Increase Productivity, Escape to a Quiet Place
Credit: elenathewise on Photodune
Freelancing, by definition, is a solitary existence. You probably sit at a computer most of the day, writing, designing, drawing, networking, and have little face to face interaction with peers who work in your industry.
I don’t know how you write, but I need it to be quiet to be productive. Deathly quiet. I have never been able to listen to music—even the classical stuff—while doing homework, working on a paper, or writing a magazine feature or blog post. If it’s rowdy outside my office, I shut the door, and people know not to bother me. When the phone rings, I groan unhappily. A ringing phone is my nemesis.
It’s annoying to be interrupted when you are in the thick of a project—even if it’s your own, adorable child doing the interrupting. If you are like most freelancers, your work area is probably located somewhere in your home office. If you’re lucky, you have a door to shut—and lock. But if you have a family, it’s not easy to stay out of the loop. If you hear your kid crying in another part of the house, I bet it’s mighty hard to pay attention to what you’re working on.
Luckily the world today makes it easy for you to get out of your house to work. But depending on where you live, a quiet place might be hard to find. When I lived in New York City there was hardly a space to be found (outside of the library) where there wasn’t action happening all around me. Even if you had the ability to push the mute button on the world, there are always people walking around, cars driving by, lights flashing, and animals who are vying for your attention. And wearing blinders in public just seems silly.
Coffee Shops, Work Spaces, and Libraries
Coffee shops are hit and miss for freelancers. The trick is to find one that has free wifi, comfortable seating, and isn’t too busy. That can be tricky. Plus, in a coffee shop, I always feel like I have to buy something to loiter—and sometimes I just don’t want anything.
So where does one go to get peace and quiet? One of the best spots I’ve seen is called Paragraph and it’s located in New York City. What I love about this space is that it specifically caters to writers. It’s open all the time, 24/7/365, and has comfy couches, chairs, and cubicles in their 2,500 square foot loft space near Union Square. They offer both full and part-time memberships on a month-to-month, quarterly, semiannual, and annual basis.
But unless you live in a city with such a thoughtful space at your convenience, your local library is one of the best places to work. At the library, it’s practically a law that you have to be quiet. And there always seems to be nooks and crannies that contain desks and chairs for you to work in. I used to like to find the most hidden corner somewhere in the stacks to park myself for a few hours. At the library, wifi is free, and reference help is there if you need it. Plus, libraries smell like lovely old books. I love that smell.
Consider Coworking
If you like the idea of having a designated workspace outside of your house, but you don’t want to spend a lot on rent, consider finding a cowork environment. More and more office spaces are opening up where different people pay a fee to share the same workspace. You might rent a small desk area next to a computer programmer, salesperson, or a freelance blogger. Coworking environments offer a relatively inexpensive way to have an office without signing a year-long lease on commercial space.
Most coworkers are in their late 20s to later 30s and work in the creative field. It’s a great way to network with other peers and escape the feeling of isolation that can happen from working at home. A coworking environment also releases you from worrying about utilities such as heat, air conditioning, and wifi. The cost for these services is usually bundled into your monthly fee. You might also have access to a printer or fax machine, but this is dependent on the property.
There can be distractions in a coworking environment, too, so look around and find what is going to best suit your productivity needs. Plus, not all of these office spaces are open when it’s convenient for you.
Photo credit: Some rights reserved by elenathewise.
Leave a Comment
Great article. I have written a lot about what it takes to be productive while writing. I fortunately am able to listen to music which creates an easy bubble for me to work in. I don’t do coffee shops simply because of the visual distractions. I prefer the public library or my own home office.
I also love the idea of coworking. I have a few friends who cowork and they absolutely love the concept and all of the networking that they can do while they complete their projects.
I tend to stall on writing at home so I go to a coffee shop that has free wifi and plug outlets. But the company can be distracting at times.
When I really need to crank out work, I go to the library and sit in the most out of the way place possible. I love the quiet, too!
Great article. I think it goes without saying that work space selection is a very personal decision; which is why I’m surprised more employers don’t encourage teleworking — or at the very least the freedom to choose where work is done.
Having said that — I found your co-working space preference over coffee shops interesting. Especially the costs affiliated with each.
Co-working spaces are terrific! They fill a void for professionals of all backgrounds and vocations who otherwise aren’t able to work in “traditional” work spaces (regardless of the reason).
And while I may seem biased (I’m trying not to be here), for me and countless others, the coffee shop seems like the best choice to do work.
In terms of costs, yes, it’s common etiquette to purchase something at a coffee shop if you’re going to be taking up space and using their free wifi. So for the sake of friendly discourse, if you were to buy a $2.50 cup of coffee everyday for a month, you’d only spend around $50/month.
By comparison, a part-time, month-to-month membership at Paragraph is $110. Sure it comes with all the extras and perks — membership sure does have its privileges — but speaking personally, I certainly couldn’t add that to my monthly budget.
So just to recap — as Melanie writes, co-working spaces are great; but they don’t answer all spacing questions! At the same time, coffee shops also offer great spaces to work; but plenty of people can’t do it.
Where one chooses to work — barring any full-time geographic obligations — is far too personal a decision. Your best bet, if it’s in your budget, is to experiment with all options to see what works for you.
The problem I run into is not so much where to WORK (I work from home), but where to MEET clients. Usually I drive to meet them somewhere in between where we both live, since many come from a bigger city area than I live in. Usually I go for a Borders or Barnes and Noble, but lately when I’ve tried, they’re either closing down or are always packed, then they hound you to buy something or you can’t stay at the tables. I’ve tried Starbucks, but it always seems a little too loud and distracting to have a quiet meeting. A library is an interesting idea, but I wonder if that would be awkward if it’s one outside my city.
Where are some other suggestions that offer free wifi and a quiet environment?
Hi Laci;
First off…let me say that your website is SO intimidating! In an “it’s off the hook!” sorta way…
Nowadays you can throw a stone in any direction and almost always find a wifi connection. Barring that, I’ve used http://v4.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm to find locations…for myself and for others in a pinch.
I did a quick search of your zip code and city, which produced almost 1500 results.
Hope that helps!
I’m going to go look at my website now and cry…
Ha ha, thanks Sam! The ironic thing is, I’m actually changing the website to simplify it because it’s Flash-based and I’ve found that it doesn’t tend to work for a lot of potential clients. I agree, it looks pretty cool, though! I used http://www.sitecube.com to create it, so check it out if you want something similar…you don’t have to have any knowledge of coding or web design to make a site there.
Laci,
What about meeting at a local library? There are usually spaces where you can sit and talk with someone where you don’t have to worry about being “shhhhh’ed.”
If you are a part of a chamber of commerce you could look into meeting there as well. I know the one in my town has a meeting room.
Yes, there are some great places in my town, the problem is that I often drive an hour to meet clients based closer to Los Angeles. Would it be “weird” to meet at a library where I’m not a member?
I truly agree with the fact that if you want to become productive one definitely needs a quite place to work in.Its really hard to concentrate on something when there is too much noise around you.
Thanks for sharing:)
I dread the thought of writing in anywhere else but my study. I too am one of the unfortunates, in that I can’t enjoy music whilst writing. It’s a terrible distraction for me.
Great article. I have written a lot about what it takes to be productive while writing. I fortunately am able to listen to music which creates an easy bubble for me to work in. I don’t do coffee shops simply because of the visual distractions. I prefer the public library or my own home office.
I also love the idea of coworking. I have a few friends who cowork and they absolutely love the concept and all of the networking that they can do while they complete their projects.
i love to be in a quiet place.