The Coffee Shop as the New Office?

Once upon a time, I used to begin my day with a can of Coke or a stop at McDonalds to get the even better fountain version. I didn't like coffee ass it tasted too thin, insubstantial for my tastes. Certainly, that was true versus the syrupy sweetness of coke. 

Eventually, my tastebuds matured a bit and that degree of sweetness became sickeningly sweet - especially so early in the morning. I moved onto coffee but then found the sweet spot in the latte. The blend of milk and espresso really gets it done for me. Unfortunately, they aren't cheap and you can really only get them at the local coffee shop. Perhaps I should say "shops" as the coffee wars continue to rage with Starbucks versus everyone else in a bid to seemingly achieve a coffee shop on every corner.

This growing ubiquity has led a trend of folks hanging out at the coffee shop as a social and work destination. Nowadays, the coffee shop is being hailed as a melting pot of creativity and caffeine by a variety of folks with recommendations to make it a normal working location. 


I find this an odd concept: Go away from your work resources, the people whom you work with and for and sit around with strangers to get more and different work done. And I was fully prepared to fully disagree with the idea. The thing is, it might be a good thing for you after all.

My last few jobs have been management and leadership roles. This type of job is based on the insubstantial. My value was not in the production of work items, but rather ensuring that the work product was the best fit for the organization and the industry. It was highly interpersonal both in terms of collaborating on strategy and execution as well as developing people and so forth. That's not to say that there weren't times that I needed to unplug from that grind but I typically found the change of scenery on when traveling for business or attending a conference. 

Therefore, if that's your role, you probably won't find much boost to your working environment beyond that within the cup in your hand. However, it's pretty clear that there are a variety of reasons to make a coffee shop one of your regular stops. 

Creatures of habit listen up here. If you are in the same place every day, at the same time, dealing with the same problems, you need to put a shock into the system. Get a change of scenery - whether a coffee shop, working at home or over at the beach is really yours to decide. But, it might also just be as simple as booking out a conference room to provide a different view as well as providing a sometimes needed isolation and quiet to get certain tasks done.

If you work from home especially if you are a one-person consultant or entrepreneur, a coffee shop affords you a terrific amount of activity and socialization that may afford the creative boost you are looking for. Since starting to look for work, I've become dependent upon the local shop for  a change of scenery as well as isolation from the distressingly high number of distractions that your home can bring.

Is the coffee shop a panacea for everyone's work rut? Probably not, but give it a try and it might work for you.