To find out how you can become a professional tech traveler with just a few DIY tricks, read the tips below.
1. Easy Cable Management
Organizing your cables and placing them in the correct place will lower your stress levels when traveling, especially when it comes to moving in-and-out of bags while going through airport security.
Follow this checklist to manage your cables:
Stick to what is necessary by only taking one of each type of cable (i. e. USB C or Mini USB). This might seem obvious, but one cable can often be used across multiple devices like your phone or tablet. Additionally, where possible opt for a universal cable that has multiple different cables in one. Learn how to correctly coil a cable so you don’t end up with knotted cords. Here is an easy YouTube video showing you exactly how to coil your cable correctly. Note: this can be scaled down and used on headphone cables, USB cables, laptop chargers, and more. “Pouch” your cables, or in other words, place your cables into a small bag. Look around your home for an old bathroom bag or even a sunglass case, you can use these objects to hold your cables in one place so that they aren’t loose in your suitcase where they can easily become tangled and difficult to locate in a hurry. Place your cables in the correct place by carrying essential items like your phone, tablet, or laptop chargers in your backpack or purse. If your device runs low on charge, you can then make use of charging ports on flights, trains, or waiting rooms. Getting into this habit will save you a lot of trouble in the future!
2. Improvised Laptop Stand
A laptop stand is an incredibly useful object that has a couple of key benefits. It supports good working posture over long term laptop use and, in the case of remote work calls over Zoom or Skype, will help you to appear more professional. You can save on money and luggage space by creating a laptop stand out of common objects.
Next time your boss calls, instead of looking up at your chin from a low angle, your improvised laptop stand will help you to place the camera correctly at eye level. Check out the photo above for the variations we came up with using common objects, or check out some DIY laptop stands you can make over the weekend.
3. Forgotten Charging Cable
Instead of do-it-yourself, this tip is more like ask-for-yourself! With a bit of DIY spirit, you can ask anyone at the locations below for a bit of help. This might just save you in a pinch when you desperately need to charge your phone but you’ve forgotten your charger at home.
Ask hotel staff if they have a spare cable you can borrow. It is not uncommon for staff to charge their own phones while at work, or else have a spare charging cable left behind by a hotel guest. Visit a local library and ask if somebody there wouldn’t mind you plugging into their charger for a while. Libraries are great resources when you are stuck for help. Restaurants and cafes are not the first place you would think of but again, staff are likely to be charging their own phone at work and might not mind charging your device while you sit and have a coffee. At an airport you may be lucky if they have a charging station, these days they are becoming frequent as more of us travel with our tech. If you really need to top up your phones charge before making it to your next destination, see if another passenger wouldn’t mind lending you their cable while you wait for your flight. Similarly, USB ports on planes, trains, and buses are becoming a standard addition to transport, and if you ask politely, a fellow passenger might be kind enough to lend you their charging cable while you transit.
4. A Television as a Second Monitor
At your hotel or Airbnb there is one device that is likely to be present every single time: a television. Make use of this fact by carrying an HDMI cable with you so that you can turn the TV into a second monitor for your laptop. This tip is incredibly valuable for travelers who might do audio production work or film editing and need just that bit of extra screen.
If not for work, then simply use it to watch your own media or setup a larger screen for playing your video games. By and large, this beats bringing a second monitor in your luggage and makes working, or enjoying entertainment, much more fun.
5. DIY Damage Protection
The final thing to consider is how to keep all your tech safe. If you are on a budget, this list contains some really great DIY steps that you can easily do.
Start by leaving your expensive things behind. Can you get away with taking your tablet and leaving your laptop behind? Or if you’re worried about taking off your smart watch while you relax by the pool side, why not leave it behind and take an old watch instead? Brand wear attracts attention from thieves so a simple solution is to take some duck tape and place it over the logo. A good example of this is your Nikon or Canon camera bag. Build your own laptop sleeve if you don’t already own one, and don’t fancy buying an expensive case. There are many DIY options out there but the most rudimental, yet highly achievable method, is to simply use foam. Head to a hardware store and buy a piece of foam with a minimum thickness of 1cm (buy a thicker size for added protection). Measure out the foam to the size of your laptop and cut and super glue the sleeve together. About as simple as it gets. Use your Dropbox account to locate a stolen or misplaced laptop. Your online account keeps a record of the last place that you logged in from, and because your Dropbox frequently syncs to the internet, it will contain updated location data. By knowing this, you can either hand this information to the authorities if it is stolen, or figure out the location where you might have left your device behind in a library or cafe. Watch this YouTube video to find out how to get the IP address of your missing device through Dropbox, then run the IP address through a website that has the function called ‘Look Up My IP Address Location’.
Professional Tech Traveller
These simple tricks will ultimately help you to become a more organized and savvy tech traveler. With a bit of creative thinking, you can now see how to acquire a second monitor while traveling, or how to locate your missing device through Dropbox. Inexpensive and easy to achieve, incorporating even a few of these tips will prevent stressful situations from happening in the future.
If you have these tricks under your belt already, then building your own Raspberry Pi cloud server might be the next project to try. This is especially useful for accessing your files while you’re traveling through a DIY cloud system that you build yourself.
