What Makes the Ideal Coffee Shop for Working In?

More and more people are now able to work from home thanks to developments in business as well as the popularity of smaller, more portable and more connected devices. While work once meant being glued to a desk in a soul-destroying cubicle, for many it now means sitting in a coffee shop and enjoying a hot drink while chatting to strangers and sitting in a comfortable arm chair.

Any coffee shop will be preferable to a very bland corporate environment, and particularly thanks to the addition of coffee which, let's face it, makes any situation better. But what is it that makes the ideal coffee shop for knuckling down to work? And what should you be on the lookout for when you decide where to go with your laptop? Here we will look at the most important requirements.

Quiet

Complete silence in a coffee shop is just eerie, but if you're hoping to get real work done then you don't want it to be too noisy either. This means you want somewhere that's off the beaten track enough that there aren't tons of kids running around and workers bustling about, but it also means finding somewhere that has the good sense not to blast rock music from the speakers. Classical music is ideal for working in coffee shops.

Size

Size is related here to the quiet - as a bigger place will have more places to hide. At the same time a larger coffee shop means you can spread out and feel less claustrophobic. It will look lighter, and furthermore you can stay there all day without feeling guilty about the fact that you've only bought a few coffees.

Features

Certain features will be completely required if you are going to work in a coffee shop, and these are a) a power socket, b) an internet connection and c) the right tables and chairs. You'll also want to have lots of power sockets, as otherwise you can end up having to hover around certain seats waiting for them to become free when your battery starts to run low.

Tables and Seating

The tables and seats you choose are their whole own thing, and this can make a huge difference to your productivity. Basically you want seats that will be comfortable for an extended period of time, but at the same time be upright enough to make you feel productive. You need a table to be within easy reaching distance from the best seats, but you also need this table to be the right height, big enough to spread out on, and free from rocking.

The Coffee

This is still a coffee shop though, and as such it's important not to forget the whole point of its existence - to provide coffee. While you may have come here to work, buying a coffee is only polite and is also a great way to relax and to increase your productivity. If the coffee shop you've chosen serves horrible coffee, then you need to try again...