Alternatives to the coffee shop cubicles- working outdoors in the sun practically

'Third place' at the coffee shop cubicle,
 is not the only option

`We` - Referring to business owners.

The rational is simple- we're board of taking up so much time in the Coffee Shops and ticking off the waiters. It's sunny outside all we need now is to break away from the norm and go-it-alone to the great outdoors of office in a park. Yes, it can be done.

The third space coffee cubicle - the status quo  

We love the coffee shops, swapping the coffee at home for a free Wifi connection elsewhere by the full glass window of a Starbucks, embracing their "third place" philosophy. A philosophy which, promotes the social acceptance to stay sat in the corner of a coffee shop for an inordinate amount of time buying very little coffee. It's on their website if this post is not to be believed. The third-place concept has been around since the 90s, a "home away from home" which is not strictly for work related activities, but is taken advantage of by those liking a Café cubicle. Not all coffee shops appreciate this annexation of a table for four hours, however, and may even spot you coming should you dare become a regular by refuting your receipt concealing the closely guarded password to the toilets.

Café Ziferblat, consequently, is now offering a 'pay per minute' coffee shop where coffee is free. Instead the time is paid for.  There's one in London should you be passing.

Yes we can: Working in the park. On a bench

The beauty of working in the fresh air cannot be understated. Don't be guilty, your working where you've always wanted to work anyway- away from the distractions of the office!

This is so true it bares repeating- if you ask people where they get most of their work done, it's rarely their place of work. It's usually 7pm, when the office is quiet- late at night or in the bath. 

Taking the o-natural approach to working outside simply makes sense, for many people it's where your  relaxed and can toil with problems in a non-disruptive environment. Wifi in a park- what wifi? Yes this used to be a problem.

A small handy portable solar charger is all you need to
keep you going for a good few hours in the park.

But is no more- there's always the very practical solution of tethering ones mobile phone. Create a wifi hotspot with your mobile and your all set. The real challenge here is power. For this, there's an equally pragmatic solution. Extended battery packs and portable solar chargers for your mobile. 

Portable chargers are so cheap now: A quick search on ebay will find a reliable solar charger for less than £20. Look for chargers with standard USB sockets on then. Don't be distracted by the overpriced 'iPhone' or 'Samsung' only chargers. Electricity is electricity. So long as you equip yourself with your phone's usb cable, your better off with a solar charger with USB sockets to keep your devices tops up.

Likewise, your laptop might not be able to keep up with your intense working in the sun. Laptop batteries have improves, though your options aren't limited for extended power. Most non-apple laptops have a removable battery which can be upgraded to an extended battery pack. Lenovo laptops are especially notorious for catering to this need and provide 'Lenovo certified' extended battery packs. Again, just look for your laptop model with the word "extended battery". It may not be possible to find vendor certified extended battery packs for all brands, there will always be non-brand alternatives. A spade is a spade.