Many web workers and freelancers like to get out of the house once in a while and set up shop at Starbucks, Borders or the local coffee shop. I did this, too, until I realized that there’s a much better – and cheaper – option just down the road. My library. Here’s why I love it so.
No distractions
Starbucks is erupting with distractions. The first is the music. I like to listen to music when I work, but it’s got to be instrumental. If a song has lyrics, I’ll pay attention to them. Don’t get me wrong, the music at these places is great, but not while I’m concentrating. On the other hand, the library is as quiet as…well, a library.
There’s also several conversations within earshot, other people clacking away on their keyboards…one time a woman asked me to troubleshoot her connectivity issues. Sorry, lady, but I’m trying to work here.
Free
The library is free. Places like Starbucks and Borders charge for Wi-Fi access, not to mention the drinks and food. I don’t know about you, but I can’t sit in a coffee shop without ordering something. And then something else. And something else. If you’re doing life-sustaining work as you sit there, you’re eating and drinking some of your own profits.
Room to spread out
The coffee houses in my neighborhood have these tiny, round tables that seem barely larger than my MacBook Pro. Forget trying to add a mouse, a drink and some papers. The library offers huge, flat tables that beg, “Come, dump out all your stuff!”
Phone calls
I know what you’re going to say. “But I can make phone calls in the coffee shop. Not the library.” It’s true that cell phones are not allowed in most libraries. I’ve got to stand in the entrance way to use mine. However, it has been my experience that the coffee shop is so noisy, I end up going outside to take a call. So there’s really no difference.
I know that it’s the hip thing to be seen writing in public, but the library is the best place to do it. Give it a try.
I agree. I go to my local library branch at least once a week. It’s not ideal or every situation but it is great for those times when you need to give your undivided attention. Another you can get at the library beside books is business newspapers and journals. In my city, Greenville, SC we have a local business newspaper, GSA Business that publishes a lot in print you don’t find online. I am able to keep track of local trends, my competition, etc.
Sometimes the Internet access can be more limiting, even via the wireless. For example my local library doesn’t allow the use of social networks like Twitter and Facebook but if you are trying to get work done on a project it’s not that big of a deal.
I do however like to use a coffee shop when I’m meeting with a potential client, etc.
linkerjpatrick: Absolutely! There is no better source (other than the internet itself) for reference material.
Do you have a physical office, or do your work primarily from home and places like the library, coffee shop, etc.?
My business has a small office we rent downtown, I also have a room in my house I work out of (My wife and I who are co-owners of the business take turns working at either the home or downtown location) but I like to go to the library once a week to check out books and DVD’s (some are new but many are older movies I never saw and we don’t have cable or satellite), read the business journals and newspapers and get some work done at the same time.
As I said before I will occasionally go to a coffee shop to meet a potential client or get a little work done between locations. One big advantage of having a laptop is I can take my office on the road. I sometimes travel when meeting clients, going on photo shoots, etc.
Very cool. I’m just starting out as a freelancer, and hope to get away with not having a brick-and-mortar office for as long as I can.
I really don’t have the luxury of going anywhere since I usually have the kids too.
I wish more bars had wi-fi. I don’t need to watch a game or smile at girls (although I enjoy both), I just want to have some time away from the house and the kids, have a beer and get some stuff done.
Whit: I hear that. My wife and I give each other a night per week to go out with our buddies. It’s great.
You each get a night a week? Wow. My wife and I struggle to have a date once a month! Maybe we’re to picky about babysitters.
What music do you listen to while you work? I don’t mind music with lyrics, but some makes better background music than others.
Jason: Those are solo nights, my friend! Not dates. We have dates on Saturday. Granted, they’re with the kids, but a fun afternoon of tooling around town and lunch at The Olive Garden as a family is something we really enjoy. Call us crazy.
PS – I’ll put up a post about my favorite music for working.
Music with lyrics breaks my concentration, too. Oddly enough, listening to repeats of t.v. shows on the iPod with headphones becomes background noise.
Wow great idea! (if you must leave your house)
I never thought of that!
Chris: Heck, you can probably use the U library across the street, no?
I have 2 jobs – one which is in an office and the other is mostly from home (I’m required on site a few times a year). I used to work from home all the time and found that I was going a little crazy. I needed to get out of my home, get some air and see other people. I think the library is a great idea. Sometimes home can be the biggest distraction. I can find a hundred things that I ‘need’ to do instead of focusing on the task at hand. Even though working the job that requires me in the office does mean keeping certain hours, I find I love walking out, leaving the desktop behind, which means the work doesn’t follow me home. I’m free to make dinner and pay attention to my husband….and respond to my brother’s posts….
[...] even written an article about how independent web workers like myself can get a day’s work done (for free!) at the [...]
