How to Work Outside (Even If You’re a Desk Jockey)
Last week, I told you why working outside – at least from time to time – can be helpful, relaxing, and even performance-enhancing. A number of you emailed me directly, or left comments thanking me for the idea. Most people were on board with working outdoors, but mostly in theory, because let’s face it – being outside on a workday with the sun shining and the birds chirping and the breeze blowing sounds fantastic, but how realistic is it, really? Even if you’re able to convince your boss to let you take the work outside, or you find a job that gives you the freedom to work where you like, the logistics of seamlessly moving a traditionally-indoor activity to the outdoors just seem insurmountable. How are you gonna get Internet access? How will you read your emails through the glare of the sun?
Before I launch into the logistics of working outdoors, I wanted to emphasize a few of the benefits. In Biophilic Design, author Stephen Kellert notes that psychologists have aggregated the five basic requirements for office workers that, if neglected or missing, can trigger worker dissatisfaction and comprehension problems (PDF):
- Need for change (in temperature, air, scenery)
- Ability to interact with the physical environment (beyond drink from the water fountain, use the toilet, and open doors)
- Meaningful stimuli, lack of stagnant, unchanging environment (like a cubicle)
- One’s “own territory to provide safety, an identity, and protection”
- View of or access to the outside
At least 1, 2, 3, and 5 can be easily satisfied with more nature exposure. The outside world is always changing, the temperature is anything but constant, and you encounter extensive sensory stimuli. You can certainly interact with nature, by picking flowers, touching the grass, and that sort of thing, and being outside definitely gives us a nice view of the outside (since we’re in it). I don’t think it’s that nature is unique for giving us this stuff. It’s not that novelty is “good” for us. It’s that sameness is weird, alien, foreign. We may think we’re used to it, having lived with it for so long, but something ancient lurking deep inside us cries out in frustration and confusion when faced with an unchanging, non-stimulating, staid environment like an office. Or is it just me?
We need real nature, too. Technological nature such as plasma screens with images of rainforests and snow-capped mountains, orangutan screensavers (which I love – don’t get me wrong!), and nature soundtracks just aren’t the same. I think we know this instinctually, don’t we? They’re better than nothing, but they can’t really compare with the real thing. Unsurprisingly, the research suggests as much (PDF). In one recent 2008 study, people had access to either windows covered with curtains or high-definition plasma TVs (made to look like windows) depicting realistic nature scenes. Folks who saw the technological nature had improved psychological well-being, cognitive functioning, and “connection to the natural world,” while folks who saw the covered windows did not. Later, the same research group conducted another, similar study in which people either saw a real window revealing a real nature scene, a plasma depicting that same scene, or a blank wall. People who looked out the real window showed a better stress response, as indicated by a faster resumption of normal heart rate after exposure to mild stress.
With that out of the way, let’s move on, shall we?
Obviously, the people for whom this working outside stuff would be easiest to implement are the laptop jockeys, the mobile workers, and the writers. But one thing stands in their way: the lack of Internet access in places that are not bound by walls and routers. Save for the writers, whose only required references lie skullward, modern laptop workers generally need Internet access to get their work done. So, what can they do?
Find a green space with wifi access.
More and more public and state parks are making public wifi available to visitors. For example:
List of California state parks with wifi hotspots.
Austin downtown parks are getting wifi.
Current and future New York City parks with wifi.
A list of US parks with free wifi access.
I’m not sure how often it is updated, but this website appears to list many free public wifi hotspots available worldwide. Search for your area and see what you can find.
Extend your wifi range to encompass the backyard (or even more).
If you’re ambitious and relatively handy, do it yourself (tutorial number 1 and tutorial number 2). If you’re not, just buy a wifi range extender.
Other options include using router firmware that allows increased range, eliminating dead zones, and exploring these ten ways to boost your wifi signal.
Tether your laptop to your smartphone, or use a wireless card attachment.
Most smartphones have downloadable apps that allow you to tether your laptop to the phone and use it as an Internet hotspot. Or, you could buy an attachment for your laptop that allows wireless Internet access almost anywhere (with a fee, of course).
