure that you are locked and loaded for any situation that may arise. It’s high capacity, and it’s as fast as it comes; you cannot ask for more from a thumb drive.
Next up on the list is a fresh new product called the PowerStar Go, that offers to charge any gadget that you choose to carry. Essentially, the PowerStar Go is a Lithium-Ion Battery pack, wrapped up in an exceedingly refined package, with an adaptor for every single device you are likely to be carrying. Phones, PDA’s and even your PSP can be reloaded with ease whilst travelling with this excellent device. If you are carrying more exotic hardware than the basic package covers then you can order the relevant adaptor at their website, here. This product will allow you to charge your phone up to six times or a power-needy PDA around 4 times. Personally, my phone needs a charge every three days, which means that by having this compact package in my kit I could potentially be away from mains power and still working for 18 days. The battery unit itself can be charged from mains power, a USB connection or car lighter socket. Overall, this flexibility allows you to avoid critical power dropout on your essential tech regardless of the circumstances you may find yourself in.
The Scouts have always held the motto of ‘Be Prepared’, and I have always found this philosophy to be utterly true within the world of freelance work. Quite simply, you should be prepared for any circumstance that may potentially arise. Depending on your particular trade, there may be certain tools that you always pack before hitting the road, but in terms of general-purpose essential functionality you should budget a spend of around £50 on a device that could potentially fix any part of your travelling equipment and allow you to function in your chosen role. For this purpose I can wholeheartedly recommend the Gerber range of multi-tools. Certainly, the £100+ area is covered by the Leatherman range, but keeping something like the sub-£50 Gerber Radius in your inventory can allow you to perform impromptu repairs on almost any part of your mobile office, as well as effortlessly open your beverage of choice once the working day is done. I can’t honestly say that you will find a use for a multi-tool every day of your working life, but I can definitely say that there will be times when nothing else will get the job done.
You will find that during your career you discover a number of essential tools that you simply cannot leave home without, but in the meantime I can speak from experience and say that these items will undoubtedly enable you to perform when the heat is on. And, if you are looking to drop a few suggestive hints in the upcoming festive season, you could certainly do worse than expecting these fine products in your stocking.
