Now, this is a no-brainer. Don't go out without your laptop's power cord. The reason? If you're out and about or sitting in a cafe surfing the Internet, and your laptop's battery runs out - what do you do? Search for the closest laptop power point of course! That's why you absolutely need the laptop power cord in your case.

Track pads on your laptop can become very tiring and difficult to use after a while. So make sure that you have your external mouse to allow you to work more efficiently. I find myself at least 30% more productive with an external mouse as compared to the built-in trackpad on my Lenovo X61.

An external mouse is a must for your laptop

If you love music, or if you want to watch movies on the go, nothing is more important than a decent set of laptop headphones. You don't need a super large one, just small earpieces will do. Another essential item to dump in the laptop case.

Get a good pair of headphones for your laptop

Yep, if you need to copy documents or backup your laptop's data - then you definitely need to bring along one of these. These days, portable hard drives can be purchased quite cheaply - make sure you get a decent sized one before traveling with your laptop. A 100GB to 200GB portable hard drive is ideal.

A laptop must be protected. To do so, one of the most fundamental items in your laptop case has got to be the laptop lock. You can get one of the Kensington ones and tie your laptop to a table or desk while on the move.

I usually purchase an additional battery with my laptop. My routine is to use the laptop with the battery while my second battery is being charged up. It makes good sense as it gives you twice the battery life when you're out and about. It costs a bit more, but its worth. So dump that extra battery into your laptop case as well.

A laptop cleaning device? Well, what I mean here is a mini-vac or even just a soft piece of cloth so that you can clean the dust and specks from your laptop screen and keyboard if it gets too dirty.

A USB based laptop cleaning mini-vac

One item people usually forget is an Ethernet cable. While many modern cities have got wireless access now, some place still rely on good old wired LAN connections. So make sure you have an Ethernet cable for these situations.

A small screwdriver set is quite useful to pack into your laptop case if you have a need to open up the laptop. This is not often the case, but sometimes you may need to do so to check your RAM, etc.

Usually I bring a mouse pad along in my laptop case. This is especially useful if you work on a desk with a reflective surface - that just messes up your optical mouse. So bring a mouse pad to help you navigate better.