Increase Productivity By Changing Your Environment

by Jeremy Schoemaker on December 9, 2008 · 82 comments

I am always amazed at the amount of work I get done when I am out of my normal element. I came to Orlando a day early because I was going to meet up with a friend. He got a nasty case of the flu and bagged out on me so instead I worked from my hotel room all day last friday.

No phone ringing, no aim client going, just me getting stuff done. I went through about 300 emails and totally cleaned out my inbox.

When I used to live in Omaha I would go to Hooters and work out of their for a few hours. Its kind of weird to tell people you are working at Hooters. They are always like YOU WORK AT HOOTERS? and im like no I am working at Hooters… anyway there were some “other” distractions at Hooters.

A.D.D. moment- Speaking of Hooters wtf?? Get some new outfits already. The top is still money but those ugly ass orange shorts are so 80′s.

Anyway remove yourself from your normal element sometime and give it a try.

About the author...

– who has written 2416 posts on ShoeMoney.com.

Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.

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{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Mubin December 9, 2008 at 6:21 am

I think you mean shorts not shirts shoe, and yea they defo need to get something better.

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2 Matt Coddington December 9, 2008 at 7:54 am

We care about the color of their shorts now? I can honestly admit that I have never once noticed the color of anything a hooter girl was wearing. Attention elsewhere.

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3 Writers Needed- No Experience Required- Make $250/hr December 9, 2008 at 5:19 pm

Yes..i know what you are talking about. I use to be an avid writer and found that writing in the library was not as good as writing at home for me. i was more comfortable and relaxed. I found that I worked better with the tv on..which is weird. yeah you have to find what works for you.

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4 ATLANTA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER December 17, 2008 at 12:51 pm

I love going over to the local university library…parking is good b/c im a visitor….internet is quick, get resources as if you were a student and no one bothers you while you are working

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5 Steven-Sanders December 9, 2008 at 10:44 am

The hottest Hooters girls I’ve ever seen were at the Hotters on the strip in Panama City Beach, FL.

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6 Taris J December 9, 2008 at 10:08 pm

Good post!! I would love to try this method, but my area is a bit too dangerous and I’m afraid someone would steal my laptop lol!!!

and I can’t afford to lose all this precious data!!

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7 KingJacob December 10, 2008 at 1:39 am

Where do you live that you have to worry about someone stealing your laptop right off your lap?

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8 Taris Janitens December 17, 2008 at 12:27 pm

Markham, Ontario, near the outskirts of Scarborough lol – if you know about Scarborough, aka Scarberia, you’ll get where I’m coming from hehehe

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9 andrew December 9, 2008 at 6:21 am

you’re so right. At home I barely manage to do something significant. When I’m anywhere else (well, almost anywhere else) I can focus much more and get more stuff done.

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10 Dick December 9, 2008 at 11:02 pm

Changing the environment provides an opportunity to replenish forces.

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11 Loren Baker December 9, 2008 at 6:35 am

Agreed 100%. I always find inspiration in Panera, Starbucks or even poolside at a resort. Different situations, locales or being surrounded by different people from different industries tends to get the creative juics flowing.

Just can’t wait for SouthWest to start inflight WiFi :)

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12 BusinessX December 10, 2008 at 6:18 am

Thanks for the heads up on Southwest and wifi, just googled it. I didn’t know.

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13 MouthyGirl December 9, 2008 at 6:36 am

I carry around a five star little notebook for ideas and titles that might come to mind for me to expand on later, I’m pretty productive on lunch break, but I type faster than I write so if I carried my laptop, I might blow my readers out of the water, lol. Half of the topics I come up with don’t make it onto MouthyGirl.

I find that being out of my element is some of the most creative time I have. Great post!

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14 IamJustinM December 9, 2008 at 6:42 am

Very true. When I go to Starbucks after work to wait for traffic to die down, I sometimes find that I get more done during those two hours then I did during the entire work day. Heh.

I’m also very productive on flights (well, as productive as I can be w/out internet), but I’m sure we all are.

I kinda know what you mean about the Hooter girl outfits, but I think if they get any more risque I might as well be at a strip club.

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15 shamess December 9, 2008 at 6:48 am

I’ve always found that I work better at the library on school work than at home.

