Hello hello hello! Today I wanted to do an updated blog post about how to make anywhere your office. I recently stayed at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London (read on for more about this beautiful hotel) and whilst there, it really made me think about how productive you can be anywhere if you have the right tools, the right space and put your mind to it. I hope this will help you whether you’re studying, a freelancer, business owner or whatever! Let’s do this.
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I checked into the St Pancras Renaissance a few weeks ago, I’m so sorry this blog post has taken me so long to get up, it’s just been one thing after another and for some reason, I have a huge backlog right now. I normally drive into London as it’s much cheaper than getting the train 5x a week, but when I do get the train, I get it straight into Kings Cross/St Pancras. It’s safe to say, I’ve walked past this beautiful hotel a number of times and I always take a snap of the exterior for Instagram. The building is probably one of the most Instagrammed ever outside. I only have one complaint about the hotel and it's a small one but a costly one. I was told by a number of staff that the hotel offer absolutely no parking so we paid quite a large amount to park near by then got a taxi from our parking space to the hotel. When we checked in, the hotel staff were shocked and told us we could infact park there so if you stay here, do check that out. I love hotels that allow you to park as it makes it so much easier with big bags. I think this came from miscommunication and is my only tiny complaint.
I’ve never stepped foot in the hotel until recently though and I just hope I get the chance to stay there again sometime soon as one night was definitely not enough.
It’s an interesting and very different hotel but quirky because of it. Situated inside St Pancras train station, you literally sleep on top of the train tracks which is crazy but quite exciting and very different. Out of our window, we could see the people rushing for their daily commute (don’t open the blinds naked) and people heading home. You almost get a birdseye view of the ongoings of St Pancras station, like a fly on the wall plus if you're a foodie, you're surrounded by so many eateries.
On arrival, I was greeted by the most wonderful staff who honestly couldn’t do enough for me. I was pretty stressed (when am I not stressed) as I had piles of work to do and no-where to do it. I couldn’t yet check in but instead, they gave me access to their club lounge, this was honestly my savior and has inspired this blog post. I said to Matt, I wish they offered membership here because I’d pretty much move in. I didn’t get any photos of the lounge as it was quite a private space and also very dark, but it was the perfect space to get my work done. I urgently needed a memory stick and one of the staff went above and beyond to grab me one. I sat there for two hours and just got on top of work before heading off to meetings. It’s like a little-hidden lounge within St Pancras, calm, pleasant, epic service and all the green tea and snacks you could wish for.
After a busy day of meetings, we headed up to our room. I wish we had much longer to stay there. We could only stay one night so had to book in somewhere else the day after and I never really think one night in-between meetings and events is enough to really get to see and love a hotel. From what I did see, I fell truly in love with the St Pancaras Renaissance hotel.
The room was small in size but the large ceilings made it feel spacious and bright. It had little tastes of London all over, with books, magazines and beautiful paintings. The room felt like something from Gatsby. True fact: The Spice Girls filmed their music video on the staircase of the St Pancras Renaissance hotel. The hotel has little hints of moderness scattered with history and culture, I like that, it feels cosy.
The bath in the room was to die for and not to mention the fact that the room is stocked with luxe toiletries from Ren, one of my favourite brands. I always judge a hotel based on how good it’s toiletries are.
We headed out to a YSL beauty party (reluctantly as I wanted to stay in my gown all night long), I'd just wrapped up a meeting downstairs in the hotel and the food was divine.
The next day, we spent our morning in the lounge, working away and I found myself at my highest productivity level.
Here are my essentials for working away from the office:
Full charge - Make sure whatever you’re using has full charge, so you don’t open your laptop on the train and notice you can’t do any work or, just incase there are no plugs nearby. It also gets rid of that constant 'ah my laptop is going to die any minute' feeling. I also always make sure I’m sat next to a plug, in the lounge for example so I can really work away and not have to move or bother anyone when my laptop dies.
Full charge - Make sure whatever you’re using has full charge, so you don’t open your laptop on the train and notice you can’t do any work or, just incase there are no plugs nearby. It also gets rid of that constant 'ah my laptop is going to die any minute' feeling. I also always make sure I’m sat next to a plug, in the lounge for example so I can really work away and not have to move or bother anyone when my laptop dies.
Hydration - Keep your brain ticking, I usually sit with water and green tea when tapping away. Food seems to distract me and I use it as a rewarding break from working hard but water fuels me.
Quiet environment - There’s something that makes me ridiculously productive when others are working around me, I think that’s why I adored the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel so much midweek, it was full of people working away, reaching their goals. It inspired me. If headphones work best for you, I know they do for me on trains as I can't work with noise, then don't forget to pack them.
Space - I like to have space, so as greedy as it sounds, a table for 4, just for me. This was fine in this particular lounge as it was huge with lots of room but it means I can spread out and work away. It's much harder to do this on a train and you obviously have to be considerate of people around you.
To do list - My brother taught me to always have a priority list:
- I need to complete
- I should complete
- I could complete
Be realistic about your goals, my list is usually separated and it really helps my mind figure out what really needs doing or what I've just added onto my list for the sake of it.
It’s safe to say, I’d do anything to stay at the St Pancras Renaissance hotel again, first class service, the comfiest beds, the most opulent bathrooms and finally, I fulfilled the princess dream of staying in that incredible building. It definitely gets top marks from me. I know I’ll definitely be staying here again, I just wish we had a lot more time as apparently there's a very special spa hidden inside here too plus I'd like to properly sample dinner, breakfast, and their coffee lounge. It looks like I'm heading back!Watch my vlog of the stay below:
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A digital detox at Seaham Hall
Blogging as a full time job and freelance tips
How to get the perfect work life balance
Top tips for time management, how to juggle everything!
Have you ever seen this hotel? Do you work away from the office a lot? Do you work remotely? Do you have any tips?
Lots of love, Em x
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