There are many people that dislike working at the office – the stress, the pressure of deadlines, the boss looking over their shoulder. However, there are lots of others who claim to find it hard to concentrate when they are away, struggling to complete work tasks unless they are sitting behind their desk in a distraction free office.
The office is an ideal environment to focus on work, with an atmosphere that is usually conductive to being productive. However, there are lots of things you can do to stay in a productive and work focused mood even when you are far away from the familiarity of your office desk. Business travelling is becoming a lot more frequent in today’s globalized world and some emails cannot wait until you have returned from vacation, so it is crucial that you can focus on sitting down to work, and accomplishing what you need to, even when you are not at the office.
So how can you remain disciplined and focused on work when you are often surrounded by distractions?
Get organised with apps
Although they cannot force you to sit down and focus or complete the work for you, they can help you stay organized. There are plenty of free apps that can help you to compile to do lists, make notes, sync up with your calendar, prioritize tasks, and in general help you stay on top of work and not to forget anything.
Charge your devices
Make sure you bring back up power with you. Portable power banks are relatively cheap to buy and are increasingly popular. The majority of trains and airplanes have sockets, but if you find yourself running low on battery, a power bank is invaluable. Make sure to have your devices fully charged before you set off on a long journey.
Maintain connection
Make sure you check your data roaming charges. It is useful to know the amount of data you can use while you are abroad. Some mobile network providers have very costly tariffs for overseas roaming, so your best bet may be to look out for free wifi hotspots, and invest in a dongle if necessary.
Keep in touch
You can stay connected to your colleagues and clients over the phone and email, you can even use programmes such as Skype to hold video conferences with the rest of the team back at the office. Use Dropbox or Google Drive to share documents you have been working on with co-workers, and also create a valuable back up of your work.
Don’t ignore your environment
Whether you are travelling for business or pleasure, you should try to unwind a little while away and not get too stressed about work. A break to take a few holiday snaps, or to experience some of the culture of the country you are in, will help to recharge your batteries and get you motivated and refreshed for when you get back to work.
While the place you work may seem important, work is only ever done when you concentrate on the tasks at hand. So no matter where you are in the world, you can stay productive by putting your mind to it – and if you need a hand, you can give us a call!