A Week in the Clouds Without a Notebook

On average I travel for business about seven to 15 days a month. Sometimes it can get a bit nuts, but I love it - I never get bored. This is one of those weeks. I will literally be in the clouds all week both virtually and physically.

I am starting my journey today in Toronto. Tomorrow I am speaking at the MIXX conference and will also participate in staff, client, industry and press meetings. Wednesday I head to Atlanta for the day for another private event and then right back up to Montreal that night. Thursday I am speaking at MIXX in Montreal. I head home for one night and then do a round-trip from NY to DC on Friday for, yes, another speaking gig. (Map above. I like maps!)

Despite the travel, however, I still need to be productive. I need to stay in touch with my colleagues and clients and also do some writing. Also, I want to stay in touch with you here on my lifestream and on social networks. Mobile technology is my friend here.

I have a couple of different laptops that I take on trips. All of them are light. But you see, I am on a quest. I want ditch my laptop on every trip and only carry a smartphone and my Iamakey for the rest. Right now I have an iPhone 3GS but I may add a Blackberry to complement it. My key files and even some portable apps are encrypted on the USB key.

The reason is simple: all of these devices are pocketable. A laptop isn't. I don't want to carry a laptop because it's mental baggage. I don't want to be thinking about where it is. Smartphones and USB keys are like appendages. I always know where they are. Plus, I know that one day soon we won't need to carry laptops on business trips because these phones - which are really pocket computers - will be able to do it all, including hook up to hotel TVs. I am trying to experience this future now.

I have gone sans laptop on business trips before but this one at three nights is the longest one yet - although I am home for one night in between trips. I have tweaked my setup so that the apps and services I use on my smartphone are identical to what I use on my Mac at home and - to a large degree - my desktop PC at work. I like the simplicity and consistency of it all.

Here's what I using... (workflow below)

• Writing and To Do List - WriteRoom (which now has TextExpander support to speed up typing)


• Contacts and Calendar - Address Book and iCal, which connect with our Exchange Server 


• Notes - WriteRoom for temporary storage, Evernote for archiving (more on this in a subsequent post on lifelogging)


• Files - Documents to Go, and if necessary, my IamaKey and Box.net/Sharepoint


• Mindmapping - Mindjet and Mindnode


• RSS - NetNewsWire, which syncs to Google Reader


• Twitter - Tweetie


• Plus, of course, Posterous and Instapaper for sharing and reading

The only thing I can't do with this setup is create or edit a PowerPoint deck, although I can view them. This is one reason I am considering getting a Blackberry too - you can edit PPT. I don't anticipate I will need to on this trip. However, I will need to write, but I can actually do so on my phone quite comfortably. If some people can write books on cell phones, then I can certainly crank out shorter stuff too.

You probably think I am nuts, but I hate carrying laptops. I have done so for years. I will keep you posted on my progress. Sometimes I am on the road seven or nine days at a time. I don't think I can ditch a laptop on these trips, but this journey might convince me otherwise. Wish me luck.

Comments

[iamtk]

Good luck! I know what you mean about laptops being metal baggage! The only alternative I was looking at was this http://bit.ly/KEieo, a netbook running xp with a reported 11 hour battery life - previous models have good reviews here in the UK. The iphone is still pretty amazing at doing most tasks however.

[Steve Rubel]

@Iam for some things the iPhone is awesome. However, you can create, edit or project PPTs and that's a big issue. It's more the editing of a PPT. Projecting usually there's a PC wherever I go.

[Mimi Xu]

I also carry both an iPhone + a Blackberry, one is more for work, the other for play. The two complement each other well + many of my friends carry both as well.

[thursdayb]

I've actually been making it a policy to leave my laptop at home when I go to conferences lately. Even if I'm covering a conference for one of the sites I write for, I can take all the notes I need on my phone or with a pad of paper — and I've found my notes are much better when I don't have the distraction of the web easily accessible.

[Steve Rubel]

@Thursday I find I pay attention more in meetings when my laptop is closed - even if I am using my phone for notes. 

[daviding]

Thanks for pointing out http://portableapps.com . It's an intriguing idea to travel with just a USB stick and have more than just data.

[Stacy Stone]

Interesting, Steve. I'm all about optimizing and streamlining.. but I'm not quite satisfied enough with the iPhone to just use it on a trip. I am really interested in the new devices coming out, specifically devices like the S10 Blade. Have you seen any of the reports from the Intel Developers Forum? Here's one of the videos from PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/172584/new_mobile_internet_devices_at_the_intel_developer_forum.html

[Steve Rubel]

@Stacy I haven't but will check them out. Thx.

[Nitin Badjatia]

@steve Do you carry around extra iPhone batteries with you as well? I've found the battery life issue to be a problem when I've done conferences with just the iPhone in tow.

[Steve Rubel]

Absolutely. I carry this - and chargers.http://gizmodo.com/5350880/review-duracell-instant-chargers-arepretty-perfect

[Mark Jacobs]

The way to go, Steve!

[CJ Guest]

Thanks for posting some of your tools Steve! I'm on a similar quest. I'm also trying to forgo my laptop in lieu of my iPhone and the Cloud. Though I'm curious... with all the Cloud apps available, why use a USB thumbdrive at all? Is it a security thing?

[Xavier Moisant]

As you, i am wishing to let my laptop at home. I am waiting for the dropbox app to be probably free if i can edit the PPT files on my iPhone.

[Steve Rubel]

@cj Yes security and speed. 

[gregg dourgarian]

i don't get it. stay home. your bed, your wife, your kids. use the electronics to communicate, and for the love of God do it on a device small or big that checks for SPELLING and TYPOS.

[Jeff Larche]

Steve, I too use my cell phone for notes. The only disadvantage is I feel like those around me think I'm texting, or on some other app. I'd hate to think I'm being rude to the speaker. For that reason, I'm considering something like the LightScribe http://tinyurl.com/yczlcdj -- an electronic pen that uses special paper, but records everything digitally for storage and repurposing. A friend has one, and I'm considering borrowing it for some tests.Like you, the biggest test will be will it become "mental baggage?"

[Shaine Mata]

How about an app that allows you to convert pics to pdf? Use handwritten notes as slides.

[Steve Rubel]

Shane Evernote can do that. I still take notes on paper since it's rude to type on a phone. People think you're doing your email. 

[Joan Vinall-Cox]

Good luck on your laptopless travels & thanks for your informative posts on communication innovations

[Eoghann Irving]

I'm certainly not a fan of lugging laptops around, but trying to do any sort of substantive writing on a phone is just painful. Even note taking is irritating. I need a keyboard in order to keep up with my thoughts or the person speaking.I'm hoping more manufactures develop tablet/netbook combos like the Touch Book.

[Jim Kopeny]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all pans out!

[Esteban Trigos]

Steve, do you know DropBox?It's great !!

[Steve Rubel]

Esteban i do but there's no iPhone app yet. 

[Esteban Trigos]

yes, you're right

[saramiller]

4G for your cell phone is coming. Cell = handheld computer. 4G rollout by carrier: http://tinyurl.com/68qjvs