As George RR Martin would have put it if his kids were in public school: Summer’s coming. (“A Song of Bored and Cranky”) This Summer, I plan to try to use some coworking spaces to get the heck out of the house and away from the kids for a couple of days a week.
So far, I’ve tried out “eat-working” (Starbucks, Panera, Einsteins), which really doesn’t offer the kind of long-term desk situation I’m looking for, “public-working” at the library, which had iffy chairs and tables and intermittent Internet, and (so far) one commercial day trial, which had great desks, horrible chairs, nice ambience, but a no-talking policy which meant I couldn’t conference, use my phone, or use Siri except by stepping outside. (And absolutely no way to turn up the iTunes volume and shout it out, shout it out loud…)
If you’ve coworked and have any recommendations for what I should be looking for in a good coworking space, please share. I’m not exactly looking for place recommendations (unless you have specific ones to mention) but more to put together a list for myself of what makes a good coworking environment so I can better evaluate what I”m looking at before committing to any monthly or longer contract. I’d appreciate any advice you have to offer.
I’m looking for something fairly local, inexpensive, with good business-level WiFi, comfortable business-level chairs and desks (I can bring in my own lumbar cushion and footstool if needed), safe area, clean bathrooms, nearby shops, a microwave, easy in-and-out, and daylockers of some sort so I don’t have to carry absolutely everything in and out with me every time I hit the bathroom or go to lunch. I’d also like to be surrounded more by tech folk than marketing folk but I recognize that’s not going to be something I can control.
I will say that while I was remarkably productive on my days out, I was productive in all the wrong ways: I zoomed through my correspondence. I’m now set up beautifully with my calendar and with “Things“. I got nothing done on actual development or real writing work. And I did nothing that needed phones, such as making appointments or checking in on projects. I also found it really hard to take breaks, stretch, and just do the “wander and think” thing.
What kind of work opportunities do you reserve for outside your office? And how do you adapt your workflow to small screens (I have the new MBP with me), strange places, and ergonomic limits?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.