If you’re anything like me, you enjoy working from cafes. The presence of others can be surprisingly beneficial for boosting productivity, the coffee quality surpasses what I can brew myself, and it encourages me to leave my home, which is something I aim to do more frequently this year.
I am fortunate enough not to require much to step out and stroll down to one of the coffee shops in my Philadelphia neighborhood. However, the equipment I carry with me is essential for maximizing my productivity while working at a small table surrounded by chatty individuals.
From a high-quality laptop to noise-cancelling headphones to a roomy bag, these are the five most vital items I bring along to enhance my experience when working away from home.
1. A durable laptop
Unless you’ve somehow managed to sneak your desktop setup into your preferred study nook without drawing attention, investing in a reliable laptop probably seems like an obvious choice. However, the importance of “reliable” cannot be underestimated. That’s why I’m starting this discussion by highlighting the 14-inch MacBook Pro M4.
My tasks benefit significantly from being able to view multiple windows simultaneously, so I tend to favor a laptop with a larger display. A 16-inch screen may overwhelm a cafe table, whereas a 14-inch variant offers a perfect mix of portability and display space (and cost). Furthermore, the M4 provides an optional nano texture screen for reducing glare, preventing bothersome window light from rendering your work illegible.
In addition to spatial considerations, there’s also the matter of the best laptops for battery performance. How long can you go without recharging if someone decides to occupy the only table with power outlets for eight hours? Fortunately, we achieved an impressive 18 hours during our testing of the M4.
If you’re not fond of the Apple trackpad (that would make two of us), consider investing in a trackball mouse that provides the functionality of a proper mouse without necessitating space on your tabletop to maneuver. This is also an excellent choice if you’re attempting to work on a plane and lack a surface for your mouse, such as the tray table that collapses from the seat in front of you.
2. Noise-cancelling headphones
I’ve gained a wealth of information about people’s lives through unintentional eavesdropping in cafes — it’s remarkable what individuals discuss at full volume in a crowded room. To avoid these captivating interruptions, I always put on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones the instant I settle down with my beverage. At present, my preferred choice is the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
The QuietComfort’s noise cancellation operates by capturing the surrounding sounds in a space and emitting “opposing” sound waves to neutralize them. This ensures that all the noise from grinding beans, clinking mugs, and discussions about someone’s relatives fades away relatively smoothly. You’ll need to invest in high-quality noise-cancelling headphones to fully experience this effect, but it’s certainly worth it, and prices for this technology have decreased significantly in recent years.
3. A travel mug
Whether you’re going to a coffee shop or to a park to work on a pleasant day, having a reusable, sealable container for your hot beverage of choice is a wise decision. If you’re at a cafe, you’ll help minimize waste by forgoing paper or plastic cups. No matter where you are, it also serves as a precaution that can prevent spills on what is often an alarmingly small table.
I currently prefer the Yeti Hotshot for its compact design and user-friendliness. It’s also insulated, allowing you to savor your hot coffee for hours without appearing to loiter. Of course, it’s wise to support your local cafe every few hours as well, but not everyone can manage a new cup of coffee every 90 minutes. Certainly not me.
I also like to keep my travel mugs small enough to fit in the bottle holder of a bicycle, as cycling is my favored mode of transport. If you have a solid backpack (which we’ll discuss shortly), a smaller mug like the Hotshot can also fit snugly in its side compartments.
4. A roomy, protective backpack
As a certified hipster, I often just carry a tote bag when transporting my laptop. However, if I’m cycling or the weather shifts, I prefer using a full backpack. The best laptop bags are waterproof, providing protection for your electronics against inclement weather, and they typically include a padded compartment for securely storing your laptop.
One of our top recommendations is the Stuart and Lau Capstone, which one of our team members took to CES this year to store all of his electronics. It’s stylish, waterproof, and has a variety of compartments for keeping your items organized yet separate.
Many excellent options are available for laptop backpacks, but I lean towards a roll-top style for most scenarios. My top choice is Chrome Industries’ Barrage backpack, which features both a roll-top design and several side pockets. Even better, it has an exterior net, perfect for holding items that won’t fit inside your bag. Occasionally, I stop by the grocery store on my way home, and that’s where I stow my food.
The Barrage boasts a simple design, allowing you the flexibility to adjust its size…
of your backpack without excessive complicated straps, and there’s truly minimal opportunity for water to seep in unless you manage to harm it.
5. A charger for several devices
As previously noted, outlet space can be a challenge when you’re sharing a limited area with many other individuals. Hence, when you finally acquire one, it’s advisable to optimize the power you can extract from it.
If you haven’t experimented with a GaN (Gallium nitride) charger yet, let me be the first to introduce them to you. Essentially, they possess the capability to simultaneously and swiftly charge multiple devices while being compact enough not to overload a conventional two-socket wall outlet. One of our top picks is the UGREEN Nexode 65W charger, which features two USB-C ports along with a USB-A port for charging multiple devices at once. It’s even robust enough to substitute your laptop charger while being a fraction of the dimensions.
If you travel for business, a GaN charger also serves as an excellent multi-functional power station when you’re flying, in your accommodations, or otherwise displaced and in need of some extra power.
6. A portable display
This item might receive some unfavorable looks in a tight cafe, but if you have the space to set up a second screen, you can enhance your visual area without the need to purchase an entirely new computer.
We evaluated and reviewed the UStation Delta from UPERFECT last year, and that dual-screen portable monitor tripled our display space. It folds like a laptop, and you can easily slide it into your backpack alongside your computer and connect and power it using a single USB-C cable. However, for an even more budget-friendly option, consider this 15.6-inch portable monitor ($82, Amazon) from UPERFECT that is just as convenient to store.
7. A dependable VPN
Can you have faith in the internet of your local café? The brief answer: you likely shouldn’t, especially for anything confidential. You can’t ever be certain who else might be on the network trying to gain access to your devices and extract sensitive information from them.
A quality VPN (Virtual Private Network) resolves that issue effectively by encrypting your internet traffic as it travels from your laptop to the café’s router. They’re also just as user-friendly as one of the best mobile hotspots, yet they occupy no space in your bag.
Currently, our top recommendation for the best VPN is NordVPN, which permits access to almost any streaming platform without concerns regarding location-related restrictions. It’s also exceptionally fast, provides some of the most reassuring privacy among all the VPNs we’ve assessed, and is both straightforward to operate and remarkably inexpensive — consider less than $4 a month. Additionally, if you find it unsatisfactory within the first 30 days, you can anticipate a complete refund being credited back to your account.
For an even more economical alternative, you might explore Surfshark, which is just a fraction above $2 a month and offers many of the same security and privacy features.
On the topic of privacy, if you’re anxious about individuals glancing over your shoulder, you might also invest in a privacy filter, which is a shield you can apply over your laptop display to prevent anyone who isn’t directly in front of your screen from viewing what you’re working on. If you handle sensitive data for a profession, this could be an essential add-on for your device. Fortunately, finding an affordable filter for most laptops isn’t particularly challenging, including the previously mentioned MacBook Pro M4.
Mobility doesn’t signify inferiority
Ultimately, you may not be situated perfectly atop the finest office chair while working away from home, but there’s no denying that there’s a unique kind of comfort that comes with working amidst new surroundings. What truly matters is that you have the tools to accomplish that work productively.
You might not require everything I’ve assembled here to have a fruitful workday at your preferred café, but these are undoubtedly the prime items to begin considering for your next enhancement as well as some of my favorite gadgets to have readily available whenever I decide to venture away from my home office for the day.