Sometimes you need to work when you’ve also committed to being somewhere else. Maybe your dad’s taxi or away on vacation – whatever the reason, being able to work from a car is helpful. As such here are a few tips I’ve found through trial and error:

Keep it Short and Infrequent. I cannot actually recommend trying to do too much ‘real work’ in a car. It is not healthy for your posture or especially productive, however the occasional conference call meeting works fine.

Don’t Drive and Demo. If you’re driving, don’t try to watch a screen-share or worse still attempt to demo something. It’s horribly dangerous and is just not worth trying (being illegal also). Either pull-over, ask to demo later on (once you’ve parked up), or simply reschedule. Also, once you’re stationary and using your mobile phone for conference calls, don’t forget to disconnect the bluetooth from the car.

Quiet Parking Space. Find a parking spot away from too much background noise. Nothing worse than distraction and others thinking you are not committed to your job.

Comfort. Ensure the space (if you can) is not in direct sunlight, as the glare can be tough on the eyes, plus in summer you soon get hot without air-con running. Opening windows/doors lets in too much background noise. Similarly in winter ensure the car is warm before you start, as it soon cools down with the engine (heating) off.

Discretion. Stay away from very public or high-crime areas. Visibly showing you’ve got computing equipment in your car could lead to a later break-in.

Personal Space. Having the ability to juggle devices is important … I use the passenger seat, with the chair all-the-way back, allowing enough space for laptop screen at a visible angle, phone in a cradle, and various other peripherals.

Internet. Don’t rely on sharing other peoples internet, especially if you’re attending important calls. You could pair with your phone to share connection, but it can be expensive and slow. I recommend a mobile internet dongle, they’re under-publicized, and plugs straight into your laptop USB port and magically works. It has a data SIM card inside so you pay a monthly (or top-up) fee – just like a mobile-ready tablet. It has a phone number assigned, but as a dongle clearly you can’t make calls. Amusingly I recently wanted to change my dongle plan, and the provider kept telling me to enter the two-factor authentication key they just texted … to my dongle! Frustrated I telephoned them and they told to slip the sim card into a mobile phone – obviously really. The dongle is my home internet backup plan too, meaning I don’t have to relocate if my home internet goes down.