Don’t you just hate it when you see pics of people working with their laptop on the beach? You’re sitting at the office. It’s raining outside. Or – even worse – the weather outside is beautiful, and you can’t think of anything else but going out. Just out. You’d love to be trekking with your friends, but you can’t because your colleague has taken the week off. And someone has to be there. Working. At the office. With that awful neon light. Lovely, right?

I think that’s what made me quit my job many years ago. I loved what I was doing, but I couldn’t stand it anymore sitting at the office the whole day. Day in and day out. And while it may be OK if you don’t have to commute and you have your people around, that was not my case.

I was living in Germany, and my family was in Spain. That meant that I couldn’t visit them so easily for Christmas or for special days without having to almost beg for permission. And it didn’t always work. That was for me a no-go! But enough about me…

Think of all the places you could be working from if you were freelancing:

♥ Home – Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it can be effective if you want to save commuting time & eating out costs. You need excellent organization skills, though! It’s easy to take “breaks” to turn on the washing machine or to answer the phone. And that’s not what you stayed at home for in the first place… If you struggle with being productive at home, this post about work-at-home productivity may help you.

♥ A coworking space – Meet people who are in a similar situation like you. Yes, you’re still sitting in an office, but you can arrive and leave as you please, and you don’t have to sit at home alone. Having a network of coworkers can have many positive effects on your business. Who knows? You may meet someone who turns out to become your customer or project buddy.
Still, I always think that if a coworking place is not offering me as much light as I have at home, it ain’t worthy to move from my desk. If you’re a sunlight-junkie like me, you’d probably relate to what I’m saying 😉

♥ A coffee shop – I personally love it when there aren’t many people, and you can hear this soft jazzy music… With a good caffé latte… OK, confession time here… not only sunlight but also coffee-junkie!!

♥ Your favorite spot in town – Maybe you don’t like working at a coffee shop, and don’t want to sit around people working and chatting either. But you have that magical – and almost secret – place in town. Your place. It may be the library. A bank with fantastic views under the shadow of a tree. The sea. The mountain. Even that relaxing room at your fitness center. Yes. You could even find time to go and train again in your work breaks!

♥ A hotel room – If you’re out of town and desperately need to make some edit to that work you finished before leaving home, or you just need to check your emails, you can use your hotel room as your spontaneous office. In case you have no Internet in your room, hotel lobbies usually offer WiFi and they’re a nice quick fix for emergencies. And next time, make sure you have Internet access in your room 😉

♥ A plane or train – While it’s not the best place to work, why not kill those long commuting hours by finishing that project you can’t seem to get done? Think about it – you’d be done by the time you get home! The good thing about this option is that you shouldn’t have any external distractions like incoming emails or chats. That is, apart from the family sitting next to you 😉

♥ A new city or country – You could take more time to visit new places if you combine your trip with work. Apart from your laptop and a good Internet connection, what do you need to have your office anywhere else in the world for a couple of months? And after work… Take your camera, disconnect from work, go for a walk and discover your new place! You may even like it so much, that you decide to become a digital nomad.

♥ A hospital – Yes, a hospital. I couldn’t have been more grateful for being able to simply take my laptop with me and take care of the people I love.
Your concentration won’t be delivering its peak performance. You are going to be constantly interrupted by nurses, and there will be people popping in the room and talking. But you are there. Next to the person who most needs you. At the very moment she needs you. And that’s priceless.

Where would you like to work from?

As you see, the list is neverending. You don’t have to take them all, not even one of them. Do you have a favorite workplace you’d like to share below?

I can’t figure out what’s more important for me – Where I work from, or how I can distribute my time. But what I do know for sure is that I’m not going to let either of them go.
Think about it. What’s more important for you? A fix monthly income? Your time? Your life?

xoxo,
Alicia

P.S. Sorry about the laptop-on-the-beach picture! I had to 😉

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