When you telecommute, you are very reliant on your technology. Your laptop and phone are your lifeline to getting your job done. So what happens when the lights - and the rest of your power - go out?

When you’re in the office, chances are they have backup generators. But I, for one, don’t have one of these lying around in my house. If I lose power, I can work on my laptop until the battery gives up. But that’s it.

And what about phone meetings? If all you have are electric phones - cordless phones - you’re in trouble. Thanks to an article in Information Week, where the author suggests keeping an old-fashioned corded phone around the house for just such an emergency. Wow - sometimes old-fashioned low-tech beats high-tech!

A few more suggestions are:

• Keep your laptop plugged in when you work at home - so your battery is always fully charged.
• Keep a spare laptop battery that you can swap out if needed - and keep that plugged in and fully charged.
• Keep a written/printed list of your co-workers’ phone #s - so you can reach them by phone even if your laptop battery is dead.

Any other ideas? Please post a comment and add them for other readers!

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