I'm a big believer in the idea that work is what I do, not where I go (am) and that with the right systems in place I could work anywhere. Recently, the opportunity to test that theory manifested itself. I just returned from spending a significant amount of time "out of town" and that meant away from my office. Some of the tools that helped me stay in touch with clients and the projects I was working on?
Skype - I've been using free Skype for about a year now, but with the Pro package (purchased for my travels) I was able to save tons of money on phone charges and still have clear, regular, reliable telecommunications with clients. My Skype number is now my "office" number.
MyFax - For $10 a month this fax service proved an invaluable addition to my arsenal of admin tools. Anytime a client sent a fax MyFax sent me an email alert. Sending and receiving with this service is easier than making sure my office fax has paper and a good ink cartridge in it.
Zoho - I love zoho projects and am a big fan of zoho meeting. Now I'm a fan of the rest of their web-based apps. Check 'em out. 'Nuff said.
RTM - Remember the Milk is now Twitter compatable and if you use Launchy with cURL you've got an unbeatable way of painlessly managing a task list. You can also use RTM with AIM or have them text you the reminder.
Launchy - Launchy is a free windows utility that can launch your documents, folders, and more without taking your hands off the keyboard. It leaves a small footprint, is intuitive like no other program of its kind (that I've tried), slick-looking, and with a few custom batch files I suspect it can do anything. Check out Life-Hacker for more info about this and other life-saving utilities. BTW cURL is an open source command line tool for transferring data with URL syntax.
Add to all of this my ongoing remote access to files and junk on my server and I really was able to be out of town and stay in touch. If you don't have a file server stuck in the corner of your office, try using an online storage service like Box.net or Omnidrive.