Okay, you’ve found a way to meld wifi and nature, you’ve got your laptop, and you even found a tree stump that can double as a standup workstation. You head out, coffee in hand, eager to get working and enjoy the sun, but when you plop down the laptop and flip it open to start the day’s agenda, you can’t see what you’re doing on the screen. The sun is shining, the glare is blinding. You’re effectively useless. What to do?
Find, or make, shade.
When working outdoors on a laptop, you’ll function best in the shade. The bright sun is, well, too bright. If you want to even be able to read text on a laptop in full sun, you’ll have to bump up the brightness, which will eat away at your battery life – and it won’t even be all that legible. Working outside is about reducing stress and promoting direct attention toward work-related tasks; straining with your eyes makes relaxed focus extremely hard to muster. Plus, blasting your laptop with open sun will only make it work that much harder to stay cool. If you value the length of your Macbook’s telomeres, you’ll want to stay in the shade.
Options:
You can buy a “laptop hood” that provides perpetual shade.
You can find some preexisting shade, like that from a tree.
You can bring along an umbrella. That’s what one of my Worker Bees does from home at his outdoor workstation, using a basic umbrella, a vase, and some rocks to weigh it all down. A beach umbrella stuck in the ground will also work well.
Get a laptop with a matte screen.
While glossy screens look nice in the store and indoors, they are terrible for outdoor work. Well, I suppose glossy laptop screens would work outdoors in a place like Seattle, but if there’s sun afoot? Matte, all the way.
Get an indoor/outdoor laptop.
A growing number of laptops are being made with dedicated outdoor modes. Look for models with “I/O” (indoor/outdoor), “Outdoor View,” or “Enhanced Outdoor” listed as a feature.
What if none of these options work for you? What if you can’t find a green space with reliable Internet access? Are you forever doomed to languish indoors?
No. “Working outdoors” doesn’t necessarily require total avoidance of any sign of civilization. You don’t have to climb Half Dome just to write some emails, nor must your shade be provided by a Joshua tree in the middle of Death Valley. You needn’t be remote, nor cut off from everything and everyone. You just need some fresh air.
This can take many forms, none of them extreme:
A standup workstation set up on your patio, like this commenter from last week (who is “already happier!”). Just being outside is good enough, but throw in some potted plants, a fruit tree, maybe some birds? Baby, you got yourself some green space!
Holding the next business meeting at the local public park, on a picnic table, instead of at a restaurant or in a board room at the business park.
Walking meetings, wherein you walk and talk and plan and brainstorm. Or, better yet, hiking meetings! Hey, if they were good enough for Aristotle and his students, walking meetings are good enough for the likes of you. There are numerous advantages to having walking or outdoor meetings, including:
- Fewer distractions – Although I’ve seen some evidence to the contrary, most people won’t whip out their phone to check something if you’re walking and talking with them.
- Greater concentration – Walking actually improves brain function, as you’re walking. Being outdoors while you do it? Even better.
What’s truly ironic – and extremely cool – about our increasing reliance on technology for essentially all aspects of work is that instead of preventing our communion with nature, they actually make it even more possible. Sure, most of us don’t get nearly enough nature access, we have to go look for it, and we like to blame work for our nature deficit, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Your boss may not be on board (yet), but unlike ever before in recent decades, we have the physical ability to take our work back to nature. No stacks of papers to be flung around by the wind, no landlines keeping us bound to our desks. The technology exists to allow us to work from almost anywhere at anytime. We live in an age of astounding possibility and potential, as of yet unrealized. If you have the freedom to make this possible, if nothing and no one is holding you back from taking your laptop outdoors, what are you waiting for? Give it a try. Refer your excuses to the lists above, and stop making them.
It doesn’t have to be every day, or even every other day. It might just mean you sneak out to the company garden for an extended break, or check your emails out in your backyard. I’m persuaded, based on the (albeit limited) research and my own experiences integrating the outdoors with my work, that adding any amount of nature exposure to your daily work life will be incredibly helpful. You may not see a massive performance boost, but you’ll be a bit less stressed. You may not be more productive, but you’ll enjoy your work more. And all that stuff matters.
