Maintaining Productivity

Maintaining productivity on the road can be a challenge. Every road warrior has his or her own tips, but a few specifics allow me to get as much (if not more) work done while I’m traveling.

• Maintain Your Routine - As schedules allow, I keep my travel routine as close to my normal routine as possible. For me this means keeping my sleep schedule consistent, getting the the gym daily, and keeping my diet (and alcohol intake) as close my usual as my stay allows.
• Address Technology Barriers Proactively - A bit of homework prior to your trip can help to avoid downtime on the road. Do the airports you’ll be visiting offer free WiFi? How about your hotel? By knowing the answers up front, you’ll avoid spending 30 minutes looking for a free signal and can make an active choice as to whether to purchase service. What cell coverage, do you have a backup plan for making and receiving calls if you’ve got no coverage.
• Manage Expectations - With both coworkers and clients, it is critical everyone is informed about any disruptions in your usual response time. However, its not always necessary to set an out-of-office or change your voicemail, and in some cases it can appear much seamless if you mention to others that it make take a bit longer to get a response in a more casual format. This can avoid making others feel hesitant about sending you emails or calling as an out-of-office reply often does.

A bit of proactive planning can go a long way towards making sure your travel days are as productive as your office days. Technology can be a huge help when planned ahead, but when treated casually it can lead to very inefficient travel days. A ton of great resources are available such as this podcast, or the blog LifeHacker.

Aastra 6739i Released!

Aastra has announced the formal release of their new 6739i flagship wideband desktop ip phone. The Aastra 6739i ups the ante for SIP standard desktop IP phones with a huge color touch screen combined with an intuitive interface and navigation menus. The Aastra 6739i also supports high definition sound with Aastra Hi-Q™ audio technology combined with full wideband handset and speakerphone hardware. The Aastra 6739i will also feature convenient native Bluetooth headset connectivity and gigabit ethernet onboard.

Business communications needs have evolved, and executives are demanding the best features and usability without having to make a huge up-front investment. The Aastra 6739i offers high definition audio quality and a full range of functions to a market that is continuing to demand best-in-class technology at a competitive price. said Simon Beebe, Vice President of Product Management, responsible for SIP phones at Aastra.

The Aastra 6739i is currently available for deployment on the Clearwave Solution’s CW.pbx business VoIP solution.

Backups for Small Businesses

These days, more and more of our work takes place virtually. If you are a small business owner without an IT department, backing up your computers may not always be top priority. With just a few minutes though, you can set up a system that will help in the event something happens to your machine or worst, your office. Here are three useful tools:

Time Machine – An automated back up tool from Apple, Time Machine backs up my laptop to an external hard drive each time it’s plug it in. PC owners should check out the Windows Backup and Restore Center.

Dropbox – With Dropbox, users simply choose or create a folder (or folders) to sync. Any time a file is added, edited or deleted from the folder on your computer it will be synced with your Dropbox account online. Dropbox is much more than a back up tool, and could warrant a post in itself. Take a look at their demo video to learn more. Up to 2GB of storage is free, with 50 GB running $10/month.

Mozy – Similar to Dropbox, Mozy backs up all your files on the web. It’s ideal for those looking to back up large amounts of files or media (photos, music, etc.). Mozy has free plans (up to 2GB) and paid plans for as little as $5/month with unlimited back up storage. Mozy also allows the user to back up his or her files at specified times such as during off hours or over the weekend, meaning your network won’t be strained during business hours.

All of the options mentioned above are simple to use, and happen mostly behind the scenes. Spend a few minutes getting set up properly, and you’ll barely notice a difference in your workflow. Then rest easily knowing you’re covered.