Things I Carry: My Laptop, a Wifi Hotspot, and Plenty of Black Tea

I travel – a lot.

So far in 2013 (according to my TripIt account), I have traveled to 25 different cities and spent 56 nights away from home. I have kept this pace for over 10 years and it’s likely to continue through the end of this year.

When traveling this much, it is essential that you learn to manage your life on the road so that it is as normal as possible. I have learned what’s essential to have and what not to have. Three of my most essential items include:

My Laptop

My current laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad X220, which is almost 2 years old. This laptop is almost always with me. It is my “office.” I rarely let it out of my sight. While I have the information backed up in multiple places, losing this laptop would create real problems.

A laptop allows me to work wherever I happen to be at the time – an airplane, a coffee shop or a restaurant, a hotel room or lobby, or a conference room at a client’s office.

My last laptop was a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 with a 15” screen. It was powerful, with a big screen, and heavy to carry. The X220 has a 13” screen. I thought long and hard before moving to the smaller screen. However, the reduction in weight due to the smaller screen has been well worth the move.

I recently replaced the existing hard drive with a Crucial 512G Solid State Drive (SSD). It is one of the best upgrade investments I’ve made in quite a few years. The SSD drive significantly increased my laptop performance and added at least an additional hour of battery life – important when you are not always close to an electrical outlet.

Broadband Internet Access

As a nomad, easy access to the Internet is essential. My laptop is a great tool. But it would not be nearly as useful without access to the services and information available to me online. While I’ve had broadband access available for several years, the new high-speed 4G LTE networks make Internet access seamless from virtually anywhere and almost as fast as my office wired connection.

My current broadband access is provided through the Verizon network using a 4G LTE MiFi 4510L hotspot. My 5G monthly data plan costs about $50 per month. When I moved to the 4G network I had to give up my unlimited data plan. I was concerned about going to a more limited data plan. However, after researching my prior data usage I realized that in the previous 12 months I had only gone over 5G twice.

I have begun researching moving to a different network provider. My access to the full 4G network seems to be spottier than in the past. I am often connected to the slower 3G networks in areas that I know have the faster 4G network available.

I almost never use free Wi-Fi services from airports, hotels or restaurants. I’m just too concerned about the lack of security using those types of open connections.

Tea: The Comfort of Home

Spending many nights away from the comfort and convenience of being at home, it is important to bring a little piece of home with me. For me, that means having good quality tea available whenever I want it.

I have never learned to like, and drink, coffee. At times, it would be easier if I did. But, I just don’t like it.

I drink more hot tea in a normal day than most people drink coffee. Many hotels just don’t treat tea drinkers very well. If there is coffee service in my room, it often does not include any tea. Because of this I bring my favorite teas with me along with my preferred sweetener in my suitcase.

My preferred brands in the morning are Starbucks Awake and Twining’s English Breakfast. I usually wake up early (depending on the time zone I happen to be in at the time) and want a cup or two of tea to get my morning started. In the evening, I tend to like Twining’s Earl Grey. I’m a black tea person and just don’t like herbal and most flavored teas.

These are the tools I use. What essential tools help you to be more effective and productive?

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Steve Anderson is the leading authority on insurance agency technology. He is a prolific writer known for his knack for translating “geek speak” into easily understood concepts. Check out his free weekly newsletter “TechTips” and other resources for the insurance industry on his website.