

Coffee shop programmer - hassy
http://12monkeys.co.uk/blog/08012008-coffeeshop-programmer.html

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timr
A word of warning from a Seattle guy who does this all the time: if you start
going to coffeehouses to work, _please_ take the environment of the place into
account.

Nothing is more grating than when a previously social, comfortable place is
turned into a caffeinated study hall by geeks with laptops. Likewise, it's
awful when a quiet, subdued place is over-run with noisy group meetings.
Usually, the owner of an establishment makes it pretty clear what kind of
environment they're trying to achieve with their business, and it's your job
(as a guest), to respect the owner's wishes.

Some coffeehouses make an effort to accommodate laptop people; others don't.
So if you go somewhere and you find that they don't have enough outlets, or no
wireless signal, or whatever other annoyance, just take it as a given that
they don't want you working there for very long. Whatever you do, _don't_ try
to bring your own outlet strips, chair cushions, ergonomic
keyboards/mice/laptop stands, etc. to work around the ergonomics -- don't be
that guy. If you can't work at a cafe for very long, just take it as a sign
that you weren't meant to spend all day in the same location....

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jrockway
Interesting; I was just in Seattle a few weeks ago, and noticed the different
kinds of coffee shops. Some were clearly designed for buying a coffee and
working (Online Coffee), whereas others were designed for drinking coffee. In
the part of Chicago where I live, everything is a chain coffee shop, so none
of them are really conducive for getting work done. They all cater to the "I
need my coffee before my 8am meeting" crowd. It's kind of sad, really.

~~~
timr
Yeah, if Seattle has anything, it has an overabundance of independent coffee
houses. Most towns have one or two independent places, and they're treasured
gems. In Seattle, there's something like two per _block_.

(That's what happens when the weather is so depressing that you need a
caffeine hit to justify getting out of bed in the morning. :-P)

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YuriNiyazov
The first startup where I worked, it was just me and the founder, and we were
always working from a Starbucks with two laptops as a way to save money on the
office and also to allow for change of scenery (this was Manhattan, and there
were something like 60 Starbucks here at the time) It worked great for 3
months. After Thanksgiving all the stores started to play the same Christmas
Tunes CD on repeat - nothing kills concentration quite as badly as hearing
"Jingle Bells" for the sixth time in a day. (headphones only mildly alleviated
the problem)

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briancooley
$100 spent on Shure earbuds can solve the Christmas music problem. They are
essentially earplugs. I can't hear a thing but my iPod when I'm using mine.

~~~
rms
I have these ones myself...
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007WZLDC/>

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tobyo
Why not just buy a damn coffee pot and stay at home, providing you have enough
space for an office. You can play whatever music you want, without ear-
damaging headphones, and you don't have an endless stream of distractions,
providing you don't have children.

When I'm coding on my laptop I'm probably at 50% efficiency compared to my
desktop. I've got a giant Kinesis keyboard (great tool, but expensive), a big
mouse pad, a 24" monitor, a subwoofer, a second pc, a stack of books, etc. One
cannot replicate such an environment in a coffe shop.

A coffee shop is probably great for relaxing, brainstorming, having an
occasional change of scenery, and writing children's novels, but I can't
imagine it's an efficient way to produce complex software. Most importantly, I
would never be able to concentrate, feeling like I am imposing by sitting in
the shop for hours. Obviously, others enjoy sitting in coffee shops, but how
many of you are doing complex work while there? Or do you save the light work
for coffee shop visits?

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waleedka
I worked from coffee shops as well for about a year right after I started my
startup. It's definitely better than working from home; you get to be around
people and you end up being friends with other regulars. I rarely had issues
with wifi, though. Which is one of the advantages of being in Silicon Valley.

Depending on how many hours you spend there the ergonomics might be an issue.
Coffee shop tables and chairs are not deigned for extended periods of work. If
you're doing it for a few hours a day, then it's okay. I used to work 10am to
10pm, so it gets tiring after a while. Now I'm renting a desk space in co-
working office in a great location in Mountain View and I can't be happier.
It's not expensive at all and you get to be around other startup entrepreneurs
and learn from each other. It's another great option to try if coffee shops
are not for you.

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jobeyonekenobi
The only thing I find is that I need to manage the volume of Caffeine flowing
throuh my veins - the initial rush can last 30 minutes, during which time I
start getting seriously distracted until I calm back down again. Slow and
steady rules the day where the coffee intake is concerned.

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dangrover
I do a lot of work in a cafe in Cambridge that has a pretty good geek crowd,
but I think it's probably more the walk to the cafe than being in the cafe
itself that does it for me.

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brm
couldn't agree more. people typically don't realize how important transitions
are to getting you into the right frame of mind for the different parts of
your day.

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staunch
Haven't ever really tried working at a coffee shop. Because of this post I'm
going to go try it right now, but I'm damned skeptical!

Update: this place has free wifi, I'm procrastination enabled again. I can
only hope it's painfully slow!

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staunch
Okay. It definitely seems to work. I think because it's less comfortable here
than at home I feel the need to work instead of relax. Definitely going to do
this some more.

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babul
I like to powernap between problems (and mull them over while I rest my eyes).

Coffeshops are not good for this, but I have found libraries often are. Quiet
environments, often excellent views (most libraries seem to be in the best
parts of town) and some even have areas you can lie down (meant more for
people to read than nap, but many people do it) or big grassy areas
surrounding them.

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bprater
I spend part of nearly every day at a local coffeeshop. Change of locale away
from my office helps my creative energy enormously.

I rarely get distracted by all the noise and movement, though. Once I'm in the
zone, I don't hear the music playing or the people coming in-and-out of the
joint.

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charlesju
Although I'd love to agree, I think there are two major reasons why I cannot
program in a coffee shop.

1\. No ergonomic keyboard (or my 22 in. monitor) to help prevent carpel
tunnel.

2\. No Aeron Chair.

~~~
allenbrunson
i just spent half the day in a coffee shop. the table was too low, so i over-
stressed my back leaning in to see the screen properly. (i'm a bit near-
sighted.)

~~~
icky
Perhaps you should invest in a pair of glasses.

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pavelludiq
I should try that, but finding good coffee shop in my area is hard.

~~~
jamesbritt
Business opportunity?

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marcus
Possibly but you should really try to concentrate on business opportunities
that are a close match to your skill-set and temperament which I guess the
coffee industry isn't for most of the visitors here.

~~~
jamesbritt
Sure. But maybe there's a way to a) see what local people want or need, and b)
bring that to the attention of people with the proper skills to capitalize on
it. And maybe make a buck as the middleman. :)

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toxik
Thanks for teaching me how not to be a social outcast. Great post.

(Irony sensor would be off the chart about now.)

