My job requires me to travel a lot. A lot of people would consider that a perk, but between jet lag and the irritation of having to live out of a suitcase for several weeks, traveling loses some of its charm. Especially since even if I’m on the road for official business, I’m still expected to stay on top of what’s happening back home—and update the management of my progress, just to assure them I’m not using company money to party on exotic resorts. (I wish.)

The only way to squeeze everything into one day is to do as much as I can on the road. I email while eating breakfast, I send reports in the hours between meetings, I chat with my staff via Yahoo messenger while taking lunch al fresco, savoring the hotel restaurant’s view of the beach (hey, I need to have some perks, right?).

WiFi lets me do that. In fact, WiFi is the only thing that makes out of town trips manageable. I still feel I have control over what’s happening in my department, because I can connect to the people back at home through regular “virtual meetings”. And in the few precious hours I actually have to check the city sights and maybe have a little recreational touring, WiFi gives me access to travel sites with reviews, maps, and country guides. In fact, at one point, WiFi’s convenient access helped me find a gift for my family two hours before my flight was about to leave for home—by connecting me to an online catalogue of the stores in the area so I could pick out the items and run by for them before checking out of the hotel.

Now if only WI FI could do my packing for me…