Working away from home – what’s in your bag?

Francesca Geens of Digital Dragonfly shares her essentials for working away from home

Just because we run home-based businesses doesn’t mean we’re at home day in, day out. Many home workers are now working away from home just as much as they’re in the home office – out meeting clients, networking, coworking and so on.

Francesca Geens runs Digital Dragonfly, a technology consultancy that just works with freelancers, consultants, independent professionals, home businesses and all sorts of ‘one-man bands’ and gives them peace of mind and confidence in the technology they need to run their business.

Here’s what Francesca carries for a productive day working away from home

• The bag itself – let’s be clear just because I am in IT and I carry around a laptop does not mean that I need to succumb to a black laptop bag- I know there are plenty of ‘pretty’ ones around but you are just drawing attention to the fact you are carrying a laptop which is not great. This is my all time favourite Mulberry handbag and I sure wasn’t going to by a laptop that did not fit into it so it came with me to the Apple store when I chose my MacBookAir.
• The MacBookAir is an 11inch standard spec which I love working on and it has a snug neoprene cover which takes up very little space.
• The iPhone which was being used to take the picture so isn’t included but I do have a Kensington USB charger for it which comes in handy towards the end of the day (it gives a full battery charge) – and especially now that I have treated myself to a premium Spotify account which means I am listening to music more when travelling. This leads us on to the headphones which come in a very handy plastic carry pod so no tangled wires.
• I still use a notebook- this one is Moleskine – I like the quality of the paper and the quirky size which is perfect for making notes in client meetings or brainstorming when on the go.
• Of course business cards are essential and I get lots of nice comments on my butterfly card case from Paperchase. I also always carry around a name badge from a networking group I often go to.
• Apart from that its just wallet, rail card, pen, anti-bacterial hand gel and lip gloss! I often also have a Graze snack in my bag too which makes it easy to eat healthily on the go.

What’s in your bag when you’re working away from home? Send me a photo and a description of the contents of your 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

And read more by Francesca Geens on using technology in your home office.