I think it’s because when I’m at home I generally end up wandering off to do something else; make a sandwich (even though I’m not hungry), find that CD I wanted, look for that poster that I lost a while ago. Pretty much anything to distract me from working. At the library though, there’s not much else to do but work.

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16 Ben Pei December 9, 2008 at 6:56 am

How about changing your work station? Good to keep you refresh too..

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17 Franki Nguyen December 9, 2008 at 7:19 am

I’m the opposite, when I’m travelling/out and about with my office (aka laptop), I find it extremely hard to get any work done. Then again, I’m easily distracted. (un)fortunately there’s no Hooters in Perth AU, otherwise nothing much will get done.

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18 Dwayne December 9, 2008 at 7:29 am

Good point, although being single for the first time in my life, being at hooters only makes my brain think about things I really cannot blog about lol. People would think I was a violent person talking about hitting this and banging that. Have a good day.

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19 canggu villas December 9, 2008 at 7:42 am

nice info

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20 Alex at Net-Entrepreneur.com December 9, 2008 at 8:01 am

Yes. Rotating locations is even better. Because after the 20th day at Hooters you probably felt comfortable enough for distractions to kick in, didn’t you?

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21 Borgo7 December 9, 2008 at 8:06 am

I’ve only read Hooters and my mind is flying away … :Q___

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22 Goran Website December 9, 2008 at 8:22 am

Hey Shoe, a quick error notification: you’ve switched R and O in “environment” in the title.

I agree, it’s good to get out of your comfort zone at times to something new. It refreshes your thoughts and rejuvinates the body.

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23 Goran Website December 10, 2008 at 1:07 am

ok, corrected. ;-)

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24 DollarDevil December 9, 2008 at 8:24 am

I find I do some of my best research and information gathering at coffee shops. I can never produce any amount of work, but I sure as hell can search up a storm.

As for Hooter’s girls… an outfit change would be nice, maybe g-strings and ultra-thin white blouse.

Put wet t-shirt contests back on the reg and beam me up scotty!

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25 CleanseBody December 9, 2008 at 8:30 am

There are so many bars doing the tight clothing thing that have better outfits than Hooters. But I think Starbucks is the place with the best work environment.

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26 Tom Lindstrom December 9, 2008 at 8:41 am

This is one of the perks of running a home business, you can take your laptop and go to the local café to write an article or site on the beach if the weather is fine.Beats the normal 9-5 job :)

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27 StarMars December 9, 2008 at 8:43 am

You are more productive outside your house because maybe you see your home as an office/workplace?

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28 teraom December 11, 2008 at 3:39 pm

Working from home has its own pros and cons..

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29 Seo Creations December 9, 2008 at 8:48 am

Rotating locations is even better.

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30 ways to make money online December 9, 2008 at 9:11 am

I thought I saw you at the local strip joint. The only guy in there with a laptop tucked in the corner…Only to come out when a check came in to then sign the check over…

I get what your saying though…Do you ever have those days when your working all day non-stop and then other days when it’s like oh man my mind isn’t in it today?

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31 Greg Ellison December 9, 2008 at 9:30 am

The hooters where I live all closed down. :( Greg Ellison

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32 Local Price December 9, 2008 at 9:33 am

Hooters – That’s funny. I usually knock out a lof of work when I’m stuck at the airport. I can’t tell you how much I’ve completed on layovers in some airport like Vegas at 11 PM

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33 Brent December 9, 2008 at 9:43 am

This is so true. Being around different places and people stimulates the mind.

Working at Hooters is an awesome idea! I wish there was one around where I live. Then again – considering what the women look like around here – maybe not having a Hooters is a good thing!

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34 Regim Hotelier December 9, 2008 at 9:52 am

You`re right, at home you can find anything else better to do and you can`t focus at work

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35 NicheSiteTips December 9, 2008 at 9:59 am

Very true. I work at Starbucks sometimes, just for a change of scenery.

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36 Michael December 9, 2008 at 10:02 am

Agreed. I occasionally travel by myself to areas like NYC, California, etc and will work out of my hotel room for several hours during the day and then enjoy the area afterwards. It is quite nice when you have a good suite with a desk and such…

I am also a HUGE believer in renting an office as opposed to working at home. Even if you share an office with another company for $300/month or so, it is a huge productivity enhancer!

