The Entrepreneur’s Guide to (not getting kicked out of) Coffee Shops
dcfounders.com
dcfounders.com
Unless the coffee shop is dead, they don't want you there.
The library on the other hand is funded in part by utilization, and very much does want you there.
The library is quiet, is designed to provide work spaces, far larger, and generally very pleasant to be in. And it's free.
The coffee shop is loud, is certainly not ergonomic, cramped, and often jarring.
Also, I don't know what the word is for an ostensible who brings their own lunch daily to an establishment that serves any kind of food, but I'm sure there must be a word for it. Sheesh.
There are more coffee shops than libraries. Your path to a coffee shop is generally shorter than your path to a library.
This problem gets even worse when you add the dimension of time. Libraries are closed a lot. Philistines keep cutting their funding, and they respond by shortening their hours. Unless your working hours coincide neatly with library opening hours you'll sometimes need an alternative.
Finally, there's the social dimension. It's not easy to start a random conversation in a library, and it's essentially impossible to answer the phone. (Unless you are a big jerk and your local librarians are insufficiently ruthless.) Now, if you're trying to program such an environment is a godsend, but if you're trying to run a business programming is often the least of your problems. You have to do sales and marketing and client management and the occasional round of procurement or insurance shopping or whatnot, any or all of which may require you to talk on the phone occasionally.
That said, whenever I'm near a library during its opening hours I head over there instead of towards the coffee shop. Here in Boston the library situation is good: The public libraries are fairly numerous and popular, and some of the more enlightened universities let civilians into their libraries, which have longer hours and better study spaces.
Maybe all the coffee shops I like are just way smaller than the ones you all use.
Mostly: I had great success working from libraries, and I know that many coffee shops do not like people working from them all day.
Well, the most obvious reason would be for the coffee.
Seriously though, I think this varies by city. In Seattle, it's very much culturally accepted to work from coffee shops; it's practically what they're there for.
Not my experience at all.
Coffee shops on the other hand are usually fairly quiet in something like a starbucks (really depends on location and time). Of course when it's rush hour this all changes.
My hometown has >1mio population, 3 universities and a lot of students occupying the libraries. Coffee shops can be a comfortable alternative.
You put up without power/internet guarantees and an expectation to spend money for what? The comfort of working hunched over a laptop at a strange table and the convenience of commuting to work even though you don't have an office you have to go to?
Is it a thing where you have better self control at a computer if you're not at home?
It is possible to mitigate most annoyances by bringing along extra supplies: power splitters + long power cords for limited access to plugs, your own data card for the unreliable wifi, laptop locks for when using the bathroom, and noise-isolating/canceling headphones for the occasional bad music, and an spare sweatshirt for when the coffeeshop leaves their door open.
Its not for everyone, but it has its merits.
There are, however, books. And magazines.
The "rent" is unbeatable, $1.50 for couple hours of desk space, janitorial service, power, and WIFI. And you got the constant caffeine boost to keep you going. Just put on the headphones and blast away at the codes.
your self control theory might be a part of it although i don't recall doing any less random surfing. and believe me i would notice if some environment helped me tone down my random surfing.
i think just being around people, even (maybe especially) if they have no bearing on my activity, is comforting and helps me focus. at the risk of concocting one of those questionable evolutionary psychology theories, most of our ancestors probably didn't do a lot of productive work in complete isolation?
Now that I'm working at a 2 person startup, I still work from coffee shops ~2 days a week. It's a great change of scenery from the office. I plug in headphones, get a caffeine buzz going, and can be very productive without being distracted.
The coffee shop matters a lot. I disagree with the author's opinion that national chains are best. Starbucks tends to have terrible WiFi, average coffee, and feels soulless. You have to explore your city to find the right balance of WiFi, ambiance, coffee, and power outlets. I was spoiled living in Seattle - I imagine that search takes a bit more effort somewhere like DC :)
GeekAtSea has an excellent post about Seattle coffee shops: http://www.geekatsea.com/best-coffee-shops-in-Seattle
Why? Two reasons --
(1) being at a coffee shop is uncomfortable in such a way that its a constant reminder that I'm there to do work, not get comfortable, relax, etc.. Plus, it keeps me away from regular toys/distractions I might have at home or my desk at work. I probably don't know anyone at the coffee shop, so it means odds are, no one will bother me in person.
