Working from home over long periods of time isn’t really my jam. As a subscriber to agile methodologies, I figured I would embark on an experiment to see if I could find ways to work out of doors in these challenging times!
Working away from home does have its challenges, so here are some notes I took along the way. Getting through the day may have these considerations:
- Have a face-mask (or 2) for those times you may be unable to keep your physical distance from others
- Hand sanitizer – stick a small, highly-portable bottle in your kitbag, for easy access!
- Find a well-ventilated work-space
- outdoors is ideal
- if indoors, then make sure a door is open to the facility (or 2 doors like at some local cafés I have noted elsewhere)
- What about electrical power?
- Leave home with a full charge in your laptop
- If possible you may be able to find a plug on a wall somewhere, but this is a challenge!
- Portable power-bank for USB device charging (like a RAVPower portable charge bank)
- Portable power-bank, for battery boosting, construction sites, etc
- Heavy duty power-bank
- note that you may need a power-inverter if you don’t get the right sine wave out of a unit like this!
- Network connectivity
- Proximity to a WIFI source at a public building (City of Victoria, BC Govt., GVPL), coffee shop, restaurant, etc.
- consider use of a device like a Rocket Hub, which gives you a monthly subscription to wireless data services
- Use ShawOpen, if you are a Shaw customer
- Telus Wifi may be available – though not as ubiquitous as Shaw
- Refreshment
- bring a snack pack, and consider your needs for all-day coffee / tea / kombucha
- Bathroom
- this can be a challenge!
- many places of business are take-out only, and bathrooms are not available
- make sure you know where public bathroom facilities are!
- Screen visibility
- laptop viewing can be hard out of doors
- find a position where you can reduce glare on screen
- an umbrella can help
- Clothing
- I tend to dress in layers, so can layer up or down as needed given the ambient conditions
- Hat – always pack a hat of some sort, I would say!
- Seating
- outdoor patio seating at some establishment to keep you comfy
- conside a portable camp chair, or some sort of folding chair if you are parked on a sidewalk, as in the photo above
- a cushion for outdoor use may come in handy