How to organise remote (not home) working?

[Submariner]

I wondered if all you organised people could help me think of the most efficient way to use my time in my fairly new job?

I have a 20-hour/week role that is community based and covers a fairly large geographical area. The team is set up to work as and where it's needed, so we don't use our office much and for my current workload it's not near where I need to be anyway. A large chunk of my work is spent on third party sites or at meetings with partners and I use public transport to get about.

I try to chunk my meetings so they're all in the same city on the same day etc although there is an element of travelling from place to place during the day.

I'm struggling to get into the swing of using my time effectively in between times and having good chunks of time to get admin or other tasks done. So for example today I had 3 clear hours between meetings and what should have been a good time to work turned into walking to one place to find a public toilet, another to find a cafe, that one didn't have any tables free, I get to the next cafe and feel guilty ekeing out my cheap cup of tea (other problem is I spend a fortune on expensive drinks and snacks!) Add to that a long commute and I have spent about 11 hours out the house for 6 hours of work. Basically I'm a massive faff-arse, plus I feel like it eats into my own time disproportionately.

Does anyone else have a similar working set up? How do you make it work? And how do you grow the balls of the lady I saw today who sat in a coffee shop working for a good hour after she'd finished her lunch?

Thank you!

That sounds hard to sustain. Is public transport your only option?

I’m community-based but driving is my only option as public transport is infrequent, unreliable or non-existent in some of my areas (rural/remote). It means I can use the car as a base and I can make good use of my time between visits and meetings by writing up my notes, planning, emails, phone calls etc. I take my own supplies and plan loo breaks where possible. It means I can go straight home after my last appointment and catch up with admin there.

On occasion, I’ve had to skype, FaceTime or conference call due to time constraints and distance. Is that an option for you?

I sit in coffee shops and have no shame about spending two hours over a cup of tea if the place isn't full.

Is public transport your only option.
Can you identify places you can regularly use as a base in the different towns eg. basing yourself in a local library between meetings.
Make sure you use toilet facilities in the offices you visit before/ after meetings so you aren't faffing about looking for public toilets.
Take a smart looking water bottle and some snacks with you.
Can you "camp" in office no. 1 for an hour after your meeting before travelling to office no.2. We often have visitors seated at a spare hot desk, so long as they have clearance to be in the area, we are happy for them to arrive early and leave late from meetings.

I've worked on the road before, albeit driving not public transport. However these days i do use public transport and have the same issues.

I used to have the little books of tesco and sainsbury shops so that i could always find the nearest one with a cafe, use their loos, and then work from there, i can eek out a coffee for a good 2-3 hours without feeling guilty.

I also just pop open the laptop wherever i am and do work, nobody cares.

I always plan in the travel time, and the work from wherever time, plan the routes and do my research to find suitable places before i go.

I've also turned up early and just worked from reception whilst waiting, I say I am really early is it ok to work from here before you call [whoever i am meeting] to tell them i am here. They always say sure, just let me know when you want me to call [whoever].

Is it actually work in offices or is it schools/clinics etc where there may not be a free room?

I would try to batch the appointments as close together as feasible then do admin in a chunk at home, rather than trying to find somewhere to work on the road.

Wow - thank you for all your responses, this has been massively helpful.

HH - I think a car would massively help in terms of having somewhere dry to sit in between meetings. Mine sounds the opposite to yours in many ways as it's generally city centre and in an area with good links so driving doesn't cut as much time off as I thought it would and I lose the opportunity to work on the train in the morning and evening. I don't have a car at the moment so I would have to weigh up the cost of buying and running one. It does get frustrating when there are delays or it's standing room only on PT though. Luckily the team has been working this way for a long time, so we are set up with good laptops etc and people are happy to do Skype etc. Most external visits/meetings would be face to face though.

Towel - Ha - I wish I had your guts. I'm too British about it. I'm thinking of putting together a list of cheap quiet cafés when I come across them.

Perspicacia - These are all good tips thank you. Most of the sites I go to I probably couldn't hang around afterwards, but you're right, I'm often in the same areas week after week so I think I need to identify my go-to place in each area, head straight there and get my head down.

Perky Pumpkin - You sound like you have it sussed. I like the idea of heading for supermarket cafés as they are usually pretty empty cheap and anonymous. I think you're right about planning out my day including travel time beforehand. Part of my downfall has been just hopping on the bus to find I'm 20 minutes early for my next thing which is too long to wait but not very long to search for a cafe, buy a drink, log on etc etc.

Drspouse - you're right it's visits where once I turn up people feel obliged to start the work and I feel a) guilty that I've dropped in on them before expected and b) like I haven't got my other stuff done either. I think the idea of having a 'network' of cafés/libraries I can work from as close as possible to the sites could be the best idea.

Thanks TorysSuck - I have toyed with the idea of blocking in x hours per week at home for admin, although I think I would spread my work over 4 days then rather than 3 because of the commute. I think I'm open to that, but as long as I'm also being super efficient when I'm out of the house so I don't resent the time spent wandering from place to place.

Thank you everyone - this was the Mumsnet brainstorm I needed!