While I only work within the confine of my study, I love to write my own articles on the WordPress app when I am outside. Sometimes even bringing my baby in her stroller while I typed words away on my iPhone and sipping my Green Tea (like what I am doing right now).

I don’t believe that as a mother, I’ll have to be locked up in the house all the time. In fact, it is great for both of us to let off some coop up steam outdoors and get some much needed (me!) exercise (strolling with the stroller) while she gets bright beautiful sights and sounds.

Nevertheless, this article is not about how I manoeuvre my stroller and baby on my own without a car. This is about how you can find a serene conducive working environment to work on your laptop. And please, no excuses, if I can do it with an 8-month-old baby, you can do it too.

Avoid The Crowd

This is a no brainer. You think you will be comfortable hogging a table while there is a queue snaking outside the restaurant or cafe? You totally are oblivious if you can’t feel the glare of the patrons as they tapping their feet impatiently for you to vacant your seat. Be considerate, avoid the lunch and dinner crowd. In fact, the best time to walk in and set up your laptop is weekdays between 2 pm to 5 pm or weekends anytime before the brunch crowd wakes up.

Restaurant Over Cafe

That being said on the peak hours, you might want to seat yourself comfortably in a restaurant or a diner instead of cramping a round tiny table in a cafe. I love blogging in a restaurant, especially in a Japanese one. It is quiet, free flow green tea refills, light sushi bites that won’t destroy my diet. The best part is that I don’t feel as guilty since I paid for a full meal and likely order dinner-to-go as well if I stayed later. This versus someone hogging a table for 5 hours over a cup of cappuccino.

Jump The Queue

In a restaurant, if you are unaware, you can actually skip the long queue if you are dining alone. I always come up to the reservation table and declare I’m eating alone and I don’t mind eating at the bar or even some obscure corner of the restaurant. I don’t need the skyline view when I know my eyes will be glued to my laptop and once I get my words out of my brain, I’m in another world.

Quit Starbucks

Seriously, haven’t you had enough of slow wifi service in Starbucks where every freelancers, insurance agents and school delinquents are hanging out over a cuppa and free wifi. If you need your coffee fix, go to an indie coffee shop. Chances are you’ll have to share the wifi with yourself and the owner, and have the whole place to yourself on a lazy Monday afternoon. Much better than to elbow fight with some stranger on an uncomfortable barstool and tapping your fingers impatiently as your Google landing page is waiting to load.

Bring Your Own Juice

I had tripped over someone’s laptop changer way too many time that I wonder why I am still alive. Those things are evil and should be tuck safely aside rather than to drag the whole cable from one end of the cafe to the other end, just because that is the only available power source and the only empty table you can get is half way around the world. Invest in a portable laptop power pack. Yes, they do exist and they are just bigger and heavier than your usual iPhone battery pack.

Be Really Nice

Be friendly to the staff working at your regular hangout and you will not be chased out when they need an extra table, in fact, they might even reserve your favourite table by the corner booth. The staff is not the business owner, they couldn’t care as much if you stayed longer than a normal paying customer. Sometimes, I do get a free cookie or even a glass of iced tea on the house at my usual establishment. It always pays to be nice.

Do you like working outside? Do you find the above tips useful? Share with all of us if you have better tips than mine. 🙂

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