Other than calls and messaging, I try to leverage my phone for different work activities.
- Tethering is one of the obvious go-to actions when I’m working from a coffee shop. This process is a VPN for security purposes which also lets me connect to our intranet (accessible from a static IP). I run a VPN for security purposes which also lets me connect to our intranet (accessible from a static IP).
- Our project management and version control systems are accessible through mobile. Even when I’m wrapping up a meeting, I can add a new partner or a freelancer to our accounts – or even create a new email account from my phone, invite them to Asana and add them as collaborators on GitHub or Bitbucket.
- Occasionally, I need to review some server logs or restart a service in a private VPS. I’ve added my private keys in JuiceSSH which lets me connect and interact with any remote server I’m authorized on (and do whatever I’d do from a laptop).
- I have a portable external bluetooth keyboard that I use if I need to use my phone and don’t fancy carrying a bag.
- Some of our remote freelancers are hired through Upwork for accounting/invoicing reasons. I can message with them through the app, increase their contract quotas, update their hourly rates and so on.
- We use Google Hangouts or Zoom for video meetings with partners or clients. Both apps work just fine on mobile – I can schedule a meeting, send invites, and host the video conference through my phone.
- I have a smartwatch connected to my phone. It receives notifications from my messaging apps. When I’m driving, I can respond with a voice message that’s translated to text and sent as a reply.
- I manage our family budget with a smartphone app as well. That gets synced to a spreadsheet and lives in the cloud – so I can review reports from my laptop twice a month.
- Over the weekend, I usually listen to business podcasts, read Amazon Kindle books, or listen to Audible books as well.
- I have a couple of smart gadgets at home that I could control remotely. That comes handy in the winter when I can turn on our AC/heaters when I’m leaving the office and make sure that I’m not freezing once I get home.
Overall, I’m trying to port most of my notebook work to my smartphone as a backup plan. I can write blog posts or edit Google Docs files on the go, chat with my teammates or clients, schedule calls and do everything else that a smartphone could do.
