Working in coffee shops, restaurants and other public places

The ability to bring a portable computing device makes paper writing, researching, and other tasks much easier to do. Some students prefer working in coffee shops and restaurants for a number of reasons. However, at times we find ourselves competing against another person for that last electric socket or being unable to connect to that supposedly free Wi-Fi service because of the number of people using the same service at the same time. This guide is to help the modern student get over those nasty hurdles and be able to take full advantage of the portable work space.

This was inspired by articles I saw in Lifehacker and Gizmodo, as well as our school magazine

Part I: The Essentials

It is assumed that if you are reading this that you either own a laptop or a tablet. So this part of the guide are devices and gadgets that enhance the capability of laptops and tablets as portable work spaces. Aside from your laptop/device and its charger (with outlet adapter), these are other things you need to make it through a day of work.

1. The power socket splitter/extension cord
• The power socket splitter/extension cord is a must whenever one plans to work outside school and in a public place for obvious reasons. These places have a limited number of power outlets to be used by consumers, and at most probably by the time one arrives at the place, these sockets may be full; not so good when you are down to the last 20% of your battery. 
2. Portable Broadband/Mobile WiFi
• If the restaurant/coffee shop does not have free Wi-Fi or the free Wi-Fi fails, these broadband/portable Wi-Fi devices can save you when you really need an internet connection. Major carriers Globe, Smart, and Sun Cellular have their own services. If you usually find yourself in the same area most of the time, it's good to ask around which carrier provides a better connection in that area. Portable Wi-Fi hotspots on the other hand are much like portable broadband dongles but they enable to user to connect a certain number of devices to the mobile broadband internet over Wi-Fi. Here's an example reviewed in the popular tech blog, Yugatech (Globe). Here's one by Smart.
3. A mouse and a mouse pad
• It's simple. Using your laptop's trackpad for a prolonged period of time can be a pain. So save your fingers and get yourself a mouse. If you don't need a super precise mouse, cheap ones can do. But make sure that the mouse can work on a variety of surfaces (test it before buying it or read the packaging). A mouse pad is also a good thing to bring along to make sure the mouse works all the time. 
• Different kinds of mice are available in the market. If you have enough money, go with the Bluetooth wireless models. These are easy to stow away and lessen the clutter around your already small workspace. Or buy the ones with a retractable cable if you're trying to save up, as shown here. 
4. A USB thumb drive
• These things are life-savers. If you suddenly need to back-up something, save something, print something, or to recover a file, having a USB thumb drive is a must. Make sure that it's at least 1 GB in capacity and has a strap/necklace attached to it for easy safekeeping.
5. Earphones
• For those moments that you want to listen to a song or watch a quick movie for a break (that probably would never end), good earphones are key. For me personally, I wouldn't skimp out money for this one. Earphones are an investment most people ignore. Buy ones that are comfortable and durable.

Part II: What to do before leaving your house/condo/dorm

There are things that you need to do aside from having the essentials if you plan to go out and work in a public place. This steps will make sure that you are prepared and ready to conquer that paper as you type your night away in Starbucks or Coffee Bean

1. Charge your batteries
• This is a no brainer. Make sure your batteries are charged and ready to go before leaving to work. Just in case there are no plugs at all in the place, at least you have some juice in your laptop to work on and hopefully enough until you find a plug
2. Pack your laptop with your charger and essentials
• Again, another obvious step. Make sure everything is packed before you leave. You wouldn't want to catch yourself without these while trying to make a 12 midnight deadline. I obviously separated the charger from the essentials because the charger is not just an essential, it's the source of life, literally. 
3. Don't over-pack; make sure that you carry what you need
• Don't make your bag heavy enough as it is with your laptop and all that other stuff. Bring only stuff that you need to work with

 Part III: Settling down at the place itself..

You have finally found a decent place to conduct your work in. Here are a few tips to make you feel comfortable as well as other people around you and the management of the establishment.

1. Buy something. Anything
• If you're going to leech of a place's Wi-Fi or electricity, at least make your stay there beneficial to the business of the establishment, especially if it's going to be a slow day for them. Buy a cup of coffee (you'll need it anyway) or a snack. 
2. Find a spot that is near a power source
• For obvious reasons, of course.
• If you cannot find a vacant plug, refer to the next tip
3. Use your splitter adapter to share the outlet with someone
• It won't just be you working in that place, especially on a busy day. Use your splitter to ask someone to share their plug with you or to offer someone a socket to plug it in
• Using the splitter can also allow you to charge multiple devices, but if you can use your laptop's USB ports to charge mobile devices such as phones, iPods, etc. This allows more space for sharing power outlets
4. Don't make a mess. Keep a minimal but comfortable and clean working area around you 
• Don't bother other people if you do not want to be bothered. Keep your things from occupying too much space. At the same time, keep things within your arm's reach to make it easy to move around
• Keeping your area clean is a given. This helps you to focus more on the task at hand by minimizing the clutter. If you cannot bus/clean the items yourself, hopefully a bus boy will do it for you. The management and other people around you will also appreciate the clean working area you have established

There! These should get you started with being able to work comfortably in a coffee shop, restaurant, or any public place of your choice. Working in these place has its pros and cons, but these tips should help you maximize the working experience. If you want to read more, Lifehacker has great tips on working in coffee shops: http://lifehacker.com/5637503/how-to-stay-productive-working-from-coffee-shops-or-anywhere-out-of-the-office and http://lifehacker.com/5578250/get-things-done-from-a-coffee-shop-without-being-unbearable