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Go to any coffee bar during the week and you’ll see many people working on laptops. This work environment has been nicknamed the ‘coffice’ – it’s a fun alternative to working from home or having to rent an office. While working from a coffee bar is popular, it may not always be the most productive way to work for everyone. Below are a few pros and cons to working from a ‘coffice’ and how you can get the most out of this environment.
The pros of working from a coffee bar
A chance to get out of the house
A coffee bar can serve as a fresh change of environment if you spend most of your working days at home. It could provide extra inspiration and a chance to be social. It may even be useful for getting away from home distractions such as the TV or the kids.
A neutral space for arranging business meetings
Coffee bars are great places for meeting clients if you don’t own an office. They could also be a great place for interviewing potential employees or discussing cross-promotional opportunities with other business owners.
A place to mix work and leisure
In a coffee bar, you can have food and drink served to you, possibly allowing you to have a more relaxing lunch than you would at home. You could also plan to meet friends for lunch there and then continue working there in the evening.
The cons of working from a coffee bar
Shakier and less secure internet connection
Coffee bars don’t always have the strongest internet connection. Such connections can also be less secure making your data an easier target for hackers. There may be solutions to this such as bringing your own portable wi-fi router or getting VPN to secure your network. Some of these cheap VPN deals found by Latest Deals could be worth looking into. There are meanwhile various portable wi-fi options that you can look into here at T3.
An opportunity for more distractions
While a coffee bar could be an opportunity to get away from home distractions, it may present new distractions that could make it hard to concentrate. You could be put off by loud customers or you may have to deal with overly-friendly strangers that want to have a conversation with you as you work. Working from a coffee bar during less busy times may be the solution to this.
The extra cost of buying a coffee
It’s rude to work from a coffee bar without buying a coffee. If you decide to spend hours working from a coffee bar, you may feel obliged to buy multiple coffees and snacks. These small extra costs can add up – and could be saved by staying at home.
Choosing the right location
Not all coffee bars are appropriately set up for working from. Cities are more likely to have coffee bars aimed at working professionals – these shops are more likely to have strong wi-fi, easy access to plug sockets and possibly less distracting customers. Some coffee bars even have work zones. These could be the best types of coffee bars to target when looking for somewhere to work from.
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