Brainstorming in my Happy Place with HP & Intel

Here’s a normal day for me:

* commute back and forth to work (about two hours)
* get at least 8 hours in at the office
* hit the gym
* write, brainstorm, photograph and schedule blog posts
* eat a few meals along the way

You’ll probably notice there’s not too much spare time in there.  And I’m willing to bet your day probably sounds a LOT like mine.  That’s why I was so excited when I was challenged by HP & Intel to try out their latest HP Stream tablet to work better and happier- a product that could streamline these activities and take me to more of my favorite inspiring places?  Sign me up, folks!

My years of experience working as a summer Day Camp Leader turned me into a bona fide nature lover- I’ve never met an open outdoor space I didn’t like.  If there’s one place I know I’d love to incorporate into more of my days, the park is undoubtedly it.  I even pass two great parks on my way to work every day!  I’m less than a mile from some of my favorite trails!  Still, as much as I love to relax outdoors, I’ve never found an easy way to get much done.  Paper and pen are awesome, but sometimes you just need a little more power to get tasks accomplished.  ESPECIALLY online tasks.

Straight out the box, I knew this tablet was going to be something awesome.  After a quick set-up tutorial, the screen loaded with my easily recognizable Windows Start menu!

HP Stream is a new kind of tablet with Intel Inside® (that’s the part that makes it go super duper fast).  I loved that I recognized it’s interface, but then it got better.

Excel might be my one true computing love.  My entire LIFE is organized in spreadsheets.  And you know what I’ve never been able to get at the park?  Tiny boxes with formulas.  THIS TABLET CHANGES ALL THAT.  Office 365?  FREE on this tablet for a whole year.  And if Excel doesn’t rule your life?  Don’t even worry about it- you get all the programs: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Access.

 Want to interact with documents you’ve already worked on?  NO PROBLEM.  You ALSO get free 4G data and 1TB of free cloud storage for one year right out of the box.  This means you can always work from YOUR happy place, without having to haul around a laptop or extra flash drives or even hunt down a spot with free wifi.

 You know what I’m doing here?  Using OneNote to brainstorm updates to our A&C editorial calendar.  I wrote out about ten ideas, used the 4G data to research supplies and sent the list to the cloud.  Thanks to the built in Intel Inside® processor, the process wasn’t just possible- it was lightning fast.  

Apart from all the great internal features, I was also so impressed with the device’s usability.  It’s the perfect size for stashing in my work bag and the screen was bright, colorful and easy to see- even in the outdoor sun.

So, if you’re hoping to get out and about a little more, I’m going to encourage you to reconsider a lot of those places that really don’t seem work-friendly.  Maybe it’s snacks at the park, like me?  It could be sitting on the curb by your favorite food truck or on a blanket at the beach.  Working there is TOTALLY POSSIBLE.  

*This is a sponsored post.  I received an HP Stream with Intel Inside® via a partnership with HP & Intel for the #WorkFromHappyPlace campaign.  Opinions and content expressed here are all my own. Thanks so much for allowing us to bring you this content which helps to support our work here at A&C.  We promise to never endorse something we don’t believe in.