I used to think early spring was the perfect time to sit outside and work.
Not too hot, a bit of sun, kind of that “finally out of winter” feeling. So when I booked an Airbnb in California last month, I specifically picked one with a patio because I thought I’d spend a lot of time out there.
The first morning actually looked exactly how I imagined it. I brought my laptop out, made coffee, sat down, and for a few minutes it felt great.
But then I started noticing small things that got annoying pretty quickly.
The sun wasn’t strong in the way summer is, but it kept coming from the side, hitting my eyes at this angle where you don’t immediately move, you just try to tolerate it for a bit. I kept shifting slightly, adjusting my chair, tilting my screen, and at some point I realized I was spending more time adjusting than actually working.
There was an umbrella there, but it had that standard pole in the middle of the table, so no matter how I moved, the shade never really lined up with where I was sitting.
I ended up going back inside, which was kind of frustrating because the whole reason I booked that place was the outdoor space.
When I got back home, I didn’t really want to redesign anything or buy a bunch of stuff, so I just changed that one problem. I got a purple leaf cantilever umbrella, mostly because I noticed the structure is different — the shade hangs over instead of being centered.
And that one change actually fixed what was bothering me.
Now I can just sit where I want, and adjust the umbrella instead of everything else. I don’t really think about it anymore, which is probably the point.