Another cool thing about working in a library is that if you want to look up an article in the newspaper or research a topic, you can usually search for published articles quickly and get the full-text for FREE in a public library. You can often do that remotely as well, with a (free) library card. So if you’re doing research as part of your work, that might be another reason to consider the library.
If you’re in Mass., might I recommend the database / search engine called OneFile – it’s got a little something for everyone.
[...] written about this before, but I love working at the library. The Wi-Fi is free, there are plenty of wall sockets to plug [...]
While I love the library and often work there, a nice independent coffee shop can likewise be a good place to work. We have one in Bloomington, IN w/ comfy chairs and space to stretch out and everything. There’s a noisy front room and a quiet back room.
I love the library for free books, but I think your east-coast coffee shops and libraries are the opposite of our west-coast ones.
Coffee shops here frequently have big tables and, often as not, quiet rooms for work. The library can get just as noisy, especially if you’re anywhere near one of the conference rooms or the espresso bar. And I buy one cup of coffee no matter how many hours I work there — same as I do anywhere — which is still a good deal for the house because I never go to busy coffee shops so I’m not taking up space that a heavy spender would be using. The library hours are not the most convenient, either (10-8 at best, while most coffee shops are open at least 7-midnight).
Plus, have you *seen* the library here?
Not only is it one of the two ugliest buildings in the city, it’s nearly impossible to find your way around in it. Coffee shops aren’t perfect, but at least I never have trouble finding the door!
As one example of how much I love our library’s design: after you take this skinny escalator 2 stories straight up (I’m a rock climber and this thing gives *me* vertigo), how do you get back down? There’s no down escalator: the correct answer is “walk halfway across the building and get in an elevator”.
When you’re out and about working, what do you do with your stuff when you need to go make a phone call or use the facilities? I guess I’m not very trustful of strangers, so I always end up chickening out of leaving my laptop behind, so I close it up and take it and my purse with me, leaving my laptop bag to mark my spot.
I am a huge fan of the libraries, thanks for the tip of your hat to them. Here in the SF Bay Area, they are often architecturally interesting and lovely. I wah for a small start-up, so just getting out in the public is a breath of fresh air. And I consider my late fees just one more way I support them.
Glad someone finally pointed it out.
I started my freelance work from the library. Had the same area I went to every time I was there. Only a few blocks from my apartment. It was basically my first office. Also made use all the resources there (scanners, printers, etc…). Only down side was bringing coffee or something in to drink while I worked.
Some libraries like Wellington City Library in New Zealand have meeting rooms for hire at a really reasonable price, as well as wi-fi, powerpoints, private desks and a nice view.
Wonderful idea, though it all depends on how good your library is. I live in Georgia, and let’s just say that it is NOT a paragon of intellectualism. There are a few places with wonderful libraries (and most of them surround Atlanta), but some of them are pure shite.
Also great if you’re homeless. (I worked out of the local library for about a year… it was full of homeless people in need of heat and a place to nap.)
besides library, there is one place where serenity and tranquility meets and that is in cemetery. one composer back home used to compose his award winning songs just by sitting in the green grass of cemetery just at the foot of a tree. The trouble though, there is no electrical outlet to plug your laptop there if it runs out of battery.
nice post!
SHH!!! Don’t tell everyone. We don’t want these people at the library. There won’t be much room, or much wifi when you have let everyone know the greatest secret of the 21st century.
I’ve spent a lot of time working on my PhD at both coffee shops at libraries, and I generally prefer coffee shops. Some libraries can be noisy, and some don’t let you drink coffee. The ones around here also tend to have terrible seats (I have a bad back). And personally I find the fact that I’m paying for my seat at a coffeeshop gives me focus, and the surrounding activity can be energising (though there’s always a bit of a danger of a loud nearby conversation).
Screaming little kids and homeless people in the bathroom…plus angry unemployed and people recently released from prison …and —say it with me– SWINE FLU!! Yeah, it’s the Library man Library whoo hooo. Look at me, I’m a cool freelancer with my $3000 MacBook Pro —at the Library yeah! I’m back in school….
[...] even written an article about how independent web workers like myself can get a day’s work done (for free!) at the [...]
You’re choosing a publicly-funded library over a free-enterprise coffee shop?! Socialist!
[...] http://davecaolo.com/productivity/forget-starbucks-work-at-the-library/ [...]
I would LOVE to use my neighborhood library, but like Not Really above, the place has become inhospitable to workers. Rather, it’s become a de facto homeless shelter. Do I have sympathy for the homeless? Absolutely. Am I able to work next to one who hasn’t bathed in a month and keeps muttering to himself? Absolutely not.
Last time I was there, a homeless woman kept accusing a young college student of staring at her (he wasn’t). He gave up studying and left. She stayed. I left, too, and went to Starbucks.