Working Remotely From Starbucks… My Maiden Voyage

Okay, for quite a while now I’ve been saying that I’m going to start working more and more away from the home office and at other places like Starbucks and other places around the city.

Well… I’ve finally been forced to do it for a whole week and I’ll report on it as I go… and I already have a feeling I’ll be doing it a lot more when I get back from my road trip.

But, first… I want to get out my first impressions and what I’ve learned so far this week in working remotely.  All in all… I love it… but there are both downfalls and big positives which I’ll pass onto ya as I find them.

Here are a few…

Why Working Remotely Is A Great Thing…

1. The music is pretty cool (listening to Bob Marley right now… great for creativity!)
2. The change of scenery and location gets the creative juices flowing… it’s good to break up the routine every now and then
3. Your office follows you where ever you go… and there’s a billion places with free internet access (even Starbucks… to a point .
4. I’m getting a bunch more done… way more productive today.  I think it’s mostly because I had an iced coffee and it gave me a bit of a buzz .
5. It gets you out of the house or office… and into the real world where you interact with more people.

So far, I really love working remotely… but I have a feeling that I’ll have to find 4 or 5 different places to rotate between to break up the “routine” once again.

Okay… working remotely isn’t all roses.  Here’s a bit I found that I don’t really like all that much.

Why Working Remotely Can Be A Pain In The Arse…

1. Can’t control your environment totally. If you’re in a Starbucks (or a small computer repair/internet cafe like me today in Roseburg, Oregon… small town), you’re in someone elses environment… and they for the most part control it.  For instance, right now I’m in this little place in Roseburg (my wife has a job interview today in Roseburg… so I’m working from the road)… and there is a lot of talking in the background because there is a customer who just brought in a computer for repair.  No biggie… but it is background noise I can’t control.
2. Finding free internet access can be tough sometimes. Internet isn’t always free out there… especially if you’re in a small town.  As I said, I’m passing through a small town in Oregon right now and the choices are pretty slim for wifi spots.  There are two Starbucks here… but both are in grocery stores and aren’t all that nice.  So, I just drove until I saw an “Internet Cafe” sign and went on in.  This particular place cost me $5 for the whole day… and I got a “free” iced coffee out of the deal.  So, I found a cool place… but it took me 20 minutes to find it.
3. It’s not totally private… so I have to walk outside for some phone conversations.  Earlier today I had to take a call with a client where we were talking about semi-sensitive stuff (not FBI stuff… but things that the whole world shouldn’t know).  Of course, I had to walk outside to talk to him and it’s almost 100 degrees today!  Also, there are a couple video screen capture projects I need to get done but I don’t want to slap on my headset microphone and start talking with my “radio voice” right in the middle of this little place.
4. The connection sometimes sucks. Even if you have wireless broadband… the connection can be in and out sometimes and really ticks me off.  Cross my fingers, but for the past 3 hours my connection has rocked… but for the first hour I was here it went in and out about 7 times.  So, be prepared to have to fiddle with your connection every now and then if you’re on the “house” wifi network.

That’s about it for now.

Tomorrow I’ll be down in Medford, Oregon (town of about 100k in Southern Oregon)… and will be searching for a Starbucks tomorrow morning to get a bit of work done.  I’m actually excited about it… cause this really is the “internet lifestyle” (read my “lifestyle entrepreneurship” article) and I’m loving it.

By the way… I may start to report every month on my progress in my different business endeavors so you can see what I’m doing, how I’m doing it, and how profitable it is for me.  For instance, last month I created another $800/month in recurring revenue (an additional $800/month) that pumps out to me whether I work or not… I know when I got started that I wanted to know this exact same stuff… so I’ll pass on the wealth.

Hey, I know I’m a bit behind the curve in the whole mobile working thing… but what are your experiences in working remotely?  Where do you like to work at?  What are your tips for being more productive when working remotely?