Where are the best work locations for freelancers? Or anyone that happens to work from home for that matter?
For many office workers, being your own boss and working from home sounds like an absolute dream. However, many of us who actually go on to do exactly that quickly realise it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. It can be incredibly lonely; and the temptation of watching TV, spending an hour making lunch and fighting the urge to take a power nap can provide obstacles to getting significant work done.
So what’s the answer?
Getting out of the house for at least a few hours a day to knuckle down and get some serious work done.
In this post I take a look at some of the places that are tried and tested freelancer locations, and some that are less conventional.
Best Work Locations for Freelancers
1. Coffee Shops
The most obvious place to start. Coffee shops have long become the haunt of freelancers, solopreneurs and those of us who have the flexibility to “work from home” within their employment.
This is a great location for several reasons. Firstly, you can get everything you need to keep you going for the day. You have the obvious caffeine fix from the coffee, but most reputable establishments also offer food. Which means you can set up your work station at breakfast and plough right through until closing time.
Secondly, coffee shops are renowned for their free Wi-Fi and plug sockets. Ideal for us solo workers looking to get set up for hours of solid uninterrupted work. There’s nothing worse than working against the clock of your laptop’s battery! (Top tip: invest in a portable laptop power pack like this one from Jackery, they can be an absolute life saver!)
The only issue with coffee shops is that the secret is out, and therefore everybody uses them for this purpose. So you will find yourself battling for bandwidth on the Wi-Fi and for a suitable table and chair for working (anyone else find it impossible to work on those really low leather sofas?).
So if the fan favourite coffee shop isn’t available where can you go?
2. Hotels
I spend most of my days in my local Costa Coffee, but when I need to change it up I’ve found hotels are a great alternative. Most of them have large lobby areas with suitable seating, Wi-Fi (you may have to charm the receptionist into giving you the code) and some of them even have small concession stalls with food and coffee (plug sockets can be a bit and miss).
Mid-week is often the best time to hit hotels as they are often deserted before the weekend rush starts from Thursday onwards. If you feel bad about using and abusing their facilities make sure to at least buy a coffee so you’re not just freeloading.
This is probably not a place you want to be working day in day out, as you could potentially be asked to leave eventually, unless you can befriend the staff. Although you will likely get away with it at busier locations.
3. Libraries
My favourite on this list has to be libraries. And yes there are still plenty around! Libraries can often be awe-inspiring places, especially if you study in one with historical significance.
The biggest advantage of these establishments is they literally exist to facilitate work. There are often silent study areas, plug sockets, water fountains, easy accessible toilets, and small cafés to keep you going with coffee and food (can you tell I like coffee?).
The biggest issue is that their very existence is sadly at crisis point. In the UK they are seen as one of the easiest things to cut out of the budget of local councils, and where they are indeed open, the hours have been slashed to the point of only being able to get a few solid hours in before being turfed out and having to look for alternative work locations (yep, back to the coffee shop).
If you want to get some real work done you will likely have to head to a city centre library which will likely incur fairly significant travel costs (unless you live in the centre). But when they are architectural masterpieces, with grand study rooms dating from over a hundred years ago, I really don’t mind. Working in those gigantic libraries can really give you inspiration and get you fired up for your day’s objectives.
Luckily the UK has plenty of them, well, for the moment at least.
4. Pubs
The traditional British pub is dying, there’s no escaping it.
In fact, 18 pubs a week are permanently closing their doors in the Britain alone.
This great British institution is having to pivot its offering to stay afloat. The focus for pubs is now much more on quality food offerings rather than relying on punters coming down to “have a few pints”.
Another one of those pivots is catering for businesses and events and this is where us, as freelancers, can profit. Some pubs are now trying to compete with the coffee shops to become locations for business meetings, working brunches and small conferences. All of this means many of them now offer reliable Wi-Fi, decent coffee and plug sockets in strategic places.
The reason I often work in one of my local pubs at least once a week is because during working hours, pubs are often almost deserted.
Most of their trade comes in the evenings, with a few retiree lunches and young mummy meetings taking place here and there. Which means you won’t have to contend with the noise levels present in busy coffee shops. You can get there for opening, choose your own spot with a plug socket, order a coffee (and/or breakfast) to your table and crack on.
5. Trains
I know you raised your eyebrow when you read that, but let me explain.
This is actually a tip that I picked up from copywriter Dan Meredith (read his expletive-filled book here, it will certainly make you sit up and pay attention!). If you look at the right time (either miles in advance or super last-minute) for a specific train, at a specific time (usually during low demand hours in the middle of the day) there are often some incredible deals on train tickets.
