If you're like me, you love working out of cafes. The warmth of other people can be wonderfully conducive to increased productivity, the coffee is better than what I can make on my own, and it gets me out of the house, which is something I'm trying to do more often this year.
I luckily don't need much to get out the door and trundle down to one of the coffee shops in my Philadelphia neighborhood. But the gear I do bring with me is crucial for getting the most out of working at a tiny table in a room full of talkative people.
From a quality laptop to noise-cancelling headphones to a spacious bag, these are the five most important things I take with me to make the most of the experience when I'm working away from home.
1. A long-lasting laptop
Unless you've somehow figured out how to haul your desktop setup into your favorite study alcove inconspicuously, investing in a good laptop probably sounds like a given. But the emphasis on "good" cannot be overlooked. That's why I'm starting this off by mentioning the 14-inch MacBook Pro M4.
My work benefits from having multiple windows visible at the same time, so I prefer to use a laptop with a large screen. A 16-inch screen might dominate a cafe table, whereas a 14-inch model is a great balance of portability and screen real estate (and price). On top of that, the M4 is available with an optional nano texture display for eliminating glare which prevents pesky window light from making your work unreadable.
On top of spatial concerns, there's also the question of the best laptops for battery life. How long will you need to go without a recharge if someone decides to camp out at the one table with outlets for 8 hours? Luckily, we managed to get up to 18 hours when we tested the M4.
If you're not a fan of the Apple mousepad (that would make two of us), you can also invest in a trackball mouse that gives you full use of a proper mouse without requiring room to move around on your tabletop. This is also a great option if you're trying to work on a plane and don't have a surface to put a mouse on at all like the tray table that folds down from the seat in front of you.
2. Noise-cancelling headphones
I've learned a lot about people's lives from accidental eavesdropping in cafes — it's amazing what folks are willing to talk about at full volume in a room packed with strangers. To avoid this tantalizing interruption, I always throw on a pair of noise-cancelling 'phones the moment I'm situated with my drink. My pair of choice at the moment is the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
The QuietComfort's noise cancellation works by recording the ambient sounds in a room and emitting the "opposite" sound waves to cancel it out. This means that all the sounds of grinding beans, clinking mugs, and conversations about someone's in-laws all drown out relatively seamlessly. You have to invest in the best noise-cancelling headphones to get the most out of this effect, but it's well worth it and headphones with this technology have come down significantly in price in recent years.
3. A portable mug
Whether you're headed to a coffee shop or to a park to work on a nice day, it's not a bad idea to have a reusable, sealable container for your warm beverage of choice. If you're at a cafe, you can help reduce waste by avoiding paper or plastic cups. Regardless of your location, it's also a safety measure that can keep your liquids contained on what is often a precariously small table.
I like the Yeti Hotshot at the moment for its compact size and ease of use. It's also insulated, which means you can really milk your hot coffee for a few hours and avoid looking like you're loitering. Of course, it's not a bad idea to give your local cafe some business every few hours to, but plenty of people can't stomach a new cup of coffee every 90 minutes. Certainly not me.
I also prefer to keep my travel mugs small enough to fit in the bottle cage of a bike, since cycling is my preferred means of transportation. If you have a good backpack (we'll get to that shortly), a smaller mug like the Hotshot can also fit quite cozily in its side pockets.
4. A spacious, protective backpack
As a certified hipster, I often rock nothing more than a tote bag when I'm carrying my laptop around. But if I'm riding my bike or the weather turns sour, I prefer to use a full backpack. The best laptop bags are waterproof, which can protect your electronics from nasty weather, and they often also have a padded compartment into which you can slip your laptop worry-free.
One of our top picks is the Stuart and Lau Capstone, which one of our staff took to CES this year to store all of his electronics. It's sleek, it's waterproof, and it has all kinds of compartments for keeping your gear close but separated.
There are plenty of good designs for laptop backpacks, but I prefer a roll-top style for most applications. My top pick is Chrome Industries' Barrage backpack, which features both a roll-top and a few side pockets. Better yet, it has an exterior net that's great for holding things that won't fit inside your bag. Sometimes, I swing by the grocery store on my way home, and that's where my food goes.
The Barrage has a simple design, it affords you the freedom to change the size of your bag without too many fussy straps, and there's effectively nowhere for water to leak in unless you find a way to damage it.
5. A charger for multiple devices
As mentioned previously, outlet real estate can be a challenge when you're sharing a tight space with loads of other people. That's why, when you finally score one, it's best to maximize the power you can get out of it.
If you've never tried a GaN (Gallium nitride) charger before, let me be the first to tell you about them. In essence, they have the power output to charge multiple devices simultaneously and rapidly, and they're small enough that they won't overcrowd a standard two-socket wall outlet. One of our favorites is the UGREEN Nexode 65W charger, which has two USB-C ports and a USB-A port to charge multiple devices simultaneously. It's even powerful enough to replace your laptop charger, and it's a fraction of the size.
If you travel for work, a GaN charger also makes a great multi-purpose power station when you're on a plane, in your hotel, or otherwise displaced and in need of some extra juice.
6. A portable monitor
This one might get you some sour looks in a cramped cafe, but if you have the real estate to lay out a second display, you can maximize your screen space without needing to invest in a whole new computer.
We tested and reviewed the UStation Delta from UPERFECT last year, and that dual-screen portable monitor tripled our display area. It folds up like a laptop, and you can slip it in your backpack next to your computer with ease as well as connect and power it using a single USB-C cable. But for an even more affordable model, check out this 15.6-inch portable monitor ($82, Amazon) from UPERFECT that's just as easy to stow away.
7. A reliable VPN
Can you trust your local cafe's internet? The short answer: you probably shouldn't at least for anything sensitive. You never know who else could be on the network looking to gain access to your devices and steal sensitive information from them.
A good VPN (Virtual Private Network) nips that right in the bud though by encrypting your internet traffic as it passes from your laptop to the cafe's router. They're also just as easy to use as one the best mobile hotspots, but they don't take up any space in your bag.
Right now, our top pick for the best VPN is NordVPN, which allows you to access just about any streaming service without worrying about location-related lockouts. It's also incredibly fast, offers some of the most anxiety-relieving privacy of all the VPNs we've tested, and it's both easy to use and incredibly cheap — think less than $4 a month. And if you decide you don't like it in the first 30 days, you can expect a full refund to make its way into your account.
For an even cheaper option, you can also take a look at Surfshark, which is just a shade above $2 a month and offers much of the same security and privacy features.
Speaking of privacy, if you're worried about people peeking over your shoulder, you can also invest in a privacy screen, which is a filter you can place over your laptop screen to stop anyone who isn't directly in front of your display from seeing what you're working on. If you handle sensitive information for a living, this could be a critical add-on for your computer. Luckily, it's not too hard to find an affordable screen for most laptops, including the aforementioned MacBook Pro M4.
Mobility doesn't mean mediocrity
Ultimately, you may not be perched perfectly atop the best office chair when you're working away from home, but there's no denying that there's a different kind of coziness that comes with working in fresh scenery. All that matters is that you have the means to get that work done effectively.
You may not need everything I've compiled here to have a successful workday at your favorite cafe, but these are unquestionably the best places to start looking for your next upgrade as well as some of my favorite devices to have on hand whenever I decide to leave my home office behind for the day.
More from Tom's Guide
- How to soundproof your home office
- I just tested one of Amazon's cheapest office chairs and it's better than I expected
- How to work comfortably when you’re visiting home for the holidays