(2) I'm the type of person that seems to focus better when there's stuff going on around me, but nothing is glaringly stealing my focus. When I'm at home, I'll sometimes put on an action movie in the background and turn the sound down to a low level so its difficult to pick anything in particular out. The sound and motion helps me focus, for some reason. (Double edged sword, though -- all it takes is one person for me to focus on for whatever reason instead of my work at the coffee shop to shoot my productivity).
Occasionally I'll use it as a place to meet up with friends in similar work-from-anywhere jobs. In fact, I need to start doing that more often.
If you feel like being social, this is a good excuse for striking up a conversation with someone nearby who seems interesting. Ask if the person can keep an eye on your stuff for a few minutes. Assuming he/she is friendly, after you get back and say thanks the ice will be broken and you can chat if you want to. I suppose it's still a bit riskier than taking your stuff with you, but seems minimal.
The trick I use is to pick someone that has line of site on my things, so they pay attention even if they don't mean to. And ideally to pick someone with a laptop, and preferably a better laptop than yours, that makes them a tad more trustworthy, because at least they probably won't take off with yours.
If the neighborhood is sketchy or there is no one around, I take it with me.
As for restroom cleanliness, worrying less about that is one of the many benefits of eliminating caffeine from my diet ;)
it's low traffic, and I'm on first name basis with everybody that works there. it's fantastic, and beats working in a real office.
the wifi is unlimited, there's plenty of power outlets, and occasionally on really long days, I'll have two meals there (which makes up for those crunchtime days where I'm doing nothing but drinking coffee).
and they're open till midnight, and serve beer for ballmer peak days.
the real key is to just work out of a coffee shop 2ish times a week and a homeoffice the rest of the time. you split your costs and you're not always there.
Also, buy a couple of $5 power strips and leave them at the places you frequent. Give something back to the community that's supporting you (whether they know it or not).
I also recently discovered the public library as a great place to work. Of course this will vary from city to city, but mine is clean, quiet, good lighting, comfortable work areas, cheap parking, and free wifi. Also, they have a great music collection to borrow from.
They're quiet, generally unattended by the local undergrads, and the wifi is generally very consistently available (even if there is a registration process to make sure your machine fits school security standards). Plenty of power, too.
On the downside, there's no cheap coffee nearby and sometimes it isn't allowed at all. The same may go for parking.
Still, if uninterrupted peace and quiet is what you need for productivity, they may be a solid option.
But the trick with any coworking space is that it's gotta be convenient. We moved out of the city and it's just a bit too far out. But AL is great.
Also, you don't have to spend $1000/month - that's just what happens if you're not careful. I generally spend about $4-5/day - so it rounds out to about $150.
The location is definitely a factor, I was driving to a metro and then metroing in - it took between 1-1.5 hours. Then I just started driving at off peak times and it's much faster.
Of course, now that I can't get to a co-working space, I had to get way better at planning and finding good places. Now I don't waste much time.
For that matter, I think I am more productive (for now) because I can't chit-chat and get distracted as I would when I'm around people I know. All of our work is offsite and online right now, so no productivity is wasted.
The biggest trick is, if it's a 3hr commute there and back to your office (plus settling in time) you have to weight it each time whether it's worth the trip or not. But I hit the coffee shop every morning, like it's my office, and gain 2.5hrs. You just can't slack off.
I wouldn't suggest doing it forever, but if you're going to do it, that's how.
Going in: what do I absolutely need to do today? What would I like to do? How can I get it all done?
Going out: Did I reach my goals? Why/why not? What are some of the bigger issues I need to keep thinking about while working the day to day?
It's not an insignificant amount of time, but I don't find it wasteful, I easily spend that much time thinking about problems anyways, now I just am commuting at the same time!
Not being able to leave your stuff when you go to the bathroom is a big fail, but even worse, not being able to take phone calls in a low stress environment while sitting at your desk. Being able to look things up. Also, it's not really a great environment for having confidential discussions in general, especially in Silicon Valley -- I've had meetings where the VC picked a coffeeshop to meet, and 2-3 other companies were having meetings in the same space.
A private office in a setting with coworkers is ideal, but failing that, a dedicated home office is the next best alternative.