How I chose my laptop as a Zimbabwean Virtual Assistant

There are so many factors to consider when getting a work machine, my mind initially went to a second-hand MacBook Pro when I was looking for a new work machine. I soon found out how costly and difficult it can be to source Apple products in Zimbabwe.

There are some considerations I had in mind when thinking of a laptop:

• Mobility
• Memory
• Durability

Mobility

This ranked right up in the list because of the struggles I had previously with laptops with mediocre batteries that barely lasted 2 hours. I would love to be able to work in different places without being tied to a wall socket, it’s important to have a machine with long battery life for those situations and more importantly saving weight by leaving the charger at home for shorter working days.

On top of the battery, another important thing to consider when it comes to mobility is weight. I was used to carrying heavy laptops weighing more than 3kg…this gets very tiring over time. Get something light, SSDs are now cheaper and these are lighter than traditional hard drives. Another common feature in laptops was DVD drives, but this is something I rarely use and can do without.

Memory

Most of the work done by a Virtual Assistant will be through the internet browser. For this, I trust Google Chrome and as it’s commonly known, Chrome eats up RAM with every open tab and this can slow down a machine very quickly. When using platforms such as Kartra, pages will load slowly if a computer has low RAM.

It is recommended to have at least 4GB RAM in order to be able to work without hassle. Another thing that can slow down a machine is the use of time trackers such as Time Doctor. These work in the background to:

• Capture screenshots of what you are working on
• Record keystrokes and mouse movements
• Track the websites that are open as well as desktop apps

All of this is supposed to show your employer that you’re working and “productive”. All of that background activity uses memory and can severely slow down your machine if RAM is low.

Durability

Given that your machine will be your daily workhorse, you need to think of preserving its life. There is nothing as frustrating as having a computer that doesn’t want to turn on the day you want to use it the most. So it’s best to avoid this.

When buying a laptop, think about its build quality, I prefer to use laptops made of aluminum over plastic. Plastic tends to scratch easily, and the keypad wears down with repeated use. Here are some tips to help you preserve the life of your laptop:

• Get an external mouse and keyboard (optional). These will help to preserve the inbuilt trackpad and keyboard. You do not want to damage these as they can be very costly to repair. Buying a new mouse is cheaper, take this option and avoid headaches. On the upside, a mouse will allow you to work faster.
• Use a plug with a surge protector. In Zimbabwe, there are a lot of power cuts and these can damage the motherboard.
• Allow your battery to charge and discharge. A battery in the full or empty state is unstable. If you can charge your laptop when it’s not working, the better.
• Avoid using your laptop in bed! I have heard many stories of people dropping them from their beds. Use your laptop on a table. If you have to use it in bed (winter times), allow it to breathe.
• Avoid connecting many foreign flash drives, these can infect your laptop with viruses that affect performance.
• Draw a line between using your machine for work and play. Don’t overload your laptop with movies as this can affect your storage. Rather opt to store things online than on your machine.

My Laptop of Choice

I went with the HP Elitebook 840 G6. I chose this machine as it ticked many boxes I had. It is an aluminium build which is very light as it uses an SSD drive. Additionally, the battery life is so good especially when I put it in power saving move I can get so much work done. Although this machine was costly, I gave it a long term view. I am going to be using this laptop for the next 3+ years so I wanted something that was future proof.

What are your considerations when buying a laptop?