Working Remotely is Hard

Posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Being that I work from the internet I can, in theory, work from anywhere as long as I have an internet connection. And in testing that out right now I’m noticing some severe limitations. But it’s still good, just a lot to adapt too.

And I need a better laptop next time.

Distractions, Distractions

So I’m on a working vacation, so to speak, visiting family on the east coast. Lots of people want to spend some time with me, many of which are on their summer vacations and assume my working vacation is more vacation than work. On top of that there is lots I want to do to while I’m here and work takes a bit of a back seat at times.

This is my view from my “temporary office”;

and there is a heck of a lot of this to do (especially on the water);

And how do you say no to this? Seriously?

It’s rough I tell you, rough.

Low Productivity with the Wrong Tools

In my office back on the western side of the continent I work from a powerful desktop computer, with a fast cable connection and a dual monitor setup. The twin monitor setup increases productivity by 25%, easily. I don’t know what I ever did without it before. A third monitor is on my wish list.

Dual monitors are a must

That image I stole from flikr (Shhhhhh, dont tell anyone) as i don’t have an image of my actual setup. I’ll swap the photo’s out when i get back.

Right now while working remotely I’m using a laptop. The internet connection is slower and the machine is not quite up to the task. Here are it’s limitations;

one screen (small laptop screen at that)
slower computer with less memory
compact keyboard means more typos that need correction

At times the frustrations caused by those limitations really get to me. Sometimes I have to say “Fu@k it, lets go sailing!”

So next time I do a trip like this I’ll be more prepared. Have to buy a better laptop. One that’s powerful and has a larger screen size. May even pick up a smaller flat screen to use as a dual on the laptop setup. Might be a pain in the ass to pack onto a plane but might be worth it.

Till then, I’m keeping my sails tight