Contracting is all in the preparation

Recently I caught up with an industry colleague for a check-in. She’s super talented but new to gig work, so was complaining that getting settled in to her new contract had been slow progress because of hardware issues. I shared my rookie contractor equipment checklist with her and now I’m also sharing an expanded version with you.

This advice is aimed at contractors, consultants, small agencies like ourselves. If you’re equipping a growing team, particularly remote teams and especially across borders, Hofy are the experts. I have worked with Hofy but have no current partnership with them, I recommend them simply because they are good.

Optimise for zero downtime

Any time hardware issues arise it is always at a cost. Poor tech choices mean it takes longer to solve the client’s problem. Very poor choices can mean you lose out on pay. How do we avoid that? Let’s start with the basics…

Please note that bold type denotes a specific product recommendation. I have only linked to products where they’re not so well-known; I trust you can find your way to Apple.com.

None of these links are affiliate links, because I make my living helping with Zendesk implementation rather than gaming Amazon. Do let me know any suggestions or feedback relating to this post. Thanks!

Choosing your devices

You need two laptops. Yes you do. They must both be laptops, because you may need to be on site with either or both. You need two because it’s not worth losing a day’s pay or more because your one and only laptop needs fixing.

Nico heads to work. Bad sunglasses: optional.

You should probably have both a MacOS and a Windows laptop. There will be occasions where (whatever it is you’re working on) you need to prove it works on the other main desktop OS. You likely already have a preference between the two options, which means your preference should be your primary device and the other should be your backup device.

For each of these recommendations, I will assume there are no other considerations. If you’re an avid gamer, youtuber, digital artist, or otherwise digital creative outside of your IT contracting, you’ll likely have more advanced needs for your laptop which you will need to account for.

Apple fans

The correct MacOS laptop right now is the Apple MacBook Pro 13” M2. Why?

• This is the cheapest “pro” MacBook and it comes out to £1000 ex VAT. This number was chosen for a reason.
• The battery life is crazy. Turn off all the things you don’t want anyway (e.g. menu transparency) and you’ll get through a day of work no problem.
• Everything else about this device is designed to be the minimum spec you need for doing this sort of thing.

The MacBook Air series looks nice but they won’t get you through a day of work without needing to recharge, which is not good enough when you’re at a conference or something.

The MacBook Pro 14” and 16” are great great computers but the improvements do not justify the price hike in my opinion. If you have extra cash in your budget, you’d be better off upgrading the RAM in the 13”.

So Apple binned the Pro 13” right after I published this article unconditionally recommending it. I blame Marques Brownlee, normally a great tech reviewer, for only looking at the Pro 13” from the perspective of doing YouTube as a job. Basically no one does that in the real world. If you’re in the business of, well, business, this is still a great buy from Laptopsdirect.co.uk etc.

If your primary device is a MacBook, your backup device needs to meet the following criteria:

• Windows 11
• At least 8GB RAM but more is better. My backup device is a Chuwi Gemibook with 12GB.
• USB-C charging. You don’t want to need to bring a separate charger for your backup device.

So long as you’ve ticked those boxes, it’s free choice here. I use that £150ish Chuwi and it’s fine.

Windows users

It’s slightly more complex to choose the right Windows machine for a primary device, because there are multiple vendors, two main processor ecosystems, also Windows is less efficient on RAM on the whole. However, there are some clear leaders in this race.

My top pick would be the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon with 16GB. I wouldn’t buy anything Lenovo outside of a ThinkPad following the Silverfish scandal. These X1 series are admittedly a little expensive, but once you’ve tried that 3k(ish) OLED display you won’t want to work on anything less.

The venerable Dell XPS 13 is also an option, but at time of writing you can only get the OLED display on the bafflingly awful “Plus” model. Don’t get the “Plus” model because it’s an ergonomic nightmare. I avoid the Asus ExpertBook because I saw a colleague get through two within weeks, they are pretty but super fragile.

I personally wouldn’t show up with an Alienware or ROG laptop despite the impressive features of these devices.

If your primary device is a Windows one, then the correct backup option is the Apple MacBook Air M1 because it’s the cheapest ARM-based MacBook. Naturally, this means that the Windows-first route is the more expensive option.

Network effects

Nowadays we can get pretty much everything done anywhere with an internet connection, which is great so long as that internet connection is reliable. Here’s how we ensure the bits and bytes keep flowing:

Two SIM cards is an absolute must. They need to be on different networks. Don’t make the mistake of using MVNOs on the same service, eg. if there’s no O2 there’s also no GiffGaff so it’s not a useful backup. My current SIM cards of choice are Smarty and GiffGaff both of which offer serious quantities of data at good prices and also reliable connections. Some “unlimited” plans are better than others. I use minimum 600GB monthly on my Smarty SIM with no throttling.

