Keep Everything You Need Offline; Download ‘Em
No matter how advanced or powerful they make online applications, web-based software will always be dependent on connectivity. Without any Internet, no work can get done. I’m learning the hard way of not keeping a certain project’s assets on my computer.
It’s reasonable to say that the Internet is a must-have for any freelancer, particularly those who do a lot of work online. But as my web hosting proprietor friend says: 100% uptime is impossible.
Yes, connectivity is your virtual right, especially when you’re paying for it. But if you’ve already called tech support, and they’re scrambling to restore your connection, how do you get work done during the downtime?
Like I said, a good idea would be to keep what you need for a project on your computer. Once you’ve found ideas or items you can use for your project online, download them. Once you receive the instructions from your client in email, download them (of course, if you use a normal, non-web-based email client, this is already done for you). Once you receive some further instructions to mock-ups to held guide your work, download them.
I now find myself with all the time in the world to start working on a design project, but without any way of doing that. My client’s instructions are stuck somewhere in my Gmail account, while only my service provider knows what happened to my connectivity.
By downloading anything you think will be useful for a project, you won’t be caught up the creek without a paddle if and when you lose your connectivity. Even if you have no Internet access for half an hour, that’s still some wasted time. It’s true that more and more of us are getting dependent on the online world to get anything significant done, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to do anything when we get cut off.
As for this post, I’m publishing it once I get my connectivity back.
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POSTED IN: Useful Info, Ways to Work Faster
6 opinions for Keep Everything You Need Offline; Download ‘Em
Shannon
Nov 20, 2007 at 7:50 am
I learned my lesson on Friday, when I lost power for 3 hours. I couldn’t access my files so really couldn’t do much work. I spent the rest of the weekend playing catchup.
So I done two things:
1) back up onto a mini drive every evening so I can just plug it in to my laptop when needed
2) Download all files needed for any project.
Comfort or Creative Flow?
Nov 20, 2007 at 8:01 am
[…] being disconnected has its benefits, as I feel that the lack of distraction has placed me in a writing flow. […]
Rico
Nov 20, 2007 at 9:12 am
The backing up to the mini drive is also great advice, because you never know (heaven forbid) when your computer itself will fail!
Thanks Shannon! :)
Is it possible that the Internet will be hurting us?
Nov 20, 2007 at 11:44 am
[…] over at Contract Worker shares some ideas on what to do when there isn’t an Internet connection.Take a look and see what you can incorporate to make your world less virtual. Tags: Share […]
Contract Worker
Dec 17, 2007 at 8:07 am
[…] like any other web-based app, the need for connectivity is Gliffy’s weakness. Without access to the Internet, it would impossible to run Gliffy, much less get any work done […]
Web Worker Daily Lists the Cons of Working Online
Jun 2, 2008 at 11:47 am
[…] a Web Worker may be moot. I honestly feel that freelancers who don’t do anything online are behind the times, because even professions that rely little on a computer do so for communication, project […]
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