I have worked from home for roughly 9 years, more or less. It is usually a great setup as I have a home office. I don’t have a door on my office and the acoustics are horrible. So, sometimes it makes sense to find somewhere else to work. Sometimes I do this for the “Hawthorne Effect” in that I am paying attention to my working situation because it is different and I can be more productive (e.g. working from a coffee shop).
However, sometimes I need a different situation because things are different at home, like kids are home from school, animals are needier than normal, or there is some outdoor noise (lawn mowers, construction, etc.). I have considered a co-working space, but the affordable options wouldn’t necessarily solve those problems as they aren’t private offices.
An option that I have considered is going to the library. Many libraries have private study rooms available where one could have discussions (including conference calls). The stipulation is generally that this is for personal use and not business purposes at public libraries, but I don’t see much an issue fudging it when it isn’t done frequently. I have also tried to quantify taking a class at a university just to have library privileges (and there are plenty of other benefits to being listed as a student that could be leveraged).
Has anyone had a similar circumstance? What solutions have you found?
It wouldn’t address noise from outside with commercial grade lawn tractors going around at the neighbors’ houses or my internal acoustics. I need to record some audio, which is what really brought this up. I had some less pressing need to do this before to fix the audio, but I have this coming up more and more.
Also, I think having a door would just make the wife think that the kids didn’t need to keep quiet because of the door, so the net difference would likely be negligible.
My HOA wouldn’t be happy with any additional structures in the yard or an RV in the drive way long term. Also, these are all rather extreme for some edge cases. I just need an option for sometimes. Also, I did mention that I have looked into co-working spaces, but the affordable options aren’t dedicated offices so it wouldn’t fix anything. Also… when there are outdoors things going on… I doubt a shed or RV would overcome those noises.
Yes, you work out of a barn… but have you checked out the turkeys? They are happy, happy, happy until that one day when they have a VERY SHORT and VERY UNHAPPY work experience at the packing plant…
I have found that some of the regular study cube at the library work find when I just need to write documentation. As for the recording, the city library has some study rooms that work find for recording. I can speak without bothering others and the acoustics are much better even with it just being short commercial grade carpet and ceiling tiles.
I hardly ever see those “business centers” occupied at hotels. Heck some hotel lobbies are pretty nice and quiet depending on the time of day. Just dress fancy and no one will care if hang out for a while.
Sounds like a typical WFH situation. I have many conference calls where I hear WFH children yelling in the background. If you are recording, you need a door on your office and “working” sign up where your family respects it. A basement works best. Put your family in line or it won’t work in your house.
It might be worth inquiring about community membership programs at local college libraries. There is a small private college in my town that offers a $25/year plan to non-students. You get a library card, wifi account and parking pass.
I often go there when I need to focus and get some things done, though I haven’t used it for telecommuting yet because my job really needs more screen space than is available on a single laptop.
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