Often you can upgrade to first class for a nominal fee which means, yes you guessed it, FREE COFFEE, and free food, which I guess is fine too, and free Wi-Fi. The aim is to buy a single on a specific train and then return on another specific train with another single ticket. The length between destinations is up to you, although I would pick a line that only stops a few times to minimise distractions.
My perfect journey is Manchester to Birmingham (UK, obviously. New Hampshire to Alabama would be a bit of a stretch!). It takes about 1 hour 45 mins each way, and I can stop off at the redesigned Grand Central Terminal at New Street, grab some lunch, and then head back to the platform and knuckle down again on the way back up to Manchester.
Now you might think this is an expensive waste of time. But you can get tickets for as little as £12 (one way) on this route, and don’t forget first class includes free food and drink, saving you buying lunch in Birmingham.
I know there are many of you that would spend this amount on coffee, breakfast and lunch in coffee shops so don’t be dismissive, plus if you manage to get a seat on the “quiet carriage” you will get a heap of work done, because you have literally nothing else to focus on, no distractions, just you and your work for the next 2 hours.
Obviously the major drawback is trains that don’t offer Wi-Fi, or worse charge for the privilege (robbing b**tards). If you have trains that don’t give you free Wi-Fi you could always use your phone as a hotspot and keep to low data consuming activities. But again it’s not ideal, do your research ahead of time, and see if it’s included.
6. Fast Food Restaurants
Probably my least favourite on this list, but a perfectly viable alternative. When I say fast food restaurants I am almost exclusively talking about MacDonald’s. They provide reliable free Wi-Fi (globally) and now in the UK they have started to roll out “executive” areas.
These areas are reserved for business people looking for a quick meeting over a coffee (ok I swear this is the last time I’ll mention it!) or prepping a few slides on their laptop for the next PowerPoint they need to deliver to their boss.
My personal issue with these areas are noise. Even though they have been strategically placed in the quietest areas of their restaurants (with plug sockets), I still find there are plenty of screaming kids (and adults) which can prove very distracting.
Maybe your local branch doesn’t encounter the same problems as mine, so give it a try and keep an open mind. You might find it’s an amazing fit for you. It just hasn’t worked for me on the occasions I’ve tried it.
Let me know in the comments if you know of any other fast food restaurants that have good Wi-Fi, decent you know what (I won’t say it), and access to power outlets. It may be that I have missed a great provider.
A Word on Shared Office Spaces
I’m sorry, but I just don’t get these places.
By these places I am talking about either booking either your own desk or paying a smaller fee to take whatever desk is available. Companies such as WeWork and Regus specialise in this particular service offering.
But they aren’t cheap.
The minimum price for a desk in my location is £250 a month.
What do you get in return?
Well you don’t even get to choose where to work (you have to pay extra for that) which is just the same as turning up at a coffee shop hoping no one has stolen your favourite spot.
Secondly, their main selling point is good Wi-Fi and unlimited fruit water and coffee (dammit, knew I couldn’t avoid mentioning it again).
Well that’s not worth £250 a month to me. After my two cups of Joe I’m good to go for the rest of the day. Not to mention the fact that they always choose city centre locations which ramps up the transport costs.
They’ll also want £375 (1.5x first month rent) up front just to get through the front door. If I paid that and ended up having to work sitting on a beanbag, leather sofa or rocking chair I would be fuming. I would have to upgrade to a dedicated desk, spending yet more money.
Maybe I’m just a cheap-skate, but I’ll happily spend that nearly £4,000 a year for a dedicated desk (likely more once you add on the additional fees) on more important things and make local freelancer hang outs work for me.
Conclusion
Freelancing or working for yourself as a digital nomad is pretty cool, but it doesn’t work if you don’t put in the serious hours required, after all it’s still your livelihood. Which means treating it like a job, get up, get dressed and go to a location that works for you.
You can always nip home for meals and then head to a new location to keep the mind from becoming stagnant.
For me personally, all I do is spend £2-£3 on a coffee, whether that’s in a coffee shop, hotel or library. Once I’ve downed that, I work as hard as I can until I run out of energy or complete all of my “must do” tasks. I then head home to eat (this is usually as late as 3pm or 4pm as I do intermittent fasting) and then tie up any loose-ends in the last few hours of the working day at my desk at home.
Where do you find is a good spot to nail some work?
What does your routine look like?
Let me know in the comments below.