Wireless Internet at the beach - yes, really!
When you’re living and working on the road, finding Wifi, or at times, even a cell signal can be a daily struggle. Having looming deadlines, emails that need to be returned in a timely fashion, and the constant pressure to find new clients makes connectivity an absolute must. So how do you cope when it’s patchy or nonexistent?
Efficiency, Efficiency, Efficiency
After 12 months of traveling all over the West, often in remote places with limited cell service and essentially no internet, I learned how to maximize the time when I did have service or a wireless connection.
If I had one hour with a signal, I crammed as many tasks as I could into that time. Interestingly, without time to be distracted by Facebook, browse my favorite blogs, and otherwise waste time on the Internet, I found that I really didn’t need to be connected for eight hours a day.
Having a few systems in place makes maximizing time online a little easier. Here are a few that I found to be absolutely critical to my success:
-Email addresses set up as POP or IMAP accounts in a mail program. Download emails to read and answer when you’re offline. This is probably the biggest timesaver when you have precious few moments online.
-Utilize apps and mobile sites on your SmartPhone, so that you’re not tempted to spend time reading blogs, looking for leads, etc. when you finally find a WiFi signal. The majority of the time, you’ll have cell service, allowing you to take care of a lot of your Internet business on your mobile device.
-Stay organized, and prioritize. I learned early on to make a list, and then figure out the three or four Most Important Tasks that must be done online. Then, bust those things out, and do the little, potentially time-wasting, things afterward. This helps ensure that you get everything done that you need to while you have Internet.
For me, just knowing I only had an hour or two motivated me beyond belief. There is something to be said about not having eight fully connected hours. I found that I wasted less time, and probably got more done in a couple of hours than I do in some full days at the computer, leaving me more time to play and enjoy the scenery.
