Laptop Lifestyle

Coming to you from a cafe in Spitalfields market today. Needed wifi and to get out of the flat.

I've always had this secret envy of the people I see working in public places. Who wouldn't love the freedom to work at their own pace, on their own terms, in any environment they choose?

Ok so it's not as simple as that and it's probably not for everyone. You need tons of self-discipline. There are a multitude of distractions to fight and no boss or company IT restrictions to stop you succumbing to them. There's no one to give you a structure to your day or set your priorities for you or break the big goals into little tasks and give you deadlines. Here's the scariest part - there is no one who will force you to achieve anything.

I'm still pretty sloppy with it all. Have a really productive few hours, and then hardly do anything. I'm getting better at ticking things off the to-do list. Adopting a couple of time management techniques and imposing strict facebook, chat and daytime TV bans or quotas has helped tremendously. Plus I am learning where I work best. Sometimes it's in the flat, but after a while I might need a change of scenery and the noise of a cafe (not to mention the fuel they sell). I should try the library too, and when it's warmer maybe the great outdoors.

I think these are my major issues right now:

-My attention often flicks far too quickly between a million different things - all important to me but too varied and unrelated to each other. This means that with the exception of some rare moments of inspiration or focus, there is not enough depth or continuity to my 'work'.

-My to-do list is a lifesaver but still very micro-level. I'd love something that related the little tasks to the larger goals, but still presented them altogether (rather than just having different lists) so that I could easily pick out the ones that would work best with the time I had available/the mood I found myself in/etc and make sure I am working towards all of those goals with some degree of efficiency.

Well I have a long way to go, but one thing's for sure: I absolutely LOVE this laptop lifestyle. Now, if only I could get paid to have it.