Okay, that’s it for me, folks. Now it’s your turn. I want to hear what you’ve been able to accomplish. How have you melded work with nature, if at all? What roadblocks have you encountered, and how did you get around them?
Let us all know in the comment section!
Get the Free 7-Day Course on the Primal Blueprint Fundamentals for Lifelong Health Delivered to Your Inbox
Posted By: Mark Sisson
I work in a lab in which we fought to have a windo installed! But rain or shine or cold or heat I always skip lunch and run the hills, walk, or just get out of the office for fresh air– the afternoon is better because I am energized!
Well… in Sweden the sun is that much of problem while working outside, it’s mostly the heavy rain, snow, wind… really unpleasant being outside in general. But to go out to a café or sit in the window is a great improvement I guess… or just move to CA <3
Working outside is all well and good. But if you need power and also need WIFI which is deadly for your health, then your just defeating the objective. Eat well and then get electrocuted or brain health problems from the Electro magnetic radiation from the wifi! Not a great idea.
I am not so sure Wi-fi is safe. There is growing evidence that exposrue to this electronic smog/emf exposure is not healthy for us. Certainly grok did not have it in hisvenvronment. I go outdoors to be away from all that stuff. (Although I realize that is increasingly hard to do, especially in an urban environment where radiofrequencies from cell phones, towers, wireless is EVERYWHERE! Maybe the precautionary principle should be applied here. So if not necessary to be online constantly, then use your computer with wireless connection disabled and turn it on only when needed.
I wonder how much the benefits of being outside are a total sensory experience. If a window is not enough, then is it the noise of the outdoors? Is it the feel of the wind and breeze? Can a blind or deaf person receive as much benefit as someone with both faculties?
I take it if I worked for you, You would zero issues with letting me take it to the streets
…Haven’t had a chance to read the article, but hoping that somewhere in there there might be a letter I can pass off to my boss as valid reason for getting outside and not getting fired…for now, I’ll just be happy with the standing workstation and big sunny window.
I work from home and my desk is right in front of windows facing the yard. But I could take my laptop out on the porch, don’t know why I never considered it!
I had a very stressed-out, short-tempered boss some years ago. When he wanted to talk to me, I used to try to get him to walk around the block while we talked. It made the conversations at least somewhat less hair-raising.
I try and hold most of my business meetings while walking, going for a jog or cycling (all outside)…much more fun than a cubicle.
It helps that my business is health promotion, but I find that most of my colleagues are quite excited at the prospect of having a meeting while moving
I don’t know if anyone has written this yet, but is nobody concerned about the effect of all that high tech pollution in our outdoor spaces? I just mean that going to a park and seeing (and feeling) towers and people spread out on the green with their laptops open, clicking away, is not inspiring. I don’t imagine the environment would then be less confining and stagnant than the office.
If the idea was to leave the laptop at the office and throw a ball around all afternoon…
I recently moved to Austin, and I didn’t realize they were expanding free wi-fi access into downtown parks. I think that’s a fantastic idea and I hope the trend spreads throughout the country.
When I was writing my Master’s dissertation, I moved down to the south of France (I was studying in London, England). I rented a tiny little room in a tiny little town, but the building had a beautiful rooftop patio I could use. I wrote my dissertation sitting on that rooftop patio, shaded, but sweating in the heat for sure, and totally enjoying life. I would write for a few hours, then pack up and go for a hike in the evening. It was such a wonderful way to work.
I work in an office now with no outdoor space, and no where really to go to sit outdoors. I wish I could work from home sitting in my backyard.
Ya! Outside in the HAARP environment where you can count the “Chem-Trails”. Sounds just great!
In addition to using high brightness, you can also use a high contrast scheme ( I use the ‘High Contrast White’ scheme in Windows 7) to improve the ability to use your screen in the sun.
I go outside my apt onto my balcony ( I literally have a oasis out there!a pot garden of veggies and flowers) and work on projects for my etsy shop: jewelry- knit/crochet items… I also have a nice view of a forested area across the street- it is very peaceful and serene. I have a cat so I like this option best so she can sit on my lap or near me as I work
she is good company!
