Best Practices To Set up An Effective Mobile Office

Look at the two different scenarios. It will make you understand the benefits of a separate mobile office.

If you focus on the space, equipment, internet, and a few other things, you will look professional and work efficiently.

Otherwise, you can take your laptop and sit at any coffee shop or public place where you get a free Wi-Fi facility, but you will face two problems at such sites.

1. Distractions: You can’t focus and be productive in public places due to many distractions.
2. Data breach: While using public Wi-Fi, attackers can easily inject malicious software into your device.

So when it comes to a mobile office, you should invest time and resources to design a safe and effective one.

Here is how to do it.

Mobile office space:

When it comes to a mobile office, the first thing that comes to mind is “space.” Where on earth will your office exist?

Well, it depends on your mobile office’s nature.

If you are a business owner or an employee working remotely, the best practice is to use a separate peaceful room for your remote office.

It has a significant impact on productivity.

For instance, earlier, I had my home office on the ground floor, and there were noise and many other distractions, so I could never focus at work as well as I focus now at my separate office on the first floor.

So if you want to set up your mobile office at home, you should prioritize it on the first floor or basement, depending on the easy access from your main entrance.

The second best practice could be to use shared workspaces. Workspaces are often quiet and also have separate room facilities with a few more bucks.

Shared space is an excellent idea for travelers or when you are out of the station and need a temporary mobile office.

Secondly, you have multiple options to set up your mobile office in public places.

• A company may acquire space around a coffee shop or any other public place where uninterrupted internet and electricity facilities are available.
• A real estate agent or similar businesses can use mobile office trailers or containers.
• A law firm can use a mobile office van.

So there are various options to use space for your mobile office depending on your business needs. The primary goal is to find out the place with the least distractions.

Mobile Office equipment:

Once you have decided on the space for your mobile office, the next question is which equipment you need.

Here are the essential types of equipment for any mobile office.

Business computer:

The first and foremost thing for a mobile office is your work computer. In fact, a computer is your main office. You may interact with people offline but store your meetings and data online through your computer.

For instance, if you are representing a company, your company might be using mobile device management (MDM) software, and your computer is already connected to its server.

Or you can be a real estate agent or a law firm, you might deal with people offline and might have offline hard copies, but the best practice is to organize your meetings through apps and keep a backup of your records on your computer (especially in the cloud services).

You can manage your business using GDrive, OneDrive, or other CRMs and SaaS.

In short, whatever your case is, you can be a freelancer, manager, or CEO; a computer is a basic need.

So your top priority should be to choose the best computer for your small business.

We have a long debate on choosing the best business computer.

For instance, I discussed whether you should buy a laptop or a desktop and a computer buying guide to guide which specs or operating systems (Mac or Windows) you need depending on your business needs.

At last, if you have decided to buy a desktop, we have reviewed the best computers for small business owners. We often update the list to keep it up to date, so we always have the latest best business computers.

And if you believe that a laptop is a great choice for your mobile office, you can survive your whole day with long battery life. We also have reviewed the best laptops for small business owners. This is also a great list of tested business laptops.

In laptops, the list goes on and on; we have reviewed various laptops meeting all business needs.

For instance, if you are short on budget, you can buy business laptops for under $500, and even you can get a MacBook for under $500.

So if you don’t have a computer, you will have many incredible machines to choose from.

Uninterrupted internet:

Without the internet, your mobile office is nowhere. You need the internet for many business tasks.

So make sure to arrange an uninterrupted internet.

If you are in a public place, you can use free Wi-Fi but use security software to secure your machine; not always, but there is a risk of getting attacked through this Wi-Fi internet.

If you can arrange a personal internet connection, then the next question can be its speed.

Ideally, it should be above 40 MB, but having a 20 MB internet speed is also suitable for a mobile office. 20 MB won’t let your browsing and suffering be down, but downloading and uploading files will take a while.

Makes sense?

Headphone:

The headphone is an essential ingredient of any office. Especially in a mobile office, you can’t rely on your computer’s speaker and mic.

Ideally, it would be best if you got wireless headphones. You can easily connect it to your laptop through Bluetooth.

Computer desk:

A computer desk is also a must-have thing. Computer desks are designed to improve your work performance.

For instance, a computer desk often doesn’t take up much space but is good enough to keep the important stuff on it.

Secondly, its height is ideally designed to keep you productive at work.

Office chair:

Your chair plays a big role in productivity; if you are uncomfortable, you can’t focus and get optimal results.

If it’s computer work, you should never compromise on your chair. Otherwise, you will regret it.

Here are the ten best office chairs to buy from.

Filing cabinet (in some cases):

You should get a filing cabinet to record your routine work if you run a firm and deal with people at your mobile office.

For instance, if you are a law firm with a mobile office, you need to keep the details of your clients organized.

If you are using a mobile office van, you might have these facilities in your van, but if you are building your mobile office on your own, you can’t forget to have the right filing cabinet depending on your business needs.

Extension cord:

Even if you have a laptop with long battery life, you should use an extension cord to get electricity at your desk.

My laptop doesn’t have a long battery life due to its large screen, so I use an extension cord in my remote office.

Laptop bag and stand:

For travelers, keeping a comfortable bag for their lightweight laptops is always essential. Due to comfortable bags, they never get annoyed by them.

Travelers also need a laptop stand to use their machines anywhere.

They might need to use it in the car, any public place, or any coffee shop; in such situations, a stand is a must-have, and it doesn’t cost much.

Laptop bag and stand often cost $30 per item.

Lightning:

It’s also an essential part of any office, especially if you are working at night.

It’s ways better to make some suitable arrangements for lighting your office.

Otherwise, you will face trouble dealing with clients and attending online conferences.

Air Conditioner:

You should arrange an air conditioner if you are building a temporary office but not a public place.

Whether you need it or not depends on the room temperature, but keeping the temperature optimal is a great idea for optimal performance.

If the building is centrally air-conditioned, you shouldn’t worry about it.

Office couch (in some cases):

If it’s your remote office, you should get yourself office couches set for clients and take a nap.

We have reviewed the best office couches to meet any business needs.

Frankly, the most mentioned-above pieces of equipment are the ones I had to arrange for my home office, so I know why these things influence your work.

You can’t work efficiently without these pieces of equipment.

Mobile office design/layout

In the case of remote work, you might think of best practices for designing your office. As it’s a simple office, so you don’t need to rush into the office.

Here is how I have designed my office.

On the left side of the entrance, I have a laptop desk and a work chair near the wall in the middle of the room. It keeps my focus on the work, and I can also keep an eye on the entrance so I don’t turn around if someone enters.

Also, it helps you easily access everything you have in your office.

For instance, if you have a filing cabinet, you often use for accessing files; you might also have a mini fridge to keep drinking water. You can keep the filing cabinet in the corner opposite the entrance and your fridge with it.

On the left side of your desk, you can keep some couches. You can sit on the couches, or someone who visits the office can easily access the couches to sit.

The wall behind you should be plain, as you might attend online conferences, so there should be fewer distractions.

However, I have placed my startup’s logo behind me. You can also put your logo on the wall or a calendar to keep you organized if you are a business owner.

Use online tools for a mobile office.

In a mobile office, you should use cloud services for most tasks.

Companies already use cloud services and mobile device management software for remote employees. So in the case of employees, you are less likely to invest in this part.

But if you are a business owner, you should invest and use the most relevant CRM and cloud services to store your data.

On cloud services, you can easily access your data from anywhere, so you don’t need to keep storage devices with you every time.