How To Plan For a Work From Home Emergency!

Let's paint this picture. You are in the middle of a huge event for a client. You are scheduled to run this event for the next 5 hours, and there is no one to take your place. Then, in the middle of your shift...the power goes out! 

So, what do you do? You have to get back as soon as possible if this does not go well you could lose your client. 

The answer is, you have a plan before hand. 

It is important to have a plan in case of emergency. Sometimes, when things like this happen you can deal with the emergency and then come back to your work but what if you are nearing a deadline, or like in my example below, you are running an event for a client. Here are my easy ways to plan for a work at home emergency!

Find an alternative place to work.

The first thing you want to figure out is another place you can work. This place can be a friend or family members house, a library, or a restaurant near you that offers free wifi. A really good example of a restaurant you can go to is Starbucks or most coffee shops.

When creating your emergency plan, call different shops and cafes near you to verify they offer wifi to customers. Then make a list of the different locations you could go to.

Use a hotspot.

A lot of cell phone carriers have an option to add a hotspot to your plan. There are two types of hotspots. One, that can be turned on using your phone. This is typically included in your plan and will often draw from your data plan. The second one is a stand alone hotspot. This will be a little portable device that will create an internet signal and can be turned on and off. The device does not do anything else besides let off a signal. These are typically added on to your phone plan as an additional device and will sometimes have their own data.

Backup Equipment

If your emergency is that your equipment has broken then going to a coffee shop to work or using a hotspot would not solve the issue. If your equipment stops working or is stolen it is a good idea to have a backup plan. I own a laptop and a desktop, so if one breaks I always have the other. If that is not the case for you here are a few other things you can do.

Ask to borrow a friend or family members computer. You would want to set this up with someone before hand. Call and ask your local friends and family to see if they would be willing to let you use their equipment in case of an emergency. 

Go to a library or hackerspace. Most libraries and hackerspaces will have a computer you can use there. The only thing you would want to be mindful of time frames. Most libraries have a time limit for how long you can use the computer in one day. You would want to call your local library and find out what their timeframe is.

Now it is your turn! Do you have a work at home emergency plan? Have you ever found yourself in an emergency? What did you do?