Now that most coffee shops and restaurants offer free Wi-Fi to their patrons, it’s tempting to grab your laptop and head out for the day.
While an internet connection is important, public spaces aren’t the best for productivity, and if you’re an entrepreneur trying to get your business going, here’s why you should consider building a home office (or renting one) instead.
Public Wi-Fi is a security risk
There are numerous risks associated with using public Wi-Fi. For example, your browser sessions can get hijacked, hackers can monitor your web traffic (including your login information), or you might connect to a hacker’s network that mimics the real network, giving them access to your entire device.
Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can mitigate this risk significantly by encrypting all of your traffic, and can help avoid Man In The Middle (MITM) attacks. However, many Wi-Fi spots have started blocking VPNs for their own security, so that may not work. Another downside is that using a VPN on a public network will slow you down even more than at home.
Protecting your business is essential, and that’s easier done at home or in a rented office. If you think about it, you probably go out of your way to protect all your devices with an insurance policy, a nice case, and the best antivirus software. So, don’t forget to protect your data, too.
You’ll lose precious time
That coffee shop down the street that takes seven minutes to get to is actually more than seven minutes away. It takes time to get dressed and ready to go out, pack your laptop and the rest of your gear, get in the car, and maybe get gas on the way. Once you arrive at the coffee shop, you have to find parking, walk into the shop, wait in line, place your order, wait for your order, find a table, and then set up your laptop.
That’s a lot of work just to get going! If you’re serious about building your business, you can’t afford to waste time. If working from a coffee shop takes an extra hour out of your day, it needs to be worthwhile. In other words, to make it worthwhile, you need to see some kind of benefit you can’t get while working at home. Imagine what you could accomplish if you had that extra hour every day. If you work five days a week, that’s 20 hours a month.
Constant disruptions deplete energy
Public spaces are full of non stop distractions and disruptions. Whether it’s noise from behind the counter, customers having loud conversations, or kids running around, you can expect perpetual interruptions.
Most people don’t realize just how much of their energy gets wasted by constant disruptions while they’re trying to work. Since it’s considered normal to field a barrage of phone calls, text messages, and social media notifications, disruptions have become a part of life. But they’re all energy zaps. Each time you get taken off task – even for a split second – your brain has to catch up with the change, and then settle back into the task when you realign your focus. Some people call this multitasking, but it’s actually rapid task-switching, and it’s draining your energy.
Once you create a quiet space to work with no interruptions, you’ll notice you have more energy and feel less distracted and frazzled throughout your work day. You’ll be more productive, meet your goals and deadlines, and still have time to hang out with friends.
Distractions take you out of flow state
That magical space called “flow state” is where you can do your best work, but the distractions in a public place will either ensure you never reach flow state, or pull you out fast. When thrown off track, it takes the average person 23 minutes to get back to their original task. It takes even longer to get back into your flow.
When you work from an office, you control who comes into your space, and you have the power to block distractions. If you live with other people, close your door and put up a sign when you can’t be interrupted. You can get into your flow and stay there as long as you need.
Successful entrepreneurs eliminate and avoid distractions
At the end of the day, working from a public space will hit you with nonstop distractions outside of your control. Once in a while, it’s nice to have a change of scenery, but it’s not ideal for daily work when you’re trying to launch a business. If you’re serious about your business, opt for a more secure, controllable work environment to stay focused on achieving your goals.
Read more:
Why Successful Entrepreneurs Aren’t Using Public Wi-Fi
