How to work with your MacBook away from home

Important points

We want to start this post by making a brief summary of the most important points that any user who wants to use a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro to work away from home has to take into account. In this way, and taking care of the details that we are going to mention, you will be able to achieve a truly satisfactory experience, which is exactly what Apple wants you to have when you use one of these two devices.

• To work away from home, one of the points that you have to have well controlled is the way in which you are going to connect to the internet .
• Where are you going to work? Having a well located place where you feel comfortable and that facilitates concentration is vital.
• If you have an iPad , it will surely be great for you thanks to the large number of functions it has to complement the work you will do on your Apple computer.
• Other accessories such as a mouse and, of course, headphones are key to working comfortably, yes, always depending on your needs, since there are many users who, for example, prefer to use the MacBook’s own trackpad.

Manage the internet connection

The first thing you have to take into account is the internet connection you are going to have and, above all, the one you are going to need to be able to work without any problem. Depending on the type of work you want to do, this requirement will be more or less demanding, but what is certain is that at some point you will have to have an internet connection, therefore you have to take it into account.

Share WiFi from iPhone

The first option that we propose is that you yourself provide your work team with the internet connection they need. Usually, the vast majority of users already have a virtually unlimited data rate on their iPhone and this may be one of the best options you can use to connect to the Internet when you work away from home.

However, not everything is perfect, since you have to take into account a series of points. First of all, and surely the most important thing, is whether you really have an unlimited data rate, since, on the contrary, you will have to be watching your consumption so as not to run out of data until the next renewal. On the other hand, sharing the internet from your iPhone is a process that usually consumes a lot of battery , so if your device does not have a very long autonomy, our recommendation is that you use a portable battery, or that you simply connect the terminal to the computer to save battery life.

Finally, and this is also very important, you have to know that usually the speed you will have when you access the internet through this way will not be very fast, so if at any time you need a great internet connection, we are sorry to tell you that you will not be able to count on this route. However, for regular and daily use, with the speed that the iPhone’s internet connection will provide you, it will be more than enough.

Use a VPN

Many users have as their first option to connect to the internet to use a public Wi-Fi network , be it that of a cafeteria or even that of a library. Well, this is a practice that we do not recommend at any time, especially if the information you work with is confidential or could endanger the integrity of your company or a specific project.

The chances that someone can access all your information by the simple fact of connecting to a public network that, in addition, is probably not very secure, are very high. But beware, for this there is a great solution that you surely know, or at least, have heard of it, are VPNs. This practice will ensure that all your information is encrypted , and even if you are still connected to a public network, you will be protected against those who want to violate your privacy.

location matters

Another important point that we mentioned at the beginning of this post is the place you choose to work. This will surely affect how efficient and productive you become during your working day, therefore, you have to make the choice correctly. Not only do you have to take into account the comfort of the chair or armchair in which you sit, but also the atmosphere that is breathed in said environment.

Usually the recommendation made for those people who want to work with their MacBook away from home is that they look for an environment where concentration is breathed . However, this is surely the most personal point of all that we are going to talk about, since there are both users capable of concentrating in a cafeteria, and others who do need to be in a library or workplace to perform at one hundred for one hundrerd.

Enhance the experience with these accessories

Fortunately, the fact of working away from home or from your workplace does not mean that you have to put aside the use of other devices or accessories that make your work easier, both inside and outside. Therefore, below we want to talk to you about a series of devices that will surely come in handy to increase your productivity when you work away from home.

Use your iPad

One of the best devices with which you can complement the work of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is the iPad, both for what you can do with each of them individually, and for what you can do with the combination of both devices thanks to the functions that exist within the Apple ecosystem to make users more and more productive using these equipment.

The iPad may be, in this case, the best secondary screen that you can use together with your Mac. Thanks to the Sidecar function, you can use it as a second monitor, and in addition, it will also allow you to interact by touch, that is, it is practically like have a Mac with a touch screen. On the other hand, you also have Universal Control , which will allow you to use the two devices individually, that is, each one with its own operating system, but control them with the same peripherals. This way you can control your iPad with the MacBook keyboard and trackpad, or vice versa, control your MacBook with the keyboard and trackpad of your iPad if you use the Magic Keyboard.

