With freelancers, entrepreneurs and ‘work-from-homers’ cosying up for the day armed with a laptop and a cappuccino, we look at the pros and cons are of working from your favourite café.
There’s no denying it – working on your laptop in your favourite café or eatery definitely beats the stuffy office (and in winter it’s often nicer than sitting in your chilly kitchen). It’s even better when you manage to bag the cosiest corner seat, so you can spend the day cracking on through your task list with artisan coffee on hand and great people-watching opportunities to while away your breaktimes.
Who wouldn’t want to set up a coffice?
Starbucks was the original coffice. In recent years, however, coffee shops have caught on to the trend, and have evolved to cater specially to coffee-shop workers, with comfier seats, free and speedy Wi-Fi and coffee top-up cards or collection cards.
Fewer interruptions
One of the reasons people love using cafés to work in is the lack of interruptions that can be found in the office or at home. According to CubeSmart, people face around 70 interruptions per day. Setting up in a quiet but comfortable café allows you to avoid co-workers as well as the lure of the fridge or housework, which often manage to grab your attention a little too much for comfort when working from home.
Whilst cafés are undoubtedly a bit noisier than the office, it’s easier to pop your earphones in and tune out. And for some, the background noise is also soothing and can contribute to heightened concentration levels.
So, what are the downsides?
Unfortunately for those needing a peaceful corner to whizz through invoicing or come up with winning concepts, cafés sometimes feature such gems as tantrum-throwing toddlers or loudly chatting groups of pals, making full immersion in work projects a little more difficult than planned.
Depending on how busy it is, you also might not find a seat, or a spot beside a power outlet so you can keep your laptop and/or phone charged.
Finally, there’s no getting away from the fact that all those coffees (and, let’s face it, snacks) are going to add up. Try to calculate how many coffees or teas you’d be likely to need in a day at home, then see how much that would cost you daily in your favourite coffice location. Your findings might make your living room a very attractive idea for a workspace after all…
Posted by The Secret Businessman