Working at a coffee shop
If you work remote you may crave an occasional switch up in the scenery. We’ve found the best place to do this is by visiting a new or local coffee shop. Working remote, there will be some things you need to bring with you to ensure productivity and keep all your projects moving forward. We love exploring coffee shops so we have a few tips to make your experience more enjoyable and productive.
NO. 1: Charge your laptop the night before
We’ll admit it: We’ve sat down at a coffee shop, opened our laptops ready to get our track pad clicking only to see a dead battery warning. You know what comes next…the great performance of untangling the gnarly laptop charger, scoping out the scene for the nearest outlet, politely interrupting your neighbor to see if you can share electricity and then awkwardly ducking under tables to plug into the power source. Avoid all that. Charge your laptop the night before.
NO. 2: Talk To The Baristas
Chances are you’ll be working at the coffee shop for a few hours, possibly coming back another day in the work week if the vibe is right. As someone who works remote, we may not be overly inclined to be social, but this is your chance! Ask the baristas how their day is going and start up some convo, you may have more commonalities than you think. You may also find out that your barista is an amazing illustrator who could help you with your next collaboration. They may be in charge of the tunes, and can share with you a solid playlist. Show them some love for being the coffee plug!
NO. 3: Pack a solid pen (or a few)
Call us old fashioned, but a good ol’ handwritten note works for us. A to-do list in penmanship on paper seems to arrive checked to completion before a hurried typed list in our notes app on our phones. Let be real, we also like our mindless doodling. Power of the pen! We love the perfect milky texture of:
OOLY Color Lux Gel Pen. If you’re a 90s kid Gel Pens will forever ever be nostalgic. Trading colors with your friends, and the metallic ones?! OOLY Color Lux Gel Pen is essentially a Gel Pen for grown ups. These beautiful colored pens offer a smooth writing experience you have to try
NO. 4: Bring A Notebook
Take the pen you enjoy writing with and write some notes or a to-do list. The notebook we love: XYark Dot Grid Notebook. It’s A5 paper size, not too big, making it perfectly portable for working remote. This notebook is perfect for jotting notes and doodles because of its repeat dotted print and it comes in a pack of 12! If you’re anything like us, you have a notebook for journaling, a separate one for to do lists, another for work projects and one for personal ideas
NO. 5: Good Tunes
A good playlist is key because we can’t alwayyyyys trust what the Barista wants to play. Here’s a playlist we have on at the studio most days that we can’t stop listening to! Click the link below to listen to Creative Squeeze, a playlist to get the juices flowing with some chill artsy vibes.
NO. 6: Bring Headphones
Speaking of your own tunes…don’t forget your noise cancelling headphones. Coffee shops can get a bit noisy at times, which may make it hard to hone in on your project or to-do list. What we love about the AirPods Pro are the cancellation feature which blocks out all the surrounding sound and makes you feel like you’re in a little bubble. There is also a Transparency mode on the AirPods so you can still hear your surroundings but more as background noise. Perfect if you are lucky to work at a coffee shop with live music or if you like the wssssssssh of the espresso maker but just at a lower volume.
NO. 7: Guzzle Water
While coffee is stimulating and can give you an energetic buzz needed to get your work done, it is dehydrating. Avoid getting headaches or the shakes by drinking lots of water.
NO. 8: Find A Coffee Shop That Suits You
We love exploring coffee shops. There are so many different vibes. You may need a brightly lit open space to be productive or you could prefer a cozy dark space. You may want to work inside or if the weather is nice an outside patio. You could prefer a coffee shop with laid back couches, or a space with more structured furniture. Find a coffee shop that works for you! Our team loves a coffee shop that is intentional with their design, visually creating a cool scene for remote workers to be productive in. Nothing screams cool more than the coffee shop at Deus in Venice located at 1001 Venice Blvd, Venice, CA 90291. It is a coffee shop for surf, bicycle, motorcycle, and car enthusiasts. We love it because it opens early at 7AM, has indoor and outdoor seating options, and the vibe of the space is rad. The folks that hang out at Deus Venice have a respect for the honesty and enjoyment of the machine, so don’t be surprised if you see a 1974 Lamborghini Espada in the parking lot.
