Working from home when you don’t want to be at home

By TRISOFT team

Working remote offers so many perks, but sometimes living and working in the same space can get tedious. It’s also true that working from home doesn’t mean you have to always be at home, as you have the freedom to pick a different location of your own choice. A change of scenery may be just what you need to end boredom, spark fresh ideas and motivation, and re-energize your spirit.

If you’re new to remote working, it may not be so obvious where else you could work so here are some neat ideas of places where you can get things done outside of your home.

1. The outdoors

Sometimes we overlook the very first obvious option — our own backyard, porch or the green park nearby. Nature is awesome as a working partner, especially when accompanied by nice, warm sunny weather, but it goes well also with a fluffy sweater and a scarf when it’s chillier and you just don’t want to stay indoors anymore. You can move your laptop to a comfortable swing, by the pool or on a park bench, away from the city’s fuss and noise.

And if you need wifi to work, you can find an outdoor location with wifi or bring your own hotspot. This will give you the extra space and air that you need, and you might discover you’re able to concentrate better outside, and even some time after you’re back indoors.

2. A quiet library

Back when we were in school, we didn’t dig libraries much. They were all too stuffy and serious. Now if you think about all the agitation outside, you might quite enjoy the peace of a library nook, which makes isolated work easy, comfortable, and sometimes even desirable.

Another great thing about it is that you don’t have to buy anything and you have nonstop access to a printer, a copier, a vast collection of books for when you want to do some research or just take a break…ah, yes, and most importantly: free wifi !

3. A museum

For some it might seem like an odd idea to work at a museum, but you’ll be surprised to find out that many offer free wifi, indoor and outdoor work space, and a quiet ambient. If you want to give it a try, keep in mind that the farthest corners are the most appropriate as there will be less traffic from visitors and you will be able to focus for a longer period of time without disruption. It’s true that it would be a good idea to be a bit of an art lover, as when you need a break you could really enjoy taking a stroll around the exhibition and maybe even finding some inspiration for your work.

However, not all museums are free to visit or even open to receive home-based workers looking for a change of scenery. So if you’re serious about it, you should do your research and scout out the museum before heading there to work.

4. A coffee shop

You’ve probably seen it all over the city — people with laptops in cafes looking serious and concentrated. Since so many coffee shops offer free wifi, making one a temporary remote office has become a regular practice for many freelancers. Hence, many owners have adapted the conditions to fit the requirements of a working space. This way you can work, enjoy good hot coffee and also be amongst other people (in case loneliness is not your thing).

At first they were noisy and chaotic, but now many of them have special rooms for people who come there to work, offering the privacy and props for a nice, quiet work time. Some call them now coffices — a sort of mixture between a cafe and an office, geared to give pretty much anyone who wants to get some work done the support they need. We certainly expect more of these to pop up around the city in the near future, as we dig them the most!

5. Co-working spaces

Coffices have recently expanded into so called co-working spaces, which are basically like regular offices, but you share them with people from all sorts of domains. This can be quite interesting and fun, as you get to interact not only with people in your area of interest, but also with freelancers and businessmen from different fields, enriching your horizons and possibly finding new opportunities. Or at least new friends.

Most of these come with an hourly/daily fee and you can even pay for a whole month, if you REALLY want to get away from the house.

6. Desert island

Now really… this sounds more like a vacation and we’re guessing it would make focusing on your working tasks a bit difficult. Nonetheless, you can’t stop one from dreaming…So put the laptop down and just order a fruity cocktail…for now ;) !

It’s a wild world out there

No matter your choice of location outside your home, you need to make sure your equipment and work are safe from all sorts of hazards. One of them could be an insecure wireless network, especially if you know you’re dealing with private, sensitive data. In this case, it’s better safe than sorry, so get your own wifi or hotspot.

Also, you need to be careful with your physical equipment as well. When you’re in a public place, you need to be vigilant with your belongings, or else you might end up sobbing after your mobile phone or even after your laptop. When going to the bar for another cup of tea or discussing with a fellow freelancer, always keep an eye on your stuff or ask someone (you can trust!) do it for you while you’re away.

Another word of caution — be respectful to any space you work in. Don’t act like you own it, don’t take loud calls or take up more room than you need. And also, if you’re in a location where they require you buy food/drinks, don’t sit the whole day with a mug of coffee in front of you and don’t overstay your welcome.

Conclusion

The whole point is that you should take advantage of your freedom. As opposed to working in an office, you can just pick up your things and move to a friendlier location practically whenever you want to. You will enjoy the variety, kick off the tedious daily routine and have a more peaceful state of mind. Also, you will have the tools to work around the inevitable distractions that will occur no matter where you’re working from.

At TRISOFT, our entire team is working remote, so each of us has tried various possibilities of working locations, so you can say that we’ve had our fair share of living & learning experiences. We’ve all had very diverse, yet interesting working experiences, but the final choices are always up to each one’s type of personality and the type of work one is performing. That being said, TRISOFT encourages you guys to find unique places of your own that bring out your productivity and keep you on task!