5 Mini Gadgets That Actually Keep You Productive On The Go

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When working remotely, especially if you're on the go, productivity can be hard to achieve if you don't know how to eliminate inefficiencies and distractions. By incorporating the right gadgets into your workflow, productivity can flow effortlessly since you always have the right tool for the job. The gadgets don't need to be big either, since large devices are not portable enough to whip out when you need to perform a quick task on the go. Sometimes, it helps to have the little things to remove productivity-killing friction in less-than-ideal situations.

Do you need to type on your phone when you don't have a laptop? A foldable keyboard can help. Do you need a macro pad that you can keep in your pocket so you can easily access your commonly used shortcuts with the press of a button? A micro gamepad can help with that. And if you find yourself in a foreign airport and need to quickly charge your laptop to finish a report or invoice, you can use a travel adapter to connect your charger to a different wall outlet. These are just a few examples of how mini gadgets can have a big impact on your productivity when you're on the go.

Some modern phones and tablets can be powerful enough to replace an entry-level computer, making them great mini productivity hubs. Sometimes you have to rely on them to type a document or send an email, especially when you're not in a position to bring out your laptop. But typing on an on-screen keyboard, especially one that is on a tiny phone display, can be a slow and error-prone process compared to using a physical keypad. Luckily, foldable keyboards like the Sikai Case Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard can make the typing experience on mobile devices much smoother.

This foldable keyboard is quite portable, too. When folded, it looks like the case of an electric toothbrush, but a little longer. It's a QWERTY keyboard with 60 keys, and it can connect to a wide range of devices via Bluetooth, including Android phones, iPhones, PCs, and Macs. What's more, it has a retractable magnetic bracket that can support your phone or tablet (up to 11 inches). It has just a 160-milliampere-hour battery (small, but reasonable for its size) that can last about two hours on a single charge. You can get the Sikai Case Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard for $55.99.

If you have a multi-device setup and find yourself constantly unplugging one gadget to make room for another, your productivity can take a hit. Furthermore, if you are using a modern MacBook and want to connect an external keyboard, mouse, or storage drive using a USB-A cable, you are out of luck since these laptops only have USB-C ports. You can get around these issues with the Anker 5-in-1 USB-C Hub, available on Amazon for $19.99.

This connects to your computer's USB-C port, instantly giving you access to one USB-C 3.0 port and three USB-A 2.0 ports. The USB-C port is a pass-through charging port with a maximum power output of 90 watts. That means when you plug a charger into the port, the hub will charge the device it's connected to. It also has an HDMI port that supports 4K monitors running at 30 hertz. This can help if you want to mirror or extend the display of a laptop that has no HDMI-out port, like the MacBook Neo or MacBook Air, to a monitor that only has an HDMI-in port.

Game pads can be used for more than just playing games. In fact, the 8Bitdo Micro Controller can easily be turned into a functional macro pad, which is an input device whose buttons can be remapped to perform specific actions, reducing clicks and button presses. For instance, you can program it to mute your computer's microphone in a Zoom call or open Google Chrome, project folders, and mute notifications when you need to work, all with a single button press.

The 8Bitdo Micro Controller, which costs $24.99 on Amazon, is a 16-button ultra-compact controller that weighs only 24.8 grams. It can easily fit in your pocket and is designed for playing 2D games, as evidenced by the lack of thumbsticks, on the Nintendo Switch and Android phones. The 8Bitdo Micro Controller also has a switch at the bottom that you can use to flip it to keyboard mode. In this mode, you can use the 8Bitdo Ultimate Software to remap its buttons to various shortcuts and actions on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android devices, and even a Raspberry Pi.

If you only use a handful of critical shortcuts in your workflow, you might consider getting something even smaller, like the IINE Mini Controller for $21. It's a simple four-button controller that weighs 20 grams and is also reprogrammable. If you need a lot more buttons, then the Sikai Case Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard is a great alternative.

If you're fond of working while traveling, then there are several scenarios where the GL.iNet Mango Mini Travel Router can save you a few headaches. One good example is dealing with hotel Wi-Fi. Usually, you're allowed to connect one or two devices per room, which can be a pain if you have multiple devices that need to be connected to the internet while you work. Furthermore, hotel Wi-Fi is usually a captive portal, meaning you're shown a splash screen in your default browser every time you need to log in. This travel router bypasses all of that, allowing you to log in only once and then give all your other devices access to the internet.

Even if these limitations weren't in place and slowing you down, connecting directly to the hotel Wi-Fi is not recommended. The GL.iNet Mango Mini Travel Router has a built-in VPN. You will have to configure a VPN profile from a reputable provider in order to get it to work (you can set up more than 30 profiles). Once you do, the router will create a secure tunnel for all your devices when connecting to the internet. This is faster than installing VPNs on all your devices and can protect other networked devices that can't install one. It also allows you to access geo-restricted websites or any other content you might need for your work, and it does it all more securely than the base hotel Wi-Fi.

Another gadget you might need if you work while traveling is the Tessan Universal Travel Adapter 28W. The wall outlet used in the U.S. is not the same one used in the U.K., Japan, or South Africa. This travel adapter costs $25.87 and solves that mismatch by using pin layouts that work in the EU, U.K., U.S., and Australia. These four configurations allow the adapter to be used in more than 150 countries worldwide, because many countries use the same outlet types. You just flip a switch on the side to pick the pin layout you want and then plug the unit into a compatible outlet.

Beyond allowing you to plug in your device's charger, the Tessan Universal Travel Adapter 28W also has five USB ports for your other mobile devices — three USB-C ports with a maximum power output of 15 watts each and two USB-A ports with a maximum output of 12 watts. These ports can easily charge your computer, phone, power bank, and handheld console (for playing a game during your downtime). You should be aware, though, that the maximum output for all the USB ports combined is 28 watts (hence the name of the adapter). That means that the more devices you plug in, the more the current is distributed among the ports, and this can cause other devices to charge much more slowly.

When picking these products, we focused on people who work remotely, like freelancers and digital nomads. However, there are plenty of use cases for these devices even in an office setup. For size, we wanted gadgets that could fit in pockets, small bags, or backpacks. For the price, we kept it below $100 to show just how affordable enhancing your productivity on the go can be. You can even get two or three gadgets here with a $100 bill.

We also favored products that could be found on Amazon. That way, we could look at the user ratings and the comments of verified purchases to ensure that they work as intended and don't have any major red flags. We only chose products that had a rating of four stars and above out of five on the platform because we consider that a good score for recommending a product — it means other users have generally had good experiences with the product.