So you’ve got a blog and you love working on it from home? It’s great that you enjoy the convenience of working in the comfort of your own residence. It certainly makes the commute a lot easier.
It also enhances productivity because you’re not spending time in the car traveling to an office, getting almost nothing done during that time except listening to the radio. Of course, if you have a family, then getting the kids ready for school (and possibly taking them there) becomes a lot easier when your office is in your house.
As tempting as it is to stay fixed in your home and blog away, it’s not always best to work from the same place all the time. A change of scenery can be a good thing. Sometimes getting out of a particular routine will actually enhance your productivity rather than diminish it.
Where should you go when you’re not working from home? Wait for it … A coffee shop. Here are a couple of reasons why you might consider working from a coffee shop, at least every now and then.
Changes in environment stimulate creativity
If you’re a blogger, then some level of creativity is required for your work. One thing you can do to ensure that your muse is a little more fertile is to change your working environment.
Even though your home office may be totally awesome, once you fall into a steady routine you’ll find your capacity for innovation takes a hit. When you change your environment, you’re subjecting yourself to new stimuli. When that happens, you become inspired and start entertaining new ideas.
You’ll meet new people
This point dovetails nicely with the previous point. What better way to stimulate creativity than by meeting new (and often very interesting) people?
You’ll be exposed to different perspectives when you meet new people. You’ll see some people who inspire you to be your best. You’ll come across others who have a positive mental attitude that you want to emulate. As an added bonus, you’ll likely find that people in coffee shops are very friendly and willing to talk.
Now that it’s been established that you should work for a coffee shop occasionally, keep in mind a few points:
1. Rotate coffee shops
Don’t go to the same coffee shop over and over again. Remember, part of the reason that you’re doing this is to change your environment and stimulate your creativity. That can be enhanced by visiting different coffee shops.
2. Be a customer, not a leech
When you visit a coffee shop, be sure to buy something. If you’re not into coffee, rest assured that bottled water is sold at almost every coffee shop in the country.
3. Sit in the right spot
Try to avoid sitting near the cash register or the door. Those are high-traffic areas fraught with distractions. Find a quiet table in the corner where you can set up your virtual office.
4. Be fully charged
In some shops, you can actually plug-in and work from an outlet generously provided by the coffee shop owner. You shouldn’t count on that, though. Make sure your laptop battery is fully charged.
So what are you waiting for? Starting this week, head out to a local coffee shop and give your creativity a boost. Once you’ve spent some time at the shop, however, head back to the home office and resume your normal working day. A little change of scenery is nice, but there really is no place like home.
This is especially true if you work from a home with an affordable mortgage. That’s always a great way to have peace of mind when your residence and your office are in the same building.
