Keep the task running after disconnecting from SSH; also see its status upon returning.

Long-running SSH tasks

ssh [email protected]
screen               #start a screen session
run-a-long-process

CTRL+a , d to detatch from your screen session

exit                 #disconnect from the server, while run-a-long-process continues

When you come back to your laptop:

ssh [email protected]
screen -r            #resume the screen session

#Then check out the progress of your long-running process!
#screen is a very comprehensive tool, and can do a lot more than what I've described.
#While in a screen session, try ctrl+a,? to learn a few common commands. Probably the most common are:

#    CTRL+a , c to create a new window
#    CTRL+a , n to switch to the next window in your screen session
#    CTRL+a , p to switch to the previous window in your screen session
#    if you log in from a bunch of different systems, you may have accidentally left yourself attached to an active screen session on a different computer.
#    for that reason, I always resume with

screen -d -r

#    to ensure that if another shell is attached to my screen session, it will be detached before I resume it on my current system.

Found at http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/480