In addition, thanks to the great synchronization that Apple devices have, you can also easily transfer a multitude of files and documents from your iPad to your Mac and vice versa. To do this you can use AirDrop or, even if you use the Universal Control function, you can drag these files from one to another as if both screens were part of the same computer.

A mouse?

Surely if you are used to working at home or in your office, you are also used to doing it with a mouse, especially if you usually have your MacBook connected to an external monitor. If that’s your case, we want to recommend two mice that will undoubtedly help you improve the experience of working with your MacBook away from home.

Apple Magic Mouse

The Apple mouse is one of the best options you can opt for, not only because it has a minimalist design and its ergonomics are ideal, but also because it provides you with all the possibilities that you also have when you use the MacBook’s own trackpad. All the gestures you can do with it , you can also do with this mouse.

In addition, it has a very compact size , which makes it ideal to be able to transport it and that it is not one more weight to take into account, since you will practically not even notice that you are carrying it. Of course, you always have to keep in mind that it has enough battery to be able to use it, although in that sense you won’t have to worry much either since its autonomy is very good.

Logitech MX Master 3

If what you are looking for in a mouse is to help you be as productive as possible, without a doubt this Logitech MX Master 3 is the choice you have to make. We could call it the mouse of effectiveness , and it has a large number of buttons distributed throughout its body that, in addition, you can configure in a completely personalized way so that each one of them performs the action you want.

But it is that this does not end here, since each one of the configurable actions can also be customized for each application that you use. In other words, in each app you can have a different configuration of the buttons depending on the actions that you usually carry out on a daily basis in them.

best headphones

The fact of having a mouse or not is something very personal and that surely responds to the tastes of each one. However, what is practically essential to be able to work well away from home with your Apple laptop is to also have good headphones that give you that extra concentration.

AirPods Pro

Surely the most complete headphones in the entire market are the AirPods Pro, since we can consider them as all-terrain headphones that will help you do practically any activity that you propose with them. In this case we will focus on the benefits they have and how they can help you work better with your MacBook away from home.

The main point for which we recommend these headphones is because of the fantastic noise cancellation they have, capable of completely isolating you from the entire environment in which you find yourself. But it is that in addition, they also have the ambient mode that gives you just the opposite and that will make it easier for you to perfectly listen to all those conversations that you can have with other people without having to take them off.

SonyWH1000XM4

If we focus on headband headphones, the chosen ones are the Sony WH1000XM4, since without a doubt they have the best quality/price ratio within their range. Its design is compact, with resistant and durable materials, as well as being available in different colors so you can choose the one you like best.

However, and we mention it again, the main value of these helmets is their noise cancellation , especially considering that we are focusing on working outside the home and we do not know the noise conditions in which you can find when you put your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air to work.

This is our experience

To finish this post, we want to tell you about our experience working, in this case, with the MacBook Pro away from home. The first thing I want you to know are the accessories that I use regularly, and they are the AirPods Max and the iPad . I think the AirPods Max are better than the Sony WH1000XM4, but unless you can get them at a deep discount, the difference in experience with one and the other doesn’t justify the difference in price.

The iPad , as we mentioned, is an ideal element to be able to support yourself on it and facilitate the work you are doing with the MacBook Pro. Personally, the function that I usually use is Universal Control , since in this way I can take advantage of the benefits that they have for one side macOS and on the other iPadOS. Finally, in my case I do not use a mouse since I feel very comfortable with the trackpad of the Mac itself.

Once you know what equipment I use, my experience working away from home with these devices is fantastic. The MacBook Pro has a really enviable autonomy, allowing me to use it for a whole day without having to connect it to the mains, yes, just in case I always carry the charger in my backpack. If it is true that, in some cases I can miss the 28.2-inch screen with which I usually work in my room, but its use is made up perfectly with the iPad. In short, the MacBook Pro is a fully prepared tool so that its users have a very satisfactory experience when using it to work on the move, even more so if you accompany it with the right accessories.