I am always working with interesting people when I go to coworking spaces and I often wonder what people consider the essentials to carry with them when they head out for work as a freelancer.
A number of my friends have done this kind of blog entry, and it kind of interested me so here is what items I carry in mine.
- 2015 WordCamp Manchester Bag, it was a sponsorship bag but has been one of the most helpful things that any sponsor has ever given out. I was on the organising team and as a result, have 3 or 4 of these bags.
- My trusty MacBook Pro (think it is a 2015 model), this was a present from my mum a few years ago when I turned 40. It has USB ports which makes me oddly happy.
- Secondhand iPhone 6s (128GB), I object to buying new phones that cost the earth, I often tether to it, and the observant people who read this post will realise it is just the case as I have used the phone to take this picture.
- Wallet, increasing seem to ruin wallets, I know that I use my a lot but probably have to buy a new one every couple of years as I ware them out, this one probably has another 3 months left in it.
- Yes, it is a South Park pencil case, I have had it for years I think I bought it in my second year at uni which is in 1998, so the year after Soth Park started. As you might imagine it is filled with all the useful items one might need, including a set of watercolour pencils.
- Moleskine classic squared notebook, for day to day notes and doodles, I love these, again this one was a thoughtful gift from family, but I do buy them whenever I need one.
- Logitech Marathon M705 Wireless Laptop Computer Mouse, Black. I don’t like the apple mouse much, and this might be why I am so happy that my Mac still has a USB port.
- I almost always have antihistamine tablets with me as I seem to be allergic to more and more stuff these days.
- Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Fast Absorbing Hand Cream. I get dry hands, and also this prevents my need for more severe creams for eczema so always good to have some on hand.
- Tissues, well everyone should carry some.
- Nikon DX 35mm f/1.8G AF-S Standard Lens I like photography and sometimes I find a fixed length lens makes a huge difference, in this case, I enjoy the wide aperture.
- Nikon D3000 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR Lens Kit had this a while it is my default camera although I do use the one on my iPhone quite a lot too. There is a newer model now, I would guess the Nikon D5600 Digital SLR is the equivalent of what mine was when I got it.
- Aero Freedom Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Headphones Headset I work in noisy spaces sometimes and a bit of music can make all the difference, to be fair I sometimes just put them on for the noise-cancelling option.
- AUKEY Power Bank. I use my phone a lot, plus I run far too many apps on it including hungry apps like Pokémon Go.
- Flask Tumbler Matt Black Stainless Steel Vacuum Sealed, pretty sure this one is from Starbucks although I use it a lot in other places mostly during the winter for either mint tea or hot chocolate.
- Lightning to USB cable, I use a lot of these, there does not seem to be a standard cable that does not break given time, I mostly buy them on eBay or Amazon depending on how confident I am feeling about the seller.
- Steel water bottle, this was a gift so no link, but I like that it keeps my water coldish, whatever the weather I will have this with me.
- Mu Plug (black) this one is good for tablets and phones, I love these plugs they are so small, great for travelling.
- Buffalo MiniStation Safe 1TB External Hard Drive, I use these for backups, and random other stuff I have a few but tend to only carry one with me… I back up to the cloud and to these at least twice a week.
- Worldwide travel plug, I always carry one, this one is great because it has 3 USB ports this is particularly helpful when you are in a co-working space and plugs are limited.
- USB-c cable works for my Bluetooth headphone and Aukey power bank, always good to have one for friends too.
- Mu Plug, this is an older one that I have not stopped carrying around it is really only good for charging phones.
Of course, there are often other bits in my bag but these are the things I normally carry around, things do get left at hope from time to time, especially because I swap bags at least once a week.
Seems like a comprehensive list, I note that there are a couple of sites dedicated to this kind of post. I got my inspiration from a post that my friend Rhys did in August last year. I quite like the Flickr group that is dedicated to this kind of post.