Enterprise Nation

San Sharma is back in Starbucks, avoiding a full house, and drowning out the noise with something louder, something...pink.

A quick recap

Over the course of a series of articles, I had hoped to report from a number of third places. That is, somewhere outside of my home office, where I can continue to work in a changed environment.

The first report led me to Starbucks - vanguard of the third place - and recipient of a 'two thumbs up' review from this roving and reporting homeworker. I've since reported on JetBlue's 'third place in the sky' and shared your recommendations of cheap and cheerful Wi-Fi hotspots.

Back in Starbucks

But quicker than you can say skinny-soya-caramel-macchiato I find myself back in the coffee shop chain, this time not as a roving reporter, but as a victim of circumstance, booted from my home office on account of Internet connection woes, sick housemates and guests outstaying their welcome.

I've been here all week, escaping those guests and germs, working a steady 9 'til 5 shift (my housemates think I'm moonlighting as a barista!). All that coffee and cake can't be good for my health, but how have I managed a whole week outside of the home office? And is it still working from home when you're not at home?

Well, the West Hampstead branch of Starbucks, from where I write to you now, has quite quickly become a home of sorts. I can't kick off my shoes and work with my feet up. But there is something about working around strangers that sort of forces you to behave.

Drowning out the noise

At the same time, the passing of strangers, especially in the morning and at lunchtime, provides a sort of motion picture backdrop that is quite inspirational, albeit sometimes quite nosy.

To overcome that, I've been using a hardware/software combination that I'd recommend to anyone working in a third place.

The hardware is a pair of earphones, so you can replace that Starbucks easy listening CD in heavy rotation, with an iTunes playlist of your choosing. A real life saver. Used in conjunction with a piece of software called Noise (for Mac OS X) however, and you've got yourself a real distraction killer.

Noise is a tiny little application from Blackhold Media that drowns distractions by blasting 'pink noise' through your earphones. Also known as a signal with even power distribution on a logarithmic frequency scale, pink noise masks background noise to help you concentrate.

It sounds crazy! Like the fuzzy sound you hear from your TV sometimes, but it really works. You can find out more on the link below. Happy, distraction free homeworking! – San Sharma

• Noise [Blackhole Media]