You can also barter your services for office space.

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37 dating tips December 9, 2008 at 10:05 am

i think they should wear all white shirts and tops :D

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38 Bryn Youngblut December 9, 2008 at 10:05 am

I couldn’t agree more. I plan on buying some office space to work away from home soon.

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39 teraom December 11, 2008 at 3:40 pm

i have an eoffice and i think i can save a lot doing stuff without the office..

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40 Chris December 9, 2008 at 11:17 am

Just a friendly note to check the spelling of Environment in your post title… ;)

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41 Sillimanster December 9, 2008 at 11:21 am

Yes, I might try working at Starbucks sometimes.

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42 Karl Hadwen December 9, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Working at hooters hmm :D , Sounds fun, anyways working at Starbucks is rather cool, I loved starbucks when I traveled to america

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43 Joe Tech December 9, 2008 at 12:14 pm

I agree completely. At home, I can’t work unless the rest of the house (wife and cats) are all sleeping and the TV is off. My best work is always done late at night because there are no interruptions.

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44 BlogAngry December 9, 2008 at 12:29 pm

That is so true.

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45 Michael P December 9, 2008 at 1:06 pm

Agreed.

I work better when im out in the open in a different place with other things going on, besides me and a desk.

Parks, outdoor bars, etc etc.

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46 NewsHerd December 9, 2008 at 1:24 pm

Dude – I am so with you on the hooters outfit. The girls are usually hot, but those flesh colored tights and the orange shorts are so Flock of Seagulls!

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47 Gil Megidish December 9, 2008 at 2:36 pm

Haha! Yeah, I work with my laptop in a pub. And then people ask me what, you waiter there? No, I work there! Ah, are you a manager there? No! People, listen!
:)

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48 Steve December 9, 2008 at 5:00 pm

LOL…orange shorts. I think Hooters is trying to avoid spending money on new outfits. That’s a whole lot of outfits to replace.

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49 LayupDrill December 9, 2008 at 5:04 pm

I have to agree. When I am traveling with my “day job” I get way more work done on my sites in my hotel than when I am in the comforts of my home.

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50 Jonathan Volk December 9, 2008 at 5:23 pm

So true. A lot of times I work in my room instead of my home office. It’s nice to switch it up…

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51 Diana Freedman December 9, 2008 at 6:15 pm

Great article! I like working at the cafes in Barnes & Noble or Borders. The sound of people talking and the espresso machines is like a humming noise… it really lets me focus.

Another tip for increasing your productivity is to shift your sleep schedule. I used to wake up at 7:30 or 8am, but now I get up at 6am every single morning. I do my work from my living room or drive in to work extra early; either way, it gives me an extra hour or two of quiet time to work on my own projects in the morning. I wrote an article about this at my blog: http://snipurl.com/rise-early

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52 Matt Helphrey December 9, 2008 at 7:00 pm

I couldn’t agree more…about those shorts. Good god man, lets change those up a bit!

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53 BusinessX December 9, 2008 at 7:12 pm

There have been occasions where I have rented a motel room to finish projects. Just to get away and concentrate. Most are quite, no distractions beside TV, and the fact that I am separated to be on task made the difference.

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54 The Freelance Cartoonist December 9, 2008 at 9:27 pm

I don’t think the orange shorts will ever be going out. If they change those to say green, it won’t be Hooters anymore.

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55 Josh Smith December 9, 2008 at 9:30 pm

I don’t think the people who go to Hooters are staring at the shorts.

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56 Steve December 10, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Right…they’re staring at the beer. :D

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57 U.S. Common Sense December 9, 2008 at 10:42 pm

I agree. Each year I go to Williamsburg, VA for a week. It is down there where I tend to do the most changes to my website design and static content.

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58 Dick December 9, 2008 at 11:01 pm

It is a known way to increase productivity. I try to use this method as often as possible.

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59 SEO Tips South Africa December 10, 2008 at 3:56 am

It would be very difficult for me to sit and work at Hooters with all the eye candy floating around….you’re a much stronger man than me, Jeremy!

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60 U.S. Common Sense December 10, 2008 at 6:06 pm

You and me both.

