So what can we do to make the most out of slow Internet connections?

Tune up your laptop before you leave. If you’ll be taking your laptop with you, make sure that it’s clean of spyware and adware. These programs tend to slow down your Internet connection since they use it to send data to third parties or load unwanted pop-up ads via your browser. I use Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy to make sute my laptop is clean of malware.

Also, it won’t hurt to de-clutter your hard drive and installed programs to ensure peak performance.

Make your Internet browser lean. Tweak your browser settings to automatically block ads, images, Flash, and JavaScript. In Firefox, you can do this by going to Tools > Options, then fiddling with the settings under Content. Uncheck Load images automatically and Enable JavaScript. As for blocking ads and flash, add-ons such as Adblock and Flashblock can handle that.

At this stage, you might be tempted to install speed enhancing add-on, such as Fasterfox. Remember that if you’re going to use such a third-party add-on or program to make your browsing speeds faster, make sure that you disable prefetching of web sites. Prefetching lets your browser automatically download and cache linked sites, unnecessarily consuming bandwidth.

Get rid of slow-loading add-ons. Browsers like Opera and Firefox allow you to use themes, extensions, and add-ons to customize your browsing experience. But these things can also consume memory and make your browser a little slower. Deactivate or disable any extensions that aren’t essential to your work.

Find a source of portable connectivity. One of the gadgets I bring with me on the road is a small 3G HSDPA modem with prepaid Internet access (which cost me around $40, including a prepaid card). This allows me to have access to 3G Internet where available or a much slower GPRS connection, which is available wherever there’s a cellphone signal.

Loading a WordPress Dashboard can take around 5 minutes on a GPRS connection, but as a blogger, the fact that I can access it at all is important. Most digital nomads (including myself) can sleep better at night knowing that they can access the web for basic work tasks, even if the connection is slow.

Know the rates you’ll be paying. Unless you’re only planning to take advantage of free Wi-Fi, you need to know if your Internet providers will charge you based on bandwidth or time, otherwise you can end up with a nasty surprise when you get the bill.

Divide your tasks into bandwidth-heavy and bandwidth-light. Evaluate your routine web tasks and see which ones you can do with a slow connection, and which ones require a faster, more reliable one. This is especially important if your mobile Internet provider charges based on bandwidth usage instead of time. Aliza Sherman did something similar in a previous post, to help her work around bandwidth limits.

Obviously, the bandwidth-light tasks are the ones you can do on your slow connection. For the bandwidth-heavy tasks, you’ll have to wait until you get to an Internet cafe or an area with a reliable connection. Separating your tasks into these two lists will allow you to schedule and batch them according to what kind of connection you can access.

Have backup plans. Even if you think you’ve covered all the bases, it helps to have a backup plan in case you really can’t get a decent connection. Some tips include:

• Having a friend or a virtual assistant do some web tasks for you (uploading and formatting blog posts, research, checking your email,etc.)
• Doing as much work as you can in advance.
• Researching your connectivity options (net cafes, Wi-Fi hotspots, etc.) before you arrive at your destination.

Slow Internet speeds might be a traveling web worker’s nightmare, but with a bit of research and planning, you can make it easier on yourself and the people who work with you.

Do you have any connectivity tips or techniques to share with traveling web workers?

Image by runrunrun from sxc.hu

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