With remote work on the rise, more and more people are taking advantage of the ability to check in for work from near and far. People are packing up shop and moving themselves (and their digital workspaces) to remote corners of the globe, satisfying a need for adventure and a need to make a good living at the same time. We are living in the age of the digital nomad, where an office exists inside the space of a laptop screen and a jungle, beach, mountain or desert can temporarily be called home.
As you get ready for the next big destination to work and explore from, it is important to keep your things organized. As a remote worker, your luggage situation may not be as light and minimal as if you were just going for a backpacking trip. You will likely have all your tech equipment and will need to keep track of plenty of important tools.
The good news is, with the rise of digital nomadism, there are clever gadgets and items that are a must to help keep you mobile and ready to jump to the next location. In this article, we will take a look at fifteen key pieces of kit and gear to keep your remote work lifestyle organized as you move from place to place.
1. Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are a life saver when you are frequently hopping from place to place. Compartmentalizing your objects into organized categories- one cube for shirts, one for pants, one for cables, etc. means you can quickly locate whichever object you are looking for without having to unpack your entire suitcase or backpack.
These cubes help compress your clothing, saving space and keeping your clothes less wrinkled and more accessible. Packing cubes come in a variety of sizes, so you can customize how you organize with small cubes for toiletries, specific cubes for tech gadgets, and so on.
2. External Hard Drive
The last thing you want as you move your workplace with you is to suddenly lose access to important work files- with no way of recovering them. Regularly backing up your entire laptop onto a hard drive is an important way to maintain the integrity of your laptop’s security system.
If you are working with large files that take up huge amounts of data, such as video files on video editing software, or bulk batches of high resolution photographs, then you will want to keep an external hard drive handy as a work in progress tool to help boost your laptop’s functioning capacity.
3. Foldable Keyboard and Wireless Mouse
Typing on a keyboard and navigating with a mouse may seem like unnecessary luxuries while you are out traveling, but trust us, your wrists will thank you. If your job involves any amount of computer work (and if you are a digital nomad, then chances are it does) then you will want to make sure you protect your wrists from carpal tunnel.
Traveling with a portable keyboard and wireless mouse may take up a bit of extra space in your suitcase, but the trade-off is significant. Throw in a keyboard and mouse wrist rest as well, and you just might be saving yourself a trip to the doctor’s down the line. (Always make sure to take stretch breaks as well, when you are spending a long day typing away.)
4. Protective Laptop Case
While you are probably not going to check your laptop in your checked baggage any time soon, you should still invest in a high quality protective laptop case. Your laptop wasn’t built to withstand the rugged traveling life, so give it plenty of cushion to keep it safe from the possible pitfalls of traveling.
Look for a laptop case with waterproof features and enough cushion to let you feel secure as you move from place to place. If you think you will want to carry your laptop with you to the local cafe or co-working space, look for one with pockets and a handle. Your protective laptop case can double as your briefcase.
5. Passport Holder
Your passport is your best friend when you are traveling, so you will want to know where it is at all times. A passport holder is a good way to keep your passport safe and close to hand, so you can travel with ease (and skip the whole “rummaging through your backpack pockets” act).
Particularly if you are planning to travel in countries where crime rates are higher, you may want to look for a passport holder that also acts as a money belt. You can wear your emergency cash and your passport close to your body, hidden underneath your clothes while you travel.
6. Padlock
Security is important while you travel. Whether you are planning to stay in hostels or hotels, bringing along your own padlock with you is a good way to ensure that you can always lock up and protect your valuables.
Keep important personal and work documents in a safe or locker, and put your laptop and hard drive in there as well when you are done with the work day. Locking up your passport and emergency cash means you can get to know the local nightlife without worrying about someone stealing your passport.
7. VPN and Firewall
Not all of your travel gear needs to take up space in your suitcase. Cybersecurity should be a key consideration as you prepare for your digital nomad lifestyle. Since you will be logging into your work email accounts and collaborative digital workspaces from many different internet networks, you will have less control over how secure the networks themselves will be.
Instead, shore up your own computer’s cybersecurity measures. Install a VPN, a Virtual Private Network, to mask and anonymize all of your online interactions. Set up a firewall to protect your laptop against hackers, spammers, spyware, and malware. And always make sure to update your passwords frequently and practice good password hygiene!
8. Universal Travel Adaptor Plug
Traveling with your smartphone, tablet, and laptop means you will need access to power wherever you go. Add a universal travel adaptor plug to your essential kit; this little cube will be your ally as you move between different electrical ports.