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61 Nikolai December 10, 2008 at 4:35 am

Very true. I also find that working outside in the garden with my laptop is really effective :)

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62 Frostfire Gifts December 10, 2008 at 5:14 am

I completely agree, i recently purchased a new computer and as part of the setup, i had to clean up all my life online and on my computer. I felt so much better afterwards, it was like i had been on holiday.

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63 gendut December 10, 2008 at 5:47 am

nice strategy to increasing productivy….by simple and easy ways….yes environment change

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64 radyo December 10, 2008 at 8:37 am

Very true. When I go to Starbucks after work to wait for traffic to die down, I sometimes find that I get more done during those two hours then I did during the entire work day. Heh.

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65 Travis -iCast.me December 10, 2008 at 1:20 pm

You know what I have found works too is changing the time (as in the hours of the day) I work. For a few weeks, I will work very early in the morning. Then I change it up and work after 9pm.

I know not everyone has that ability because they work with other people, have a 9-5 gig, etc. But changing up the time is pretty cool if you can.

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66 Jeremy December 10, 2008 at 8:18 pm

Same here man. I also change my “environment” once every 5 or so months by rearranging my room. I’m running out of different configurations. lol.

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67 PraShawn December 11, 2008 at 4:20 am

I think this blog post is hell of a statement. I can say that I underfound it my self that the change of the environment my online earnings droped. Great work. Thanks for the info. If other people are not aware they will experience the worse. Thanks for the warning.

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68 A.Vlad December 11, 2008 at 11:44 am

I agree with Steven-Sanders that the hotest hooters girs are in Florida but not in Panama City, take a look on Pensacola Beach it’s 100 miles from Panama

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69 teraom December 11, 2008 at 3:32 pm

Really looking at a different perspective, you can benefit from changing environments – for instance KDE or enlightenment or xfce instead of gnome. Change in environment makes sense..

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70 Michael Henry December 11, 2008 at 6:14 pm

Since I’ve transistioned to using a laptop instead of the desktop work habits have changed. Depending on the location, work varies. If I’m at a desk, I work on financial projects. On the couch, I’m playing with youtube. At the library, I’m studing keyword strings. In the car, I’m war driving :)

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71 Ruben Ricart December 12, 2008 at 7:36 pm

I agree with you to the 15th power. – sometimes when im home I cant focus and get things done because I have 100 things going on around me. Somehow I still manage to get it done but boy is it complicated. I agree with you the best thing is to remove yourself even if for a short moment…you’ll get way more accomplished.

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72 jtGraphic December 12, 2008 at 11:12 pm

I have a home office and find that just moving to a different room affects my productivity a lot. That being said, I’m guilty of going to customers’ offices to do work so I can get away from the home office too.

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73 Brian " Cure Acne " W. December 14, 2008 at 11:42 pm

Great Idea, I know of a few local coffee places and i like to go to different ones, just so i DON’T get to know the people. That way I am not tempted to chit chat rather than work.

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74 Typhoon December 15, 2008 at 3:52 am

I think Rotating locations is even better than it.

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75 Arfan December 16, 2008 at 9:35 pm

I am going to give it a try go to starbucks and work on my laptop and see if i am more productive

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76 Blogging Tips December 18, 2008 at 9:46 pm

and you got how much work done while working at hooters?? .. I just settle for grabbing a pack of smokes and heading outside with the laptop .. unfortunately it’s winter now.

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77 Mr. School Fundraising ideas January 7, 2009 at 4:00 pm

It is nice to remove yourself from your environment every once and a while, even for the sake of not loosing your sanity. I live in Lincoln, Ne and I love going home to Columbus, Ne to my family farm because it is so much quieter and just plan relaxing, until the parents ask you to help do something stupid like put up Christmas lights on the barn… parents.

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78 GhadaLancer February 22, 2009 at 5:35 pm

you are so right, changing environment and get clear of distraction can make miracles
it make my mind fresh and so clear

I have found an article about more ideas to increase productivity ,,

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79 SW @ Quality Squidoo Lens Service June 18, 2009 at 11:39 pm

Yeah some time I take my laptop on our terrace and work there. Specially after sun set, when no one is around and you can work for two to three hours.

These three hours work can be equivalent to whole one day work.

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80 yeni albümler May 17, 2010 at 5:09 pm

thanks:)

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