Stay Productive While You’re Out of the Office

Sometimes it’s hard to stay productive and focused on work while you’re traveling, even if it’s for the job. This seem contradictory, especially if you’re on a long business trip, but staying on task is sometimes dependent on location and circumstances. Depending on how you’re traveling, sometimes transportation gets in the way; you may not have a connection to the internet or your company’s network, and more.

I recently surveyed Beaconfire staff to find out how they stay motivated and on task while they’re out of the office.  Here’s what they had to say:

Rob – Client Manager

Cell phone tethering is great. I also review a lot of work email from my smartphone.

Amy – Functional Analyst

I typically try to download files locally to my computer so I can work on them even if there isn’t wifi access to the internet.

Kristin and Kesah– Project Managers

Echoing Rob’s comment – If you have a smartphone, it’s critical to set up your work email on your phone. It saves a ton of time, even just going through and reading/deleting non-critical emails.

Another consideration is to identify a backup contact for your clients while you are out of the office; they can help keep things moving and keep your other clients happy.

Jeff – Principal Consultant

Be aggressive about prioritizing your task list and focus your time on key tasks. If you spend time checking and responding to email, you’ll not find time for the tasks you targeted for travel. Although being available on email and being responsive are valuable too, just recognize that can take up time you might have planned for other offline tasks.

Also, recognize that you probably won’t get to all that you thought you would. As a good Project Manager, set reasonable expectations so folks know what to expect of you and that you don’t disappoint.

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