Most of the time, I’m hauling a bag for one of two reasons. Either I’m around town and taking my computer with me to get some work done, or I’m traveling to conferences and events, something I do a couple of times a year.
Around town I carry more basic kit, of course: usually, just my computer, power cord and surge protector. But when I’m traveling, the kit gets more complicated.
The Bags
I have been a mobile worker for many years, and my gear has evolved over time to fit the way I work. I can divide my work routine into three different scenarios (on the road, day trips, and “work sessions of opportunity”), and I have a unique tool kit for each one. My gear changes frequently due to my work on jkOnTheRun, so this snapshot is certainly not static by any means. One thing common to all of my kits is that I like to be be as light and mobile as possible.
I don’t travel much, mostly just going to Fort Worth, Texas, about an hour away and where I was born and bred, to visit family. If I stay overnight, I pack up my work. When I manage to get out of the Fort Worth area, I tend to end up in Austin. It’s a popular place for conferences. Though I carry more gear for these trips, I try to pack as lightly as possible.
Call me crazy, but I love to see what folks have in their gear bags. Personal computing is exactly that, personal. So I find gear bags like snowflakes: No two are alike. We all have differing needs in our travels, so that’s how it should be, right? After seeing Simon and others here at WWD spill the contents of their bags, I knew I had to jump in and share mine as well.
Unlike most people, my kit tends to change frequently. I vary the contents of my bag based on my needs, and my gear has evolved as I’ve ridden the trend from notebooks to UMPCs to netbooks and back again. Let me give you a glimpse as to what I mean, as my bag has evolved many times in the past few years.
I’m always taking advantage of the mobility that web work allows. Once a week, I spend a night or two with relatives in another city. Also, when I travel, I prefer to stay in my destination for more than a week. But whether I’ll be away for a night or two weeks, I find that the things I bring with me are predictable and consistent.
The Bag
I use an ordinary backpack that I found in a sale bin. It’s well-padded and it’s also the most comfortable backpack I’ve ever had. It has a lot of secret compartments in which I hide valuables.
My backpack is important because I live by a “one bag” rule: If it doesn’t fit in my bag, I don’t bring it. My friends always laugh at me for having the lightest luggage, but I’m not the one who gets slowed down because of the weight I’m carrying. To paraphrase something I once read, “You’ll find that you can take anything with you. The joke is that you have to carry it yourself.” Read the rest of this entry »
I wanted to add my take on the What’s In Your Bag? series of posts, but I decided to wait until today to write one. I just arrived in my hotel in Washington, D.C., for a business trip, so what you are seeing is fairly typical of what I carry when I’m traveling. You’ll notice that I’m not a gadget collector and that I enjoy traveling light, bringing only the necessities along with me.
Earlier this week Simon asked us to share what we carry with us when we go mobile. Unlike Aliza, my forays out of the office tend to be short, usually for things like client meetings or local presentations, so my needs are pretty sparse. I bring with me what I need to accomplish my trip’s goals, plus the general tools that I find I may need no matter where I am headed.
There’s nothing particularly fancy inside, but it is all functional and each piece fits its required role perfectly.
I don’t often get to work on the road, but when I do, I do it in a big way. Recently, I went to South by Southwest in Austin. Because it was such a big trip for me to take from Tok, Alaska — seven hours drive to Anchorage to catch several flights for over 15 hours’ additional travel — I made the most of my time in the Lower 48. That meant that I spent the next three weeks on the road visiting family and friends, and ending up with teaching workshops and giving lectures throughout Wyoming.
Given my extended trips, I have to stay productive, so I tend to over equip. I emptied my Keen bag today to photograph what’s inside to demonstrate how I need to be ready for virtually anything for my work.
Here’s what’s in my bag. Read the rest of this entry »
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Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
