A remote worker's guide to a week in Chicago

Why Chicago works for a work week

Chicago runs on Central Time, which puts you one hour from New York and two hours from California. A 9 am call with the East Coast is an 8 am call here, and you are still online when the West Coast wraps up at 5 pm Pacific. For teams split across the country, it is the most forgiving time zone there is.

It is also a city where the evening matters. The lake, the rooftops and the restaurants are good enough that you will want to close the laptop on time, which is exactly what a week away should do.

Set up your day before you arrive

The biggest time sink on a work trip is figuring out where to sit. Before you arrive, decide how much of your day needs a door. If you have more than two calls a day, book a Work Loft, which has a separate glass-walled study with a standing desk, a 27 inch monitor and an acoustic panel behind the chair.

If most of your day is heads-down work, a Studio Loft or Warehouse King and a seat in the Ledger lobby will do. The lobby has 60 desks, four soundproof phone booths you can book by the hour and symmetrical fiber that does not slow down when a conference group arrives.

• Phone booths can be reserved at the front desk or by text, up to two hours per day per guest.
• Every desk has power and USB-C. Monitors can be borrowed for the day.
• The Ledger opens at 6 am with coffee and closes at 10 pm.

Build a rhythm that includes the city

Try splitting the day in two. Work from 7 am to noon, when your inbox is quietest and the lobby is calm. Take a long lunch outside: walk to Randolph Street or ride the Green Line to the Loop and eat in Millennium Park. Then come back for a focused afternoon block.

At 5 pm, go up. Fourteen opens at 4 pm and the rooftop is where many of our longer-stay guests end up meeting each other. It is surprisingly easy to go from strangers at the next table to a dinner group by Wednesday.

Stay healthy on a long trip

Our fitness studio is open 24 hours with bikes, free weights and a rower, but the best workout in the area is outside. The Chicago Lakefront Trail runs 18 miles along the water. From the hotel, take a loaner bike east to the lake and ride as far north or south as you like.

For food, Foundry does a grab-and-go breakfast from 7 am, and the Work Week package includes it. Ask the kitchen for the lighter lunch bowls, which change weekly.

What to pack and what to leave

Leave the travel router, the extension cord and the laptop stand at home. We have all of them to borrow. Bring a light jacket in any season, because the wind off the lake changes the temperature by ten degrees in minutes, and comfortable shoes, because Chicago is one of the most walkable big cities in the country.

Most of all, leave one evening free. The best nights in this city are the ones you did not plan.