Get more done on-the-go with only your smartphone
For today’s knowledge workers and entrepreneurs, business doesn’t stop when you’re away from your desk. Calls happen in the car or on the go, emails are sent day and night, contracts are processed throughout the day — business doesn’t wait for you to return to the office. By utilizing the strength of your smartphone and all the great apps available for it, you can accomplish more, save time, and boost your overall productivity.
At iPlum, we hear from on-the-go business workers all the time who are looking for ways to bring their office wherever they are in the world. To help you increase your mobile productivity, we’ve gathered some of our favorite tips based on these conversations.
1. Get a separate business line
2. Your files need to come with you
5. Sign and deliver in one step
1. Get a separate business line
Look at your phone right now - do you have voicemails and calls for business sitting right next to the ones from friends and family? Are texts from your best friend and aunt mixed with important updates from clients? Don’t fall into the trap of intermingling personal and business communication on the same phone line; it’s far too easy to mistakenly call or text an important client. Maintain your privacy by getting a second business line from iPlum for only $1 per month. You get 20 free credits to test it out when you sign-up. Upgrade your business. Download iPlum app
- Separate business number on your mobile
- Separate voicemail, call logs, favorites
- 1 cent external calls or text
2. Your files need to come with you
With so many cloud-based solutions available, there is no excuse for not having access to the files you need to do your job. It’s a great feeling to step out your door with the confidence that you can handle whatever curveball the day might throw at you. Flight delayed? No problem, you can still edit that contract. Stuck waiting for a client to arrive? No worries, you can review that proposal for errors. In an important meeting where you are asked to pull up last year’s budget? Not a problem, search for the quarterly report in your files.
If you’re looking for cloud storage options, here are some recommendations. Most offer a free version or a trial offer so try a few out and see which one you like best: Google Drive, Microsoft Cloud, Dropbox or Box.
3. Power. Power. Power
Every discussion about mobile productivity has to start with batteries and power to your phone. Nothing cripples your ability to do business on-the-go more than having a dead phone. Be sure to invest in extra charging cables and an external power source. Don’t get in the habit of relying on only one power cable that you move from outlet to outlet. Keep one in your car, one in your bag, one in your favorite place to charge at home, one in your home office (if you have one), and one at your desk at work.
Pro tip: If you’re a business traveler and you find yourself without a charging cable, try checking in with the front desk of your hotel. Most hotels collect various cables that people leave behind, and will sometimes lend (or let you keep) one.
4. Bite-size productivity
As phone sizes increase and mobile apps continue to bring new functionality, the amount of work you can do right on the phone has increased dramatically. Whether it’s drafting a blog post, reviewing a budget, or making edits to a presentation, if you have access to your files while on the go you can maximize every moment of your day. It’s easy to fall into the trap of only thinking you can work on projects when you have big chunks of time to devote to it. When you’re on the go, force yourself to get in the mindset that you can whittle away at bigger projects, or knock off smaller items on your to-do list in narrower windows of time.
5. Sign and deliver in one step
No matter what stage of a business relationship you’re in, contracts are a crucial part of the process and they usually require signatures. Keep everything moving along, even when you’re away from your computer, by downloading and utilizing a document signing app. Here are a few of the most popular document signing apps:
- Docusign
- Esign
- Adobe Echo sign
6. Don’t let expenses pile up
While traveling, it’s easy to let accounting, bookkeeping, and expenses pile up. You may tell yourself you’ll do it when you get back home, but the reality is, it’s easy to keep putting off. Take advantage of one of these apps to automate and organize your bookkeeping - It will save you time in the long run!
- Expensify
- Freshbooks
- Harvest
7. Take note, now!
Think of the last time you said to yourself, “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.” How’d that work out for you? Utilize a digital note taking app to organize all your thoughts, capture ideas, phone numbers, to-do lists and more. A huge benefit of these note taking apps is they all have the added benefit of syncing to your computer so you can seamlessly switch between whatever device you’re working on at that time. In addition to capturing information, they all offer great options for organizing, which make finding a note super simple. Here are some of our favorite note taking apps:
- Evernote
- Google Keep
- Microsoft OneNote
