Cafes as the new office
OnOm Malik’s blog today Jackson West posted on The New Office Space. I left the following, long, comment.
have been running both my business (JigZaw - http://blogs.jigzaw.com) and the MeshForum conference through mostly working in cafes in Chicago and now in the Bay Area.
A few in particular that stand out, as well as some comments/suggestions/thoughts.
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The Grind cafe in Chicago in the Lincoln Square part of town - great cafe, free wifi, lots of power outlets, good coffee and friendly service. Chicago has dozens of other great cafes, but The Grind is one of my favorites.
*Cafe Mud in Evanston IL. Another great spot, near the El, near Northwestern, with lots of large (and unique) tables, free wifi, lots of power outlets and generally very quiet during the day
*I’ll definitely agree with the Ritual Coffee Roasters suggestion for in the Mission district. When I’m in SF, it is where I tend to work
*In Berkeley CA - I like Fertile Ground Cafe on Shattuck, free strong wifi signal, good food and drink and a decent selection of power outlets.
*Berkeley Expresso is one of the cafes in Berkeley that stays open the latest and has free wifi - but all too often I’ve had serious problems using the wifi, so I generally avoid them.
*Last night I worked at Cafe Sienna on Bancroft at College Ave - open until midnight, free wifi, tons of tables (limited power however) and a huge outside patio (two to three times the size of their very large inside space). Right across the street from U. C. Berkeley, so lots of students, but generally a good (if slightly loud) environment for working.
*Today I’m on College ave in the Rockridge area of Oakland, there are a number of cafes here that offer free wifi, a few of note. Spasso where I’m at for the moment, great skylight lit back space, good food and coffee, lots of power outlets and free wifi (but you have to ask for the key), lots of people here working, including a group discussing a website as I type. Also A Perfect Cup O’Tea on one end of Rockridge offers great teas (only okay coffees), lots of comfortable chairs, random tables and free wifi, and they are open relatively late (10pm).
Some tips from a regular worker in cafes:
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genreally I try to buy something more than just a drink - a cookie, a sandwich, something so I contribute more than just for my drink
*it is always appreciated if you both leave a small tip at the counter and try to bus your own table
*pay attention to the space and size - large cafes with lots of tables tend to not mind people who stay and help fill the space, smaller cafes with fewer tables need more frequent ‘turns’ of those tables to stay in business
*the best cafes as my general rule of thumb, are those with large tables. Small tables mean that one person with a laptop takes up the whole table (think small bistro round tables). Large tables, in contrast are ideal for multiple people working together at them - whether they came together or not. Part of Ritual’s success, I would argue, is that many of the tables there are large and people do share them (only occasionally having to be asked to share them).
This is both useful from a standpoint of possibly meeting other people - but more it means that if you are working, have a laptop and perhaps some papers/books/magazines out, you are not immediately occupying lots of space.
The other ‘trick’ I find is that I try to move a few times in the day, rarely do I go to one cafe in the morning and stay there all day, instead I work in the morning, have lunch someplace else, and work in the afternoon/evening at another place (perhaps leaving for dinner as well). This means that I only rarely take up a table for an excessive period of time, and it forces me to get at least a little bit of exercise.
It also means that when I do not need to be online, I can work from a cafe without wifi or with limited wifi. These often have really good coffee or other speciality items.
A final tip - the longer your laptop can go without power, the more flexible and accomodating you can be, my Thinkpad with a fresh extended life battery can go 6+ hours without recharging, usually more than enough for much of the day working productively. If not on one charge, a second charged battery can typically be a lifesaver.
Great list and topic!
Shannon