Things that can make a Traveling Lifestyle a little easier

1. Gmail

www.gmail.com
These days you HAVE to have email to communicate. My recruiters have my email address. The hospital has my email address. It is something that gets given out frequently. I have used Gmail for many years now. What got me to change initially was 2 things, the storage capacity & the speed. When I joined it was 1 GB which was unheard of. Today it is 7351 MB (7.18 GB), but I am only using 1959 MB (1.91 GB). I was very happy when Gmail opened up IMAP. While I could use POP protocol. IMAP keeps you folders/labels synced across systems. This is handy when you use several devices to access your email to file an email and have it filed in all systems.
2. iPhone

www.apple.com/iphone
I love my iPhone. I was in line parties for every single release of the phone. I can do so much with just this little device. I can check email, rent & watch a movie, internet access when I’m on the road (granted it is a little awkward on such a small screen), phone calls (duh! It is practially my only phone access when I’m on the road), and once AT&T allows TETHERING! to my Mac.
3. Neat Receipts
www.neatco.com
My profession requires lots of paperwork such as TB skin tests, TB Mask fittings, license cards, certification cards, etc. And changing contracts generate even more. So being able to scan documents in and email them off in PDF format to the person who needs it today is extremely handy.
4. Google Voice

www.google.com/voice
I have expanded on this before. I use it for calling people & as a contact manager. GV Mobile app on my iPhone makes this service much easier to use while on the road.
5. Airport Express
www.apple.com/airportexpress
It is a router the size of a power converter. Just plug your network cable up and you have 802.11N WiFi up and running in a small compact size.
6. TomTom GPS

www.tomtom.com
So you might could substitute another brand, but when you frequently travel places you don’t know where you are going this is a lifesaver. It will automatically reroute you if you make a wrong turn or take the wrong exit. I really look forward to the TomTom for iPhone though I won’t be giving up my old unit until I am sure how the iPhone software works.
7. Amazon Kindle

www.amazon.com/kindle
I love my books. My dad complains about the number of books I own every time I move. So I decided to try the Kindle. I must say that I love it. Books I have in 2 bookcases can fit into a device smaller than a hardback book. Plus this book can read you the book.  I find this extremely useful. I can read while eating then hop in the car, turn on the text-to-spech whil I drive. It knows what page I was on in the story and when I stop it is on the page that was last read. I can pick up right there. I can buy books on the go and I also can subscribe to blogs. newspapers & magazines. What a way to go green! I can purchase over the air. In fact the Tell Harlequin panel I am on sent me 2 books. I couldn’t really get into them with my current time limitations. So before a long drive I downloaded the books and played them while I drove. Then I got to complete the survey for those books.
I must confess that I like  the Twilight series. I emailed the partial novel in PDF on the author’s website to my kindle’s special email address and it resides there along with the novels that were published.
I can pre-order the J.D. Robb books I read and it will be wirelessly delivered to my Kindle on its release date. Now if only I could get the Harry Potter series on it.
8. Pocket Sized Notebook

I love my moleskins. Yes, I look up lots of things online and write them in. I made a “City Guide” book for my most recent travel assignment. It had the address I was staying at, the address of the office I was to report to. My hotel information (yes, I used TripIt then placed it in) went in too because I was going to have a night on the road in a hotel and a night after I arrived in the hotel because of not going to be able to turn on the power. Nearby stores such as Ikea & Target & Petsmart went in along with places I wanted to visit such as the Zoo & the Aquarium. I also wrote in info that I would want such as operating hours and admission prices.
9. Evernote

www.evernote.com
I take a lot of notes and I need those notes in multiple places at different times. So I use Evernote. I can take a note on my iPhone or my Mac or even my eeePC and access it again from any of these devices. It searches images for text within the image. So you can take a snapshot and it will be searchable. Some business people are using it to capture whiteboards before they erase them. Me, I just snap a handwritten note with my iPhone camera.
I love that there are multiple ways to get info into Evernote. I’ve mentioned the camera, but you can also:
There are lots of uber-organized ways to manage notebooks & tags, but my prefered method is search. Tagging & Notebooks take time that I have in limited amounts and I have very little patience with it. Plus I don’t keep 50+ notes in most of my folders. I would end up with 4-5 notes so it is just easier to maintain 1 big folder & a few tags.