If you’re looking to boost your productivity or, at least, enjoy a change of scenery, mental health experts suggest working at your local coffee shop. Whether you normally work in an office or at home, coffee shops are a perfect alternative to being distracted by chatty coworkers or that pile of laundry in your garage.
The coffee shop environment is also great for opening people’s minds when they are dealing with writer’s block or have run out of creative juice. It’s also a place you can experience the motivating buzz of people, with a nice caveat: since they’re all strangers, no one is likely to interrupt your train of thought.
However and wherever you work, if you need to get motivated or want a boost in creativity there are four big reasons why you should try working at your local coffee shop.
The perfect ambient noise
According to science, coffee shops have the perfect balance of background noise. It’s not so quiet that every thought is echoing in your head, but not so loud you can’t concentrate. “70 decibels is the perfect amount of background noise to stimulate creativity. Louder than 70 decibels is distracting, and quieter doesn’t quite get those creative juices flowing,” Dr. Jack Close, a medical doctor in the U.K., says in a YouTube video. ”So we’ve drawn motivation from those around us and thrived off the perfect amount of background noise.”
New situation, new ideas
Studies have shown that when you encounter new stimuli, your brain makes it easier to learn and memorize new information. “Putting ourselves in new situations and places makes us curious to see what new rewards this can offer us. It turns out that novelty has a huge association with both motivation and memory. But there’s a problem: novelty is fleeting. It goes as quickly as it comes,” Close continues. Therefore, if you like working in a coffee shop, you may feel the need to switch locations from time to time.
Coffee shops are a great way to get the motivating energy of being around people without the distractions of those you know. “Effort is contagious. We’re more likely to invest in ourselves and our work when we see other people making similar investments. Surrounding yourself with people who are focused and motivated pushes you to mirror that mind frame,” Close said.
Time limits
When you’re working from home and if your schedule permits, you can jump into the office at just about any time of day. This can make it a lot harder to stay motivated. However, when you’re in a coffee shop, you can’t hang around all day, so you’ve got to finish up before people start noticing how long you’ve been there. Or, you’d better buy another mocha.
“Typically, there’s a natural limit on how long you can stay at a coffee shop due to parking, closing time, or a lack of access to other resources,” Nicole Moshfegh, PsyD, founder and director of We Rise Psychology, tells Real Simple. “This can create a sense of urgency for some people that is harder to generate at home.”
Ultimately, if you’re feeling unmotivated, a coffee shop may provide the perfect balance ot social energy, stimulation, and structure to keep you on task and thinking creatively. So, next time you feel stuck, grab your laptop and plunk down at your local java joint.