Test the tethering or hotspot capabilities of your phone. If you need an upgrade on your phone, I use a low end OnePlus and it does the job. Recently I have had Huawei, Honor, and Poco handsets which I do not recommend because of bloatware and durability issues. Look for something dual SIM and go into the developer options to tweak the network handling. Battery life is the most important feature of a phone in 2023, because there’s no mass market phone that can’t do everything else needed of it. USB-C charging is essential.

Incidentally, I always disable 5G on mobile devices. 5G connections at the moment are too inconsistent, even in London. This results in your phone constantly switching between 5G and 4G, impacting battery life and call quality. 4G is reliable and fast enough for most purposes.

I would also recommend choosing a less aggressive hand-off profile configuration for any dual-network phones or routers. This is probably a blog post in itself but jumping between networks while on a Zoom call is not good.

Don’t forget the accessories

Peripherals are the most personal choice of all of this, so you will want to build up your home office yourself according to your own needs. I use an Anker vertical mouse and a Corsair keyboard which I quite like apart from the disco lights. I think it’s a K70. They’re connected through a Kensington USB-C hub which also charges the laptop. If you find a mouse you particularly like, my recommendation is to buy two spares. Chuck one in your office bag and one in a drawer somewhere.

My monitor is an MSI 4k 32” curved thing they marketed as a “gaming monitor” but actually is much more suited to coding and spreadsheets. The current model is the G321CUV which appears to have replaced the MAG321CURV that I use. Previously I had a very different setup with two external 1080p monitors flanking my MacBook. This new setup is far better for me.

I also recommend two pairs of headphones:

• Noise cancelling headphones. The best are the Sony WH-1000XM4 because they are the comfiest and quietest. Anker Soundcore or Bose QuietComfort are also good choices. These are good for keeping focus, travelling on public transport, signposting that you are busy and not looking to be interrupted. These are not so good for accurate music reproduction and generally the microphones are adequate for calls but not great.
• Backup wired headphones with microphone. I’ve had a few including Plantronics and Sennheiser but pretty much anything will do. These are for Zoom calls - you don’t want to have to miss an important meeting because the battery failed in your fancy cans.

Over-index on the basics

You’ve got your laptop and your backup laptop, but that’s not enough to know you’re ready for anything. Here’s what else I carry when I’m working:

• USB-C breakout dongle. Must have HDMI, ethernet, a couple of USB-A ports, ideally an SD card slot too. I actually have three of these in my bag because they’re easily lost.
• USB-C cables. These are not all created equal. Make sure each can charge both of your laptops and your phone, as well as transmit sufficient data to connect your device to a 4k monitor or projector should that be necessary. Label them with a little wrap of electrical tape so that you know which are yours. I typically carry three for an office day.
• Laptop chargers. I have two Apple chargers which are I think 70W. They can also charge a phone if necessary but it’s better for the battery to charge the phone from the laptop. Incidentally, I have two 12V USB-PD chargers fitted in my car in case I need to charge on the move. My MacBook doesn’t charge well at 12V but using two does do the job okay.

Make it efficient

Here’s where the magic comes in.

Colour-code your work gear. Pick a distinctive colour and make it your own. Anything you can choose the colour, choose that colour. Anything you can’t choose the colour, use some electrical tape to mark it out as being part of this set of items.

I have gone with yellow. My work bag (which is a Beagles Original rolltop rucksack) and my phone case and anything I’m liable to regret leaving at a desk is either bright yellow itself or marked with yellow electrical tape. There’s no need to waste time checking you’ve grabbed all of your bits.

Keep your devices charged and packed when not in use. Sometimes I’ll need to get to a location at short notice. Sometimes I’m having to leave early in the morning to get to the site. I prefer being prepared over losing critical time checking things.

Avoid stress, be ready

That colleague I mentioned at the start? It wasn’t even her fault. Someone grabbed her laptop charger on the way out of a meeting, presumably assuming it was theirs. Because she couldn’t charge that device, she had to get a loaner and then set it up with the software she needed. So much time wasted, so unprofessional.

Avoid being in a similar situation by ensuring all of your devices are USB-C compatible for charging. Label all of your items so you can quickly point out “No, that one is mine” and carry a spare of anything mission-critical. Avoid the risk of losing time, money, and reputation by staying prepared.

More tech contractor tips

I did a video with more tips for tech contractors. Check it out!