I love the idea of an outdoor desk with shade, but find the practicalities of shifting my laptop/power/keyboard setup to be off-putting, unless it’s going to be for an extended period. I really dislike working on a laptop without a separate keyboard as I can’t have both the screen and keyboard at the right height. And then my back/shoulders and arms all suffer.
I guess as equipment gets lighter and more mobile this will become easier.
On another point, I’m inspired to suggest outdoor meetings to my colleagues, even though we are in a fairly cool winter period right now
I’m fortunate to have my day job office situated in lovely bushland with ponds and loads if wildlife. Even a quick meeting outside would be refreshing. Thanks for the suggestion!
I work in my studio most days but at least once a month and then the entire summer we leave Texas and live/work from my mobile office (rebuilt 1958 Airstream trailer) seen here. http://www.onefastbuffalo.com/Blog/155/The-OFB-1958-Airstream-Mobile-Office. We spend most of our time in the summer in Colorado, New Mexico, California, Oregon and Washington staying out of the heat and being outdoors with our 3 sons. I am a graphic designer and I find I do my best work when I am outdoors more. Seeing more. Processing more new things. I work many days just from a lawn chair in from of our trailer. Most state and national parks have WIFI, and I also have a verizon MIFI mobile air card that works great. Some pics from one of our trips here that show some of my mobile worksports like tent on beach, etc http://www.onefastbuffalo.com/Blog/169/The-OFB-Mobile-Creative-Worklife-Tour.-Southwest-Loop-2010.
Hey! Just wanted to say I just found this great site that sells anti-glare films for your laptop! Yay!! The name of the site is photodon.com. I ordered the Maxi Anti Glare film, cuts glare by 85%! They have hundreds of laptop models listed for a good fit – found mine =)
I will let yall know how well it works!
The majority of my work time is outside. I am my own boss and detail (clean) cars, trucks, boats, bikes etc for a living….. Can’t sit behind a desk for long, it drives me nuts!!
I thought of this idea even before Mark started writing about it! The timing of this post is very cool too, confirming something I had already been experimenting with.
I started working outside on my building’s back patio around the beginning of May, or here in Portland, the first few really nice days of the year in the early to mid spring. I took advantage of a warm sprint and spent like 3-4 days working 3/4 of the time outside and worked up a nice little tan in the process as well.
I’m lucky enough to have a back patio in the building where I work that gets great sun access, plus having ample wireless signals, both from inside the building and nearby free business hotspots, so internet access isn’t a problem.
After being told I was not allowed to sunbathe out back (mainly due to the lack of a shirt) I decided to seek out other places to get my outside work fix. I found a wonderful little green space that is a block away that is actually the space of land that is bounded by an off-ramp from a highway. Surprisingly, the hum of traffic doesn’t bother you when sitting there since the nature around you really engulfs you more!
There’s a great wi-fi signal even in this “off-ramp park” as I call it, so I go there often with my reed mat to kick back and do some work, getting my vitamin D and my nature for the day. Plus there’s a great tree that provides good shade for when either me or my computer needs a break.
Fantastic!
Erik in Portland
I work in a room with no windows. I take X-rays and ultrasounds. Due to radiation and patient privacy we need to have an enclosed room. I’m always asking patients about the weather. We’re lucky if we get a ten minute break somedays for lunch. Not much chance of bringing my work outside. Just have to try hard in non work hours
Compared to the tales of windowless rooms etc I feel incredibly lucky. I work in horticulture so I’m outside 40+ hours a week and constantly moving through winter, spring and the heat of summer. Autumn sees me working inside for 50+ hours a week but at least I’m standing during that time. Love that I have a healthy tan over the winter months and it has certainly helped me through the winter blues by being in tune with the seasons and getting plenty of sunlight (bonus – I don’t have to work on wet days!). Only complaint I have is having to wear Sorel Caribou’s for winter warmth and reasonably heavy boots (for safety) the rest of the time.