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Lessons Learned Working from Coffee Shops
- abraininavat 14y agoYour advice is... buy something? Bring the stuff you need? This is the blog equivalent of Fox & Friends
- Paul_D_Santana 14y agoThe "Advertise On Your Laptop" advice is a terrific idea. I really like the back of iWaffles' laptop, and the suggestion to put your Twitter handle on there too (or website etc). As to your comment on the validity of this article: When I read an article or a book, I focus on getting something of value out of it. If I can gain at least one good idea that I can use for the rest of my life, then it was a worthwhile. Focus on the positive. It will change your life.
- flavorcountry 14y agoI know what you're getting at - but it's a good reminder nevertheless. I'm talking specifically about the point of having offline options, like graphic design, emails, offline coding.
- tommoor 14y agoI wasn't going to include the "Buy something" point, but did you read that Yelp review? Jeez, apparently people need reminding...
- ja27 14y agoI'm not a coffee drinker and really don't like the smell of burnt coffee. My solution? Local libraries. Mine recently started allowing drinks (with a sealed lid like a bottle) and simple snacks and some even have vending machines now. It's often me, the librarians, and a few retirees until school lets out. I sometimes work from a nearby sports bar with good wifi, but the 19th hole bro crowd gets pretty obnoxious.
- billpaetzke 14y agoTry getting a tea instead. That's what I do. All the cafes I've been to have tea--yes, some have a better selection than others. Black and green tea are caffeinated; herbal ones are not. You can have it hot or iced. With or without sweetener, with or without milk. And it's good for you (unsweetened).
- lostlogin 14y agoBurnt coffee isn't nice, but the smell of fresh coffee is amazing (for me) - it beats fresh bread, the smell of brewery's and the smell of warm oil from a classic car engine bay. The only thing that comes close I think, is the smell of the oil (which dries like a varnish) which I did my floors with. www.naturalhouse.co.nz/shop/java-classic-resin-oil/
- ruswick 14y agoI find his point about "overstaying your welcome" to be of significance. What constitutes such an intrusion? Is there some sort of universal time limit? Is it commensurate with the amount of money one spends? I've always operated by the tenet that, if they take my money, I am justified in staying for as for long as is necessary. This seems to be the generally accepted precedent, as I've seen an immeasurable number of people purchase a single item and spend an entire day working. This is especially true of local, boutique coffee shops, at which the patrons seem to be less transient than those of, say, a Starbucks. Personally, I generally purchase a single espresso for $1.50, add milk to attempt to simulate the taste of an actual cappuccino (at one third of the cost), and stay for between three and six hours. This seems to be standard operating procedure for many people. Are extended stays stigmatized elsewhere?
- sliverstorm 14y agoCoffee shops are not charities. How much do you think that $1.50 coffee costs them to make? Let's speculate $0.50. So the shop nets $1.00 and you take a chair for six hours. But wait- you are using electricity and WiFi. You cost them money. Electricity is cheap and if they have reasonable internet service, so is internet- but now they aren't even making a dollar. Just how much profit do you think a shop can generate at $1 per 6 hours for a chair? If they have twenty chairs, that's maybe $30-40 gross for the day?
- petsos 14y agoI'm sorry to break this to you, but most people would consider you an asshole.
- ben1040 14y agoPersonally, if I am not buying something at least every 90 minutes-2 hours, I feel like I am a freeloader and I get out. I hate it when I go to a coffee shop and every seat is taken by someone on a laptop with no evidence they have spent money there recently. One of my local coffee shops gives 2 hours free wifi with purchase. If I plan on sticking around all day then I consider it that I am paying for wifi in 2 hour increments and getting a free coffee or food item out of it.
- monitron 14y agoBringing a little power strip can make you the most popular person at the coffee shop, especially if you're sitting at one of those long tables with one measly outlet nearby.
- tommoor 14y agogreat tip!
- w1ntermute 14y agoDoes anyone else find it painful working at coffee shops? Non-ergonomic chairs, weird table heights, poor posture inherent to using laptops (no external monitor). I'd much rather work from home or an office.
- thebear 14y agoI too find this to be a problem. So let's add this piece of advice to the author's list: watch out for the least unergonomic chair/table combinations, and memorize the good ones. I know of some decent ones that I keep returning to.
- billpaetzke 14y agoI find it's worth the poor ergonomics because it makes life interesting during work. I do it 1-3 hours per day to mix things up socially--maybe meet a girl or run into someone I know or (like last weekend) run into a celebrity. Something different happens every time.
- kayoone 14y agoAgreed. Doing that on a regular basis for a few years cant really be good for your posture. Besides, i find the coffee shops in the city are usually very cramped, lots of noise and young parents/babies, mediocre wifi. I enjoy working from a coworking space and i also enjoy a proper working enviroment with a beefy workstation, 2 external displays, people around that are developers vs young hipster moms, stable fast internet etc. I go to the coffee shop to take a break and well, grab a coffee.
- thebear 14y agoThe hubbub of big city coffeehouses is indeed not conducive to hacking. If you have the luxury of being able to move around, it's worth checking out coffeehouses in small towns. My current favorite in Northern California is the Curly Wolf in Nevada City. Exquisite interior decoration, great people, quiet atmosphere, open til midnight Sun through Thu, til 2am Friday and Saturday. And if you're willing to travel farther, you can even still find hacker's paradise, like the Shot in the Dark in Tucson, AZ: open 24/7. Trust me, it's quiet in there at 3am.
- dangoldin 14y agoHow is this in the top 5 of HN? Most of the points seem pretty obvious.
- doug4hn 14y agoI find that more people aren't even going into the coffee shop. They just park outside close enough to get a good wifi signal and relax in their car or van for hours on end.
- ultimoo 14y agoBut what's the idea in that? People work out of coffee shops because they need a social place with other human beings around. Almost everyone has an internet at home, so they could always work form home rather than being cooped up in a car waiting for the cops to come around asking.
- doug4hn 14y agoSome are just stuck because they can't go elsewhere because of traffic jams and they don't want to go inside because it's too crowded or too many people waiting in line for coffee (or to go to bathroom). Afraid I've never heard of anyone being accosted by officers about hanging out in the parking lot inside their car w/ their computer. Who is to say who's wifi they are using anyway (especially in a tight area where you have multiple choices for wifi)?
- buildnship 14y agoThis has to be one of the most useless articles i've ever read...
- obamasupporter 14y agotruth
- wolfowitz 14y agoYou must be new to the internet then ;)
- streetwiseherc 14y agoIt would be interesting to go back in a time machine and see what a coffee shop looked like before free wifi, laptops and cell phones. I can't even remember... did people have conversations? Read books?
- rammark 14y agoAlso, make sure your Internet connection is secure. Set up a VPN (or buy from a provider) to be 100% safe.