Remote working solutions & alternatives
- Nov 25, 2010
Many entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners work from home, but how do you combat the feeling of being cut off from the rest of society? Guest blogger Ben Dowling explores some of the alternatives to staying housebound.
When I quit my job to work full time on my own startup several months ago it was one of the things I was looking forward to most. No more rush hour journeys across London on a crowded underground, simply roll out of bed straight into work. No more expensive lunches, eat whatever is already in the fridge. No last minute panic to iron your clothes in the morning, work in your dressing gown!
After a few weeks of working from home I started to notice some downsides. It can get lonely sitting at home alone all day. It can be hard to separate work from your home life. It's easy to get distracted. That's when I decided to venture outside and find some alternative places to work. So here they are, five alternatives to working from home:
Coffee Shops
Coffee shops have a lot going for them as places to work from, which is something some chains actively encourage. They have plenty of seating, tables, internet access (many have free WiFi), power sockets, and of course plenty to eat and drink. Coffee shops have popped up on every street corner in recent years, so you shouldn't have any problems finding one near you.
Pubs
If you can't find a coffee shop nearby then you'll almost certainly be able to find a pub. More and more pubs are becoming increasingly coffee shop like, with cheap hot drinks and WiFi, which makes them an ideal alternative. During the day pubs tend to be fairly quiet, but later they can get quite noisy and crowded, which can make it difficult to work. On the plus side you can always treat yourself to a cold beer after a long days work!
Libraries
Libraries usually have public computers, so you can work out of a library even if you don't have a laptop. There are almost always desks, power sockets, internet access, and sometimes other facilities such as printers and fax machines. Libraries are of course quiet places to work and many now feature their own cafes too. The best thing about libraries though, is that they're completely free, unlike other venues where you're at the very least expected to buy a drink.
Hotels
Hotels usually have a lounge/bar area that you can work from. They're not always the cheapest place to get your coffee from, but they do usually have free WiFi, comfortable seating, and a great selection of food. Hotels are great places to have meetings because they look more impressive and are a little more formal than some of the other alternative work places on this list.
Shared office spaces
There are some shared offices designed specifically for entrepreneurs and freelance works where you can rent a single desk to work from. If you don't have one if your area then you could always find an existing office with some spare capacity to rent a desk from. These will have all the facilities you need, and with regular people working their there's usually a community atmosphere. They range from permanent desks (so not much different from having your own office) to hot desks that you can hire for a single day, so there's a whole range of flexible options.
I still usually work from home, but it's great to have lots of options when I want to get of the house to get some work done. When I do I tend to favour coffee shops for the great atmosphere, good coffee and the fact that you're never far from one.
Ben Dowling is the co-founder of Geomium, a location based social network. He lives in London with his wife and daughter, and spends most of his time programming, or writing about it at Coderholic.com. He's also on Twitter.
Photo by Librarian By Day on Flickr
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