How to Work when it's Sunny - Reblog from Ideas Tap

The weather has been glorious recently and I shouldn't complain, but like a typical British person I will; it's so hard to work from home when it's so hot and sunny.

The heat that melts your brain and the sun that's begging you to go outside all work against you.

However, I've just seen this great article on Ideas Tap for freelancers and artists on how to work in the sunshine; it's got some great tips, such as taking a siesta and working in the morning.

I'd also add another; invest in a fan!


I've reposted it below, see the original here.

How to work when it's sunny

British people treat the sun with the kind of casual, reasoned indifference with which moths treat flames. But there are ways to stay on track when the sun is shining....

Find it hard to concentrate when it’s hot? Pals, you’re looking at the girl who did her entire Psychology A-level revision sitting in a paddling pool, listening to Barry White (I got an A, thank you for asking). But here are a few things I’ve learned on the way about getting shit done in the blazing sunshine. 

Get up earlier

Take a tip from our cousins on the equator. My Indian family wakes up at 5am and work through til lunch. A lunch which they spend, like all right-thinking people, having a nap somewhere near a whisper of breeze. 

Of course, in the UK things are milder than a block of cheap cheddar. But the model still applies – to make the most of a lovely, warm day, wake up early and get as much done as possible during the cool, crisp dawn, before things get really glorious. Then you’ve earned a nice midday sun soak, park party of whatever else it is you kids get up to in nice weather. Then, when things cool down and the sun sinks below the horizon, you can get back on track.

Go lo fi

Computers and midday sunshine are about as compatible as thumbs and lit flames. So, wherever possible, leave those winking plug-in borefests at home. Writers – rediscover long hand. Designers – remember pencils? Actors – take your dictaphone to the park. Photographers – are you sure you need to be editing shots, rather than taking them?

Find somewhere with big windows 

Preferably ones that open. If, like 42% of our members, you’re London-based then make like those insufferable chumps in silver paint who pretend to be robots all day, and head to the Southbank. The Royal Festival Hall, for instance, is a lovely place to work when it’s sunny – with the view of the river, ready access to fountains and windows big enough to sink a ship.

So, let’s crowdsource this puppy: where are the nice places with big windows that are nice to work in near you? Let us know in the comments section below...

Ask for flexitime

It is, after all, the law.

Use your phone 

If you have a smartphone then you can get a hell of a lot done away from your desk. Record memos, answer emails, take notes etc etc. Just be sure to turn off your location settings if you’re emailing an office-based colleague as they’ll only start to hate you. 

Go into total denial

When working from home on a sunny day, James Hopkirk – our noble editor and super chief – pulls down his blackout blinds so he can’t be distracted by the sun outside. Now, while the idea of total domestic solar eclipse makes me want to shave my head and go run into a stream, he may have a point. Sometimes, when the sun has put his hat on, it’s best to don your blinkers and get shit done.

Image by **Mary** via Flickr under a creative commons license.