Nothing like working from home – home on wheels! I’ve spent months figuring out the best ways to get my traditional home office outfitted for a home office in a RV, and I think I’m pretty darn close!
Looking through all of the amenities needed, ensuring I have the right cables, and not extras, not a shortage, but the actual infrastructure has been key to being able to work from a RV while continuing a traditional job.
Some of the most important things I’ve noted:
When traditionally working from an organizations office, the organization relies upon their internal or possibly outsourced IT teams to ensure there is enough bandwidth, secure internet, and reliable technology to work from. Outside of that, organizations typically ensure the workspaces are comfortable, possibly dedicated, and available for users. That same mentality is key to working remotely. So, how did I ensure this is possible when I introduce an ever growing list of variables, on an almost daily basis?
First and foremost – internet. Without internet, I wouldn’t be able to do any work! I have a goal in mind where I “move” only on weekends. I block those weekends off on my calendar even though I’m not working usually, I may have an occasional after hours or weekend deployment.
I’ve been able to secure the top providers with ample bandwidth on each of those providers. I’m currently grandfathered into unlimited data without restriction on Verizon’s network – I’ve been a customer for ages and never upgraded each two years – so this has been a huge breakthrough for me. Additionally, I have unlimited internet on a hotspot for $20 a month with AT&T, and also have unlimited data on T-Mobile and Sprint. T-Mobile and Sprint lack more in terms of reliability in most of my testing but that doesn’t mean I won’t be in a place where I may need it. Most of the parks I will stay at for now will likely have WiFi throughout the campground, but I don’t want to rely on just that. So, I have plenty of options!
Next, I need reliable sound quality for voice calls – that means a wireless headset that provides noise cancellation, is comfortable, and provides a dual purpose – my cell phone and Skype for Business calls. Here is the headset (Jabra 9470) (I’ve been using for years and love):
Remember when I mentioned backup? Yep, I have backup internet options and backup voice options – from three cell phone providers for voice calls, I hope I never am without cell signal! Also, for headsets, yep – I have my Apple AirPods, my Bose Headset, and a wired Jabra Headset.
Speaking again of backup, I have not one but two solid state USB hard drives – the ability to backup data securely in case anything were to happen to my laptop or worse, there were to be a break-in, I have my data with me. I also leverage OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online – most if not all of my data now resides securely in the cloud. (Check out my company for more info if you want help understanding, leveraging, moving, or supporting cloud technologies)
Oh, if it was really bad, I have multiple devices, yes, more than one laptop, and multiple tablets! I’m able to leverage these cloud technologies from not only my primary or secondary laptops, but from my tablets, and depending on the need, even on my mobile phone(s)!
Now, all this is great (and I promise it all takes up less space than I thought it would initially) but remember I mentioned it must be comfortable. After all, I would be spending eight hours a day sitting, working, going through multiple devices, phone calls, etc. I can tell you from my past experiences with a pop-up camper that sitting at a kitchen table (you know the ones which fold to a bed) is not the most comfortable seating after even an hour! I invested many years ago into an awesome, overly expensive chair and had every intention to leverage that. But, after doing some thinking I actually found the front passenger seat (remember the super comfy seats) and dashboard (which is huge) was perfect for me. I wouldn’t need to remove the extra seat behind the passenger seat, and had plenty of room for the 32″ monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset, tablets, phone chargers, even my printer. Here is what I ended up with:
Ok, so ignore the very well worn carpeting and discolored pink looking chairs! The seat swivels around, I have a work surface behind to work from, reclining capabilities from the chair itself, and I’ve ordered a few different table options to bring the keyboard closer to me that I’ll try out and let you know how I like it. Overall, the new home office is amazingly working out well!
Oh – and if you’re stuck on the ugly, plain curtains that help keep it cool inside (don’t worry) – the backdrop is actually quite nice, well at least for the next few weeks.
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