Need a different place to study?
There's an app for that.
It is no secret that your environment can significantly help or hinder your productivity. Perhaps you’ve even seen articles on “Top 10 Ways to Make Your Office More Productive.”
True, some environmental factors seem to universally help or hinder productivity. However, the extent to which each factor helps or hinders—and thus, the factors you should prioritize—are not universal.

For one person, a particular factor might only improve their environment by a barely-noticeable smidgen.
For another person, that same factor might feel like a miracle fuel, skyrocketing their focus and productivity!
Moreover, some factors even hinder certain learners, while those same factors help others (i.e. background noise).
The truth is:
Each person’s ideal study environment is a unique blend of factors.
In coaching—among so many other things—I work with clients to identify and operationalize their unique blend of factors.
Luckily, some of you may have already worked on identifying those factors in the past. In that case, you simply need to develop or find that environment.
Why you might need to find that environment:
If you can develop your own ideal study environment, that is wonderful! However, sometimes you might not be able to develop your own. Other times, you might not be able to use your own.
For example, perhaps you have a thoughtfully and impeccably crafted home office.
Yet, perhaps you also live too far from your law school to make driving home an efficient use of time during a break.
Worse yet, perhaps the neighbors suddenly decide to remodel their house (cue loud construction).
Even if you’ve developed your own environment—and it is absolute perfection—sometimes, you can find some much-needed rejuvenation with a simple change of scenery.
So, today I am sharing with you...
"Workfrom"
What it is:
Workfrom is a community-sourced mobile app that lets you know prime places—near you—to get work done.
For the curious: I am not affiliated with Workfrom.
If I ever become affiliated with Workfrom in the future, I will let you know (and hopefully get you a discount on the pro version, if that's the case).
Workfrom collects information on most major cities. So, it’s definitely worth it to check if your city is one of them. You can search by city, or you can simply hit the “nearby” button—if your phone’s location settings are enabled.
Why it's awesome:
Workfrom has many features you might find awesome. However, some features are geared more toward entrepreneurs and telecommuters—as opposed to students. For example, you can "clock-in" via Workfrom.
So, here, I'll simply focus on the main features likely to interest law students.
Reason #1: Quick Information
In your search results, you can see at a quick glance (a) WiFi availability, (b) outlet/power availability, and (c) distance from your current location.

Once you click on a location, you can see the hours of operation, WiFi speed, and other amenities available. It’s also a quick click to get the WiFi password, share your location with a friend, and and get directions from google maps.
As you scroll down, you can get even more information such as: level of background noise, access to power rating, beverage options (alcohol? caffeine?), or outdoor seating. Do you want to meet with a study group? Information can even include the “work-friendly capacity,” letting you know how many people to invite along.
Reason #2: Filtered Information
You can filter your search results to only show locations with your most important criterion.
Of course, because the app is community sourced, not all locations will contain all possible information. Filtering your criteria ensures that you will only see results that do have the information for which you're looking.
Filters include:
  • Private
  • Public
  • Open Now
  • Fast WiFi
  • Has Power
  • Quieter
  • Dog Friendly
  • Group Friendly
  • Alcohol
  • Food
  • Popular
  • Outdoors
  • Spacious
  • Open Late
Reason #3: It's free!
Not only is the mobile app free, but you can also use Workfrom's website.
You can upgrade to a “Plus Membership” for $5.00/month or $50.00/year. The upgrade does not include any additional functionality. So, it is not necessary.
However, if you do pay for the upgrade, it does come with some pretty cool perks. Most of the perks are clearly geared toward entrepreneurs/startups. However, some are more generally applicable.
Where to get it:
As I mentioned above, you can use Workfrom's website or the mobile app. You can download the app from iTunes or Google Play.
Use your environment to your advantage.
Identify the unique blend of factors that make up your ideal study environment. Then—whether you develop your own home office or find a place to study nearby—use those factors to your advantage.
Law school is a game. Part of learning how to play is learning how to find and optimize your edge—the little details that take your game to the next level. Invest small amounts of time and energy “optimizing.” That way you can increase your productivity and unlock vast amounts of time and energy for studying.
Here’s to hoping this app helps you quickly optimize your environment.
Cheers!