Make your car office productive
The way people do business and conduct their work has changed in massive ways over the last few years. People are working more on trains for example. The trains have special plug points where workers can plug in their laptops, and then the normal office routine can pretty much run to plan, with emails being sent through wireless hubs on the train, and documents being prepared. This is no longer new. In fact, many people work on their way to work, as part of their daily commute. Rather than sit there and look at the view out of the train window, they spend their time ensuring that the report has been finished, or the presentation is ready and fine tuned for later that day.
However, what has become more prevalent in recent years has been the trend towards in car working. People are now spending a lot more time in their cars, travelling from appointment to appointment, or presentation to presentation, or even just to a meeting. The trend has become so prevalent, in fact, that people are now looking for ways to turn their car into a real office. There are actually vehicles made now by major automobile companies that are specifically designed to promote office work. But even if you do not own one of these fantastic machines, you can still capitalise on the space that you do have, and make your car an effective office on wheels.
One of the first challenges that will affect anyone who tries to make their car into an effective office is that of information, or rather the lack of it. A car office is only a car office if it can do the same job as a conventional one. Not having that important document in your car office means that you are not using the space wisely. One way to combat this is to make absolutely sure that you pack your stuff the night before the big meeting. This means spending just ten minutes ensuring that everything you need for the next day is there in your car and ready. And when we say ready we mean to hand, in other words easily accessible. Remember, there is absolutely no point in treating your car likes an office if it does not have the systems in place that make it an office. One of those systems is making sure that you prepare everything the night before.
Equally important is that you know where everything is. Many people who use their car as an office tend to place their work in easily manageable compartments in the trunk. Many stationery companies now produce simple compartments, often made of a fabric, which can be stuck to the floor of the trunk of a car. This means that you can effectively organise the trunk as you would a drawer or filing cabinet at work. Having the entire account documents in one compartment, for example, means that they will not be lost, and when you need to find them, they are always in the same place. While this may seem a little anally retentive, the amount of problems that occur due to the fact that a car worker does not have the right documents is reason enough to invest today.
Another good tip if you intend to use your car as an office is to become very self-motivated. It is so easy these days to be distracted by what is on offer just outside the car environment. When driving, the number of cafes and restaurants that are around can easily take your mind off the work that you have to do. Do not be seduced by these, it will waste your time. Build in a lunch break just like you normally would, otherwise you will be stopping endlessly for coffees and pastries, and not focusing on getting the most out of your day.
Still on the subject of food, make a real effort to not eat in your car. This almost goes without saying, but your aim is to treat your car office like the real one. You wouldn’t treat your office in such an awful way, so don’t eat in your car. Otherwise everything just feels unprofessional.
The next article in this two part series will explore more ways in which you can make your car office environment more productive.