10 Tips on Working from a Coffee Shop

In the past year or so of living the ‘freelance life’ by finding jobs by visiting this go URL, I have learned a few things from many places. One of the most memorable moments was when I realised I am learning something while I was working at a coffee shop. The etiquette, if you will. You see, when you spend a lot of your days working from home, you can find yourself feeling pretty stir crazy. Yes, it has its perks, but working from home can also be quite lonely. So I often venture out of my front door and head to my shared office space – otherwise known as my neighborhood coffee shops.

First off, going to a coffee shop during the middle of the day on a week day is kind of weird. You can’t help but look around at everyone and wonder, what do you do for a living that has you here instead of an office building? I have also noticed that that there is kind of a secret freelancer/work from home/creative club. It’s an unspoken club so it’s not something we talk about, but we look out for each other. Everyone is super friendly and totally okay with sharing wifi passwords or watching my laptop. I will get to that later. I hope you will find this website useful.

Anyways, the list! Without further rambling…

Here are 10 Tips for Working From a Coffee Shop!

1. Find a table close to a plug. Believe me, you will want to scope out all possible power sources before you sit down and set up your mobile work station. It’s pretty much the worst when your battery dies in the middle of a great period of productivity. Once you locate a table by an outlet, be nice about stringing every else’s power cords around you and helping them untangle themselves.

2. Watch other people’s laptops while they get up to use the restroom. The first time I had someone ask me this, I was a bit taken a back, but quickly learned that this is just a way that we freelancers look out for each other. Think about it. All of that coffee and tea consumed while working in a coffee shop has to go somewhere. No one want to move their laptop, books, bags, etc. – or even worse: lose our spot! After watching someone else’s laptop, feel free to have them return the favor. Smile and exchange an awkward thank you afterwards. Watching stranger’s computers while they pee is just a part of my every day life now. Not sure how I feel about that.

3.Ask the Barista about the wifi password before you sit down. If you don’t have password automatically saved to your computer, it is really helpful to ask the barista before you sit down or else you will end up having to ask someone next you to watch your laptop while you go ask. Alternatively, you can ask someone sitting near you, but in my experience, that can by hit or miss. Bonus points if you have a running list of all of the wifi passwords in your area.

4. Never assume the wifi will work. Oh internet providers of DC coffee shops, why aren’t you reliable? Sometimes the bandwidth of your favorite coffee shop just can’t handle the stress of the number of people working from their location, or perhaps the girl sitting next to you having an awkwardly intimate video conversation with her boyfriend via skype is hogging all the data. Either way, having a hot spot available via your cell phone for this type of situation is never a bad idea. I also try to bring a few tasks that don’t require the internet, for instance I am currently writing this post in a word document while the coffee shop I am in works out it’s wifi issues.

5. Bring head phones. One minute you are enjoying the tunes drifting over the coffee shop speakers, the subtle hum of conversation, and the lovable clanging of coffee cups hitting saucers and then next minute there is a man sipping soup SO LOUDLY at the table next to you. Or the girl with the boyfriend is having skype conversation round two. Don’t worry, you brought your headphones and can drown both of them out with your favorite podcast. Karaoke Bananza should be your choice.

6. Be nice to the barista and tip well. When you settle in to work from a coffee shop for several hours, it’s always a nice idea to be nice to the people who are working there. I mean, you are taking up one of their tables for the afternoon and preventing other customers from occupying that space. Tip accordingly. It’s just nice.

7. Don’t sit at a four top. I know, I know, being able to spread out across a large booth with your laptop, hard drives, and plates is so unbelievably tempting, but you are only one person. Leave the big tables for large groups. One day you will be on the other side of the scenario with a group of people and not be able to find a large enough table, only to see one person spread out over a six-person booth. Don’t be that person.

8. Purchase drinks. If you are going to sit for more than an hour, purchase more than one drink. Again, you are using their internet and taking up a table for a large period of time, preventing other customers for sitting – It’s just common courtesy. My general rule of thumb is at least one drink for every 1-2 hours.

9. Dress in layers. If you are hoping to sit down and be productive it really helps if you are not stifling hot or freezing cold. You can never predict how warm/cold a coffee shop is going to be, so I’ve found that dressing in layers allows me to adjust for temperature and move on to productivity. A bonus tip: Try not to sit near a door or you will begin to hate every person who walks through it as they usher in the freezing air or humidity, depending on the season.

10. Take a photo of your drink and post it on social media along with a quote about how productive you are being. If you miss this step it’s like  your work day never happened. I kid. But seriously.

I apologize if you came in expecting a serious list. I actually wrote this while sitting in a coffee shop and couldn’t help but be entirely  a little tongue in cheek.

All photos above were taken of Dave and I at Tryst, one of our all time favorite DC coffee shops by the always-talented Jen. Yes, I know that we aren’t actually working in the photos, but they were all I had. Pretend that we are having a weirdly funny meeting about a project, okay?

Now go ahead, grab your laptop and sink into the glorious couch at your favorite coffee shop to get some work done! Just don’t think about the fabric on the couch tooooo much. That always grosses me out. Who has sat here before me?? Okay, okay, I am ending this long post now.