I am not sure why, but I have a backpack that I use to cart around my ’stuff’. We’re talking standard gear: laptop, Blackberry, Razr, camera, sunglasses, all-in-one utility tool, Navy Seal blade (don’t worry, it’s small) 5 pens, bag of mixed nuts for a little snack, etc. Ok, who am I kidding, it’s an adult school bag or worse, a manbag (if you will allow me to steal a line from Seinfeld).
Wait, let me take a step back, I know why I carry this thing around, I want to know that I have everything I may need. I can write for a blog, answer someone on twitter and I can even pull a MacGyver if some hooligans tie-up me and my Starbucks cronies while they rob the place.
In reality, I can’t think of the last time I needed more than one device at a time. Have I ever been so unorganized that I needed everything in one trip from home? No. Never.
While I will climb mountains and sing songs for the appreciation I have for workspace freedom and the nomadinization of employees, I am second guessing a few things.
Mike Koehler is a writer on my blog, Dumb Little Man. Recently he asked, “Does the iPhone Make You Less Productive?“ This question got me thinking about my manbag. Does having 15 tools at your side more productive or more cluttered? More “Ready” or more “What did I forget?”
For me, I contend that it’s the latter Every time I leave the house I turn into a headcase worrying about my manbag. Do I have it all? Did I put those sunglasses in there? It’s driven me batty and frankly, I don’t know how women do it with purses.
I digress. My point is that being a nomad doesn’t mean having to prove you are a nomad by having 80 tools, devices, cool manbags, etc. Take what you need for the job, leave the rest. Your mind and your producivity levels will thank you for it.
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Brilliant! I’m just the same except I’m at home so I have all my things lined up around the screen in preparation for action! Coffee, headphones, camera, water, memory card reader, speakers, smokes, juggling balls and magazines - Brain Stimulation!
Can’t help but notice that it’s a bloke worried about his gear. I remember in school the guys showing up for tests with nothing in hand and turning to the various girls asking to borrow pencil, pen and paper. I always wondered how in the world guy’s could do walk around with nothing but a wallet in their pockets. As George Carlin pointed out — and the homeless with their carts demonstrate — we are a species that collects stuff. Even Bedouins! Some of us are just genetically or culturally inclined to collect more stuff than others.
The trick, as any woman or hard-core backpacker can tell you, is being selective. Determine what you absolutely need and get a case that doesn’t hold much more. One of the temptations of the iPhone is the ability to have a combination web-enabled computer and cell phone plus entertainment unit in one small object.
Fun post! Now excuse me as I pack up my computer, security cable, power cable, hardcover book, iPod, ipod ear buds, ipod power cable, paperback novel, newspaper, hardcopy calendar, journal, pens, pencil and password book so I can hit the restroom before traveling to my next WiFi access meeting.