To increase productivity during this time of year and stay away from those to summer doldrums, take advantage of that wireless network card in your 'mobile workstation' and leave the cubical behind.

Changing the location of a workspace has been shown to sharpen our mind by presenting us with new stimuli and ideas. A little bit of change can jump-start our brain and give us the ability to tackle problems and discover solutions from a new perspective. Sunlight and fresh air also dramatically affects mental alertness and productivity as well. But really, we all know that. There is a reason why we all live in California, and not Alaska, right?

The problem is that we don't always feel like we CAN leave the office. Maybe we've got an overbearing supervisor, or are simply too tied down to the printers, fax machines, telephones, and other assorted office devices that we just have to have to get the job done. Perhaps, there is just too much work to be done.

The trick is to start small. Get a smart phone so that you can rest easy taking that post lunch stroll knowing that you'll get your important emails. Setup a call forword or a VOIP telephone system so that calls to the office will find you when your out and about. Enable synchronization between your laptop and server so that you have the electronic documents and email you need to take a two hour lunch in the sun. Work with an Electron and setup your office computer devices to be accessible from the road, or your 'home' office. Today it really is possible to work from anywhere with a whole lot less investment and frustration than half a decade ago.

The most difficult part about working somewhere else is often times finding a good internet connection. What is considered to be a good internet connection will vary from profession to profession, but most of us can get by for at least a few hours with just good old fashion email. Internet for email (and other tasks) is readily available from almost every cellular provider these days, but they come with long term contracts and setups that range from dummy easy to ridiculously difficult. For those of us less committed Good Electrons has created a list of fun coffee shops you can visit to get your telecommuting feet wet. Or if you are really really desperate you can always just go to a McDonald’s and check your stocks with a happy meal.

We understand that all of this might just sound crazy, but give it a shot. We spend aloooot of time on computers. Coming to the surface for air every once and a while has saved us many hours of frustration, and our clients quite a bit of money. Soak up some sun. You're working hard to be here on the Central Coast.