The Coffee Shop Conundrum

To work in a coffee shop or to not work in a coffee shop. Are we taking advantage of a small business that has wifi? Should I suck it up and just work at home 100% of the time? Or spend the money at a coworking space?

It finally happened. My favourite coffee shop has implemented laptop rules and time limits. 

Now, I generally feel that coffee shops everywhere are having to do this because of the people who are taking advantage of it. I’m not even suggesting that the coffee shops shouldn’t be doing this. 

My third space’s - my coffee shop - laptop rule is rather minimal, all things considered. Laptops only at the bar at the window during the hours of 10-2. That means other patrons can enjoy the normal tables. 

Coffee shops around Halifax seem to all be implementing laptop rules, especially for the core four hours of the day. Now, if you’re from Halifax, you’ll likely know that almost all coffee shops close early*; so basically over half of the day is either no laptops or limited laptops. 

The conundrum starts happening when we have such a strong remote workforce now. Working from home becomes daunting, tiresome, and lonesome. Now, I worked from home long before it became cool and yes, it became so repetitive. 

For me to work at a coworking space is a minimum of $20/day, usually $30, plus HST (which is approximately one million dollars). So it’s more economical for me to work in a coffee shop. Plus, I can people-watch, enjoy 100% better coffee, and make friends with the baristas. 

As a lover of small business, and someone who is respectful of the costs of running a business, I know that I can’t just simply sit in a coffee shop all day and only buy one single black coffee. There should be some type of ‘requirement’ to support where you are every hour or so to ‘keep it fair.’

So, here’s what I implemented:

1. Ask if I can work in the coffee shop if I’ve never been there. 

2. If I stay longer than an hour, buy another drink or even lunch if I’m there longer

3. Don’t use a table that’s too big for me. If I’m not sitting at the coffee bar, I’ll use a table with only two chairs. 

4. Don’t use the best table in the place - If I’m there to work, I can work in the corner and away from the windows. 

5. Limit myself to 3-4 hours - It’s easy to get lost in work sometimes and forget about time. 

But the question still remains - should I just work from home at my kitchen table rather than going out? Or should I spend money on a coworking space instead? 

*where do people go at night for dates/hangouts/team time if all the coffee shops close at 5?