Mobile working – what’s in your bag?

What do you carry for mobile working?

The term home worker is a bit of a misnomer these days, as many of us are also regularly mobile working in all sorts of places outside the home – clients’ premises, coworking spaces, cafes, libraries, stations, airports and so on.

Technology means we can take with us what used to be heavy equipment tied to the home office, and carry out most office activities en route. So it’s important we have a bag that holds everything we want for mobile working and looks the part, which is why we have started publishing laptop bag reviews.

As you know I’m curious about everything related to home and mobile working, so I always wonder what’s in your bag. I asked Alan Williams, a crime fiction writer, who as well as working from home with his dogs also spends quite a bit of time travelling and mobile working.

Here’s what Alan carries in his backpack, his mobile working bag:

‘My bag is a Wenger Mythos backpack; I needed something big enough to carry all my stuff, but also tough enough that it could put up with the occasional knock and bump, and protect my laptop or whatever I was carrying.

‘It’ll take a 15” laptop without a problem, and has specially padded compartment for that, but more often I now carry an iPad rather than my laptop, but the bag is big enough to carry both, if needed.

‘I’m currently using a booqpad case for my iPad, I’ve been trying to move to being totally paperless for the past few months, somewhat unsuccessfully I might add and this gives me the security of both, with its notepad alongside the iPad. I normally also carry a regular pad of paper or notepad.

‘After that it’s really a collection of bits and pieces that I might need. Pens, pencils, memory sticks, chargers and cables, tissues, rail and building access passes (for when I’m actually in the office).

‘Spectacles and sunglasses, painkillers, headphones, change for car parking machines, emergency dog biscuits. I’ll also normally be carrying a selection of magazines, normally New Scientist or Economist, as they are most relevant to what I do, plus any other relevant paperwork or documents.

‘Although again, I try and use the iPad for those, with them uploaded to Dropbox, so that I can access them from wherever I happen to be, so long as I have an internet connection.’

What’s in your mobile working bag? Send me a photo and a description of the contents of your mobile working bag and I’ll publish them here with a link to your site or blog.

Enjoyed this? Check out more home workers opening their bags in the What’s in Your Bag? series