ride_4ever

Okay, so what has worked for me a few times is to go to a deserted diner (like the Steak 'n Egger at Central Ave & Ogden; there's also one at Central & 26th St, but that seems a lot busier) with my laptop.

If I go to the one at Central & Ogden during off-hours, I'm usually the only person there. I've been there 1-3am; I've been there at 3pm in the afternoon; both times I was the only person there. The few other people who come in seem to "eat and get out," as the sign used to say at Ed Debevic's. Many times I've been there alone, someone or some people have come in, they've ordered, they've eaten, and then they've left... and I am still there, alone again.

The waitress usually has the radio on, there, however. Which leads to my other solution: a white-noise generating app on your phone, and wired earbuds to provide it right to your eardrums, and block everyone else out.

Most of the white-noise apps you can get on the Google Play store are loaded with ads and trackers. But the FOSS (free open source software) apps I use aren't.

But you have to turn on the "install from unknown sources" setting on your phone to install them. That setting is how Google prevents you from installing any free open source software that isn't on Google Play, but it is also how it protects you from malware. In theory.

So let me know if you are interested in the latter, and I'll send you links. They're all installable with the Droid-ify app which installs FOSS apps from Github.

In no particular order they are: Chromadoze, Noice, and sleepsweet
One of them, I can't recall which right now, simulates noise like the noise of an air conditioner or a fan. So if you can write at home totally alone with the sound of your AC, furnace, or a fan going, the app can mimic that.