The plug tines fold out, so you will have the right plug for nearly every type of outlet across the globe. Then plug your USB cord straight into the adaptor plug and charge your devices.
9. Spare Charger Cables and Travel Power Bank
Speaking of keeping your devices powered up, it is always a good idea to keep extra USB charger cables on hand. Keep one in your rental car and a few spread throughout your rented apartment or hostel room so that you can charge up wherever you set up to work. Keep a travel battery charged up each time you go for a long journey.
That way you will never have to arrive in a new and unfamiliar destination without being able to navigate or call for help, if necessary. Some portable power banks are even solar powered, so you can charge up in an emergency in a remote place without access to a wall plug. Keep your portable power bank and extra USB cords organized in a specified tech travel cube.
10. Waterproof Travel Speaker
For video meetings, bumping party tunes, or simply just enjoying some quiet music in the background while you work, bring along a small sized travel speaker. A waterproof travel speaker is a good idea for a beach location or when working by the poolside. Travel speakers usually sync with your phone or laptop via bluetooth and charge on a USB-C port, so they are largely cordless. A waterproof travel speaker is a convenient addition to your travel kit that can upgrade your whole digital nomad lifestyle without taking up too much space. Enhance your road trips, home movie screenings, and work phone calls with this little device.
11. Foldable Laptop Stand
Experts will tell you that one of the greatest pitfalls of the digital work lifestyle is how badly it affects your posture. Sitting for hours on end hunched over a laptop screen can cause lasting damage to your back- and give you a permanent “gargoyle” posture.
Consider adding a lightweight, foldable laptop stand to your travel gear. With this little addition, you can completely shift how you sit and even stand while you work. Mixing up your sitting hours with hours of standing and working can help improve your circulation, straighten out your posture, and make you feel more alert. Some studies have shown that working at a standing desk can even help you lose weight, although it may be a minimal amount.
12. USB Adaptor Hub
Most new Macbooks come equipped with several USB-C ports, and nothing else. Add a USB adaptor to your tech kit. This handy little item will allow you to plug in a variety of cables. HDMI cables can sync your laptop to a TV screen or projector- ideal for home movie nights and slideshow presentations.
A multiport USB adaptor hub will let you plug in the SD cards from your camera, so you can upload all those epic travel pictures and edit them on your screen. You can also plug in hard drives with USB attachments, and even plug in multiple different ports at the same time. USB adaptors tend to be fairly inexpensive, and they come in handy time and time again as you travel.
13. Headphones
Noisy airplanes full of crying children and roaring white noise will no longer be a problem when you travel with the right pair of headphones. Look for over ear headphones that come equipped with noise blocking or noise cancelling features. Try over ear headphones that connect to your devices via bluetooth, but also come with headphone cables, so you can plug directly into the back of seat airplane TV screen.
Most high quality headphones today come with their own individual traveling case, so you can keep them protected and organized. Headphones with a good microphone are key for work meetings, video chats, and long distance phone calls home to friends and family. Putting your noise reducing headphones on in a bustling cafe is a great way to help you stay focused on work, even amidst the unfamiliar soundscape of a new environment.
14. HDMI Cables
Another handy item to keep in your tech tool kit is a pair of HDMI cables. When you stay in a new hotel, hostel, or AirBnb, an HDMI cable is a great way to connect your laptop to a TV screen. It makes for a much more relaxing home movie experience at the end of a long day of travel.
You can also use an HDMI cable to plug your laptop in to a larger computer monitor at a co-working space or in a hostel; for careful work such as video editing or video editing, this can provide an essential break. It’s good to keep two or more in your travel tech bag since a cable plugged into the TV is an easy thing to forget as you are packing up house.
15. Tote Bags
Tote bags might just be the most multipurpose item on this list. From picking up the shopping at the local market to throwing all your airplane essentials into one place for easy carrying at the airport, a tote bag is one of those versatile objects that just comes in handy in a million different situations. They are great for wrapping delicate gifts for friends back home or as a temporary beach bag.
Tote bags also pack up small, and it doesn’t matter if they get wrinkled or crumpled. Plus, they make a great (and very practical) souvenir from wherever you land.
Final Thoughts
The fifteen items outlined above are by no means a comprehensive guideline for every globetrotting traveler- you will also want to consider which clothes to bring, what kind of backpack or suitcase to pack in, and things like shoes and toiletries.
But for digital nomads, the fifteen items we have described provide a great starting point for a workable, organized digital workspace. With these tools in your bag, you can set up and start working efficiently at every new port.