The Satellite Office

[naomikritzer]

While at WFC, we discovered that if I am simply not in the house at bedtime, Ed can read the girls stories, tuck them both in, and Kiera will go to sleep without a fuss. When I'm in the house, Kiera wants to nurse to sleep, or at least she wants to nurse for a good long time before she goes to bed.

So our new evening routine goes like this: we have dinner, I do the dishes if Ed cooked, and then I grab my laptop or my manuscript (I'm currently editing) and head to a local coffee house. I work there until Ed calls me to let me know the girls are asleep.

There's a lot to be said for this approach. The coffee house has no Internet (well, actually it does, but I can't connect to it), eliminating a potent distraction. I am also far away from guilt-inducing unfinished housework.

Downsides: the coffee house can be kind of loud and distracting in its own right. I have to spend money on coffee, though it's a heck of a lot cheaper than renting office space. (Ed commented that I could spill coffee on my laptop every three months and it would still be cheaper than rent.) I'm stuck with whatever chair I can find. If I'm typing, my usual haunt doesn't have any comfortable chairs close to power outlets -- I have to sit in a hard wooden chair, which gets uncomfortable after an hour or so.

The whole "office space" issue is one that I know a lot of writers struggle with -- at least those of us in small city houses. Peg Kerr has posted about this issue, because they have three bedrooms and two kids, and her older daughter would really like her own room. I posted sometime back about a dream I had of discovering another room behind my closet. Several people posted really cool links to companies that could sell me a nice insulated shed -- the problem is, my yard isn't big enough to put one of these up and meet zoning codes. They have to be a certain number of feet away from property lines and existing buildings.

The success of the coffee house approach is making me think again about refinishing part of the basement. The trouble with using the third bedroom is that the girls are not particularly respectful of the closed door: they open it and come in. If I lock the door, they bang on it. I expect that they'll get better over time, but Kiera is only two and just doesn't get it yet. And my current office is upstairs, right by the main activity if the girls are getting ready for bed. The basement would be much more removed from activity, yet I could customize it a little bit and have a place to prop up my feet while I line-edited.

It would be a lot of work, though. Or expense, if we hired someone to do it. One key first step is to test the basement for radon gas. I don't think I want to put my office down there if we have radon.

Comments

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

I don't know how old the laptop is, but could you invest in an additional battery, thus removing the need for an outlet? Alternately, bring your own cushion. ;)

I've also trained myself to write with music on, the theory being that it's something constant that I can block out, instead of the ups and downs of life noises, thus if I'm at a coffeeshop, I put on my headphones and I'm ignorant of the world for all intents and purposes until I decide otherwise (usually until my laptop battery dies. :)

[naomikritzer]

Bringing my own cushion is not a bad idea except that I'm already hauling enough stuff to feel a little silly.

The battery -- ha. The major problem right now is that I need a battery. The one I've got doesn't hold a charge.

[magentamn.livejournal.com]

Would it be worth it to try different coffeeshops? I love Blue Moon, but I can't write there. Riverview Cafe is usually less crowded, because it's larger, and has a good mix of seating. You could ask on the TwinCities LJ and see what anwers you get, or search that community; someone may have asked already. I wonder if den-swapping would work. Kids are often afraid to interupt other adults. Maybe you and someone else could go to each other's house to work. Or is that a really crazy idea and I can't see it.

[allochthon.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Den swapping...

(says the person who probably lives closest to Naomi here, and is also a writer...)

[naomikritzer]

I can guarantee you 100% that the girls would bug either of you just as enthusiastically. In fact, probably even more so. They're....outgoing.

I suspect that if I tried to go write at a friend's house, I would be distracted by the social opportunities.

And the Riverview is actually the place I've gone most evenings. I went to Blue Moon on Sunday because the Riverview closes early on Sundays. I may check out the one on Minnehaha and 46th sometime again, but (a) the first time I tried to go there to work, they were closed, and had no hours posted so I'm not sure when they'd normally be open, and (b) I remember them as having very hard chairs. They're also kind of loud, but it's an ambient-noise kind of loud, which I can filter out pretty easily.

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm big on the Branch Office theory of work. Like your daughters, my daughter insists on me putting her to bed if I'm home, but is fine with my husband if I'm not.

I've used our local library, Starbucks, and Panera as work locations. (Panera mostly on the weekends, if I have a big deadline.) You're right -- coffee is cheaper than rent! (And we have no basement, and the closed door of the third bedroom doesn't deter Meg.)

[naomikritzer]

Good to know it's not just me. :-)

[trinitysite.livejournal.com]

Naomi?

It's Leah W, from Madison...attempting to "catch up" on lj seems silly, but, wow, writer and mom.

you can e-mail me at HobbsLandGods at gmail. Please.