You’re not crazy, it IS hard to work at a cafe - this and other truths about working remotely

Anyone can work anywhere. But not everyone can work everywhere *well*

Last week, my wife and I were on the train home from some meetings in the city. For context, we know (now) that this train is not a “multitasking commute” opportunity. We hold onto the bars and sometimes can get a hand free to play Wordle, but there is not enough time, space or connectivity to reliably check email and respond to Slack. On this particular trip, there were two young people by our feet. They sat on the floor, cross-legged on laptops, headphones in, furiously typing away while occasionally unmuting themselves to say things like, “agree” and “yes.”

I felt for them. Whether it was for work or a remote class, that train was just not going to be a great working experience.

The question is not whether they should be working on that train or if they should be required to return to the office. There’s no one right answer. Some people really thrive in the structure and separation of a building to work in, and some people have their productivity absolutely kneecapped by it. Some of us are a bit of both. I love my office set-up, because I spent a lot of time and research finding ways to make it as helpful and productive as possible, but I’m writing this newsletter from the armchair in my living room. It’s easier to focus on typing these words if I don’t have all my screens and buttons and options right in front of my face.

The first truth about remote work is - it isn’t new.

We’ve all been working outside of optimal conditions for some time now (and that’s not even counting the pandemic). But work has been getting done in cafe meetings, on trains, in Ubers, etc., for years. There’s a reason lawyers charge by the 6-minute increments - so they can bill for the time they spent thinking about you on the bus ride to work. I’m not even kidding.

Second truth about remote work is: Struggling with non-ideal working conditions is also not new.

You just can’t get your work done sitting in that cafe? You’re not broken, you just don’t like it. In other words, it isn’t optimal. I venture it’s harder for anyone who started in typical office jobs right off the bat. Hospitality folks know what I’m talking about - we are used to doing work in random places. You review price lists while sitting on a bin in the pantry, and write up staff schedules on a piece of paper you’re holding against a wall while the sauce cooks behind you on the hob. It’s not always ideal. Your laptop gets covered in water, cooking oil, or sand; or it takes you half an hour to do something you could do in ten minutes if you had the setup in which to focus. It’s never going to be as optimal as sitting in an office perfectly designed for you, but at least it gets done. When you never have the choice of a nice desk, your mind can more easily stay on the “just get it done” setting.

Third truth about remote work is, even if you’re used to it, sometimes it just does not work.

You’re not crazy. It is hard to work at an Airbnb with a tiny desk, or on the floor of a train, or when running around a kitchen - in that, you may struggle to have connectivity to send an email, or enough balance to write that menu while balancing your computer on one arm, or enough floor space to even take out your laptop without it getting crushed. There’s no way to plan for this except to plan to be flexible.

But the challenge I think most of us face, the real crux of the “difficulty” setting when working remotely, is that “just get it done” mentality. When we’re used to working in optimal, aesthetic, well-lit, air-conditioned, ideal conditions, then working in anything less becomes really, really, really fucking irritating. And it’s very easy to get swept up in that and let it influence how our work day is going to go.

With that, though, life is short, and sometimes the choice is working on the floor of an airport for a few hours while on your way somewhere cool, or not going at all.

Here’s how to get the work done even if it’s loud, hot, busy, crowded, and no outlets in sight.

Solving for irritating, loud noises

Loud people and loud noises derail focus, unless you’re a practiced meditator (or you’re my wife, who can zone out conversation like a god if she needs to focus.) If you don’t have noise canceling headphones yet, try some out. You can use them without music if music is distracting, too. They don’t keep all sounds from coming through, but they take “the edge” off. Pricey option, non-pricey option.

It’s always when you need to do a call that the cantina music turns way, way up, isn’t it?

Solving for someone hogging the outlets

Nothing worse than getting into a workflow and realising you’re going to run out of power on your laptop. Portable chargers (one for your laptop, one for your phone) are a saving grace here. I’m a huge fan of Anker chargers for their ease of use and fast charging (of my laptop, but also in charging back up). They do a nice, small “brick” as well as a magsafe phone charger. Here’s another less pricey-option.

Nearly, anyway

Solving for airport WiFi not working even though they said it would be working

Never count on the WiFi working. Download your docs beforehand (or make them editable offline, if using Google Docs) - I like to have a “backup” work task that I can do even if there’s zero wifi or data (like writing a newsletter). If you do find WiFi that works, use a VPN to protect your computer/data (and to keep your IT department from coming after you). We like NordVPN and Surfshark.

And, yet, Air France won’t care that you needed the Wifi on. 🤷

Solving for colleagues/coworkers/clients being fussy

The best way to avoid people being fussy with you is to get ahead of them. Adjust your schedule well in advance, to avoid having to do calls or send time-sensitive deliverables, when traveling. The minor irritation they may experience upon seeing your calendar is blocked is far less than having to listen to you talk over people in a busy lobby.

It may feel like this is how people react if you can’t do a call at whatever time, but in reality, the more notice you give, the less of a drama it should be.

Solving for self-sabotage

This is the hardest one to do, which is: How do you do your best work? Split what you have to do into three or four categories. Then, next to them, write down what the best location/setup is for you to do it. Screenshot your list and save it to your phone (or keep it in your Notes app). Having it handy helps you avoid decision fatigue when you’re remotely working - you can just set yourself up in the best possible matching location. Here’s what this looks like for me:

Client work (making deliverables/documents, sending them, cross-checking progress, etc): Laptop plus a second screen for reference, notebook and pencil. Best to be at a table or desk to have room for an iPad if remote. Need wifi or ability to work offline.

Administrative work (emails, answering Slack, making to-do lists): Can be done on a laptop on a table/chair, or can be done on mobile if needed. Wifi required.

Writing/creating (strategy, developing menus, newsletters, etc.): One screen, less notifications. Solo laptop at a table or in a chair. Can be done offline.

The Dark Side = The belief that you can do your work everywhere perfectly, and/or the belief that you can’t do your work anywhere but an optimal place

The final thing I’ll say is - you’re not crazy if remote work just doesn’t work for you. The online world makes it seem like other people can just whip out their laptop in an airport, get a focused hour or two done, then hop on a plane without a care in the world (and you can replace airport with train station, cafe, restaurant, hotel, Airbnb, even beach) - but in most cases, I’ve found that people are just working more, on weirder hours, to get their stuff done. If that works for you, awesome. If it doesn’t, then don’t do it. There’s something to be said for just taking days off (even to do life admin things, or to travel) so you’re not trying to be two people at once.