Coffee shopsThere are advantages to working at coffee shops. Coffee shops are opening earlier. Most are equipped with wireless Internet. There are.no trophies or family photographs to distract you. There are few interruptions; no water cooler gossip or morning sports updates. And with a little self-discipline you can ignore e-mail and silence your smartphone.
Some coffee shops even have better lighting than offices. And a University of Michigan study showed that people with windows facing the outside world are more productive, healthier and maintain higher levels of concentration. People in windowless offices such as the common cubicle layout, daydream more.
According to the February, 2010.of Scientific American Mind, background noise at home, work or school not only disrupts a person’s concentration, it also increases stress levels and conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary disease, peptic ulcers and migraine headaches. . But researchers have found that adding white noise to a classroom can be just as effective as drugs at aiding the learning among ADHD pupils. All background noise is not bad.
Recent research carried out at the University of Illinois on the effects of background noise on creativity found that the level of noise experienced in a bustling coffee shop enhanced performance and even helped people concentrate. And according to a peer-reviewed study out of the University of Chicago, “A moderate level of ambient noise is conducive to creative cognition.” So a little distraction actually helps you be more creative.
Now there’s even a website called Coffitivity at https://coffitivity.com/ that lets you bring the sound of a coffee shop to your computer while you work. Coffitivity recreates the ambient sounds of a cafe to boost your creativity and help you work better.
A few of my books, and dozens of articles, were written in coffee shops during the morning rush hour. I’m not sure if I was any more creative, but I find I can get a lot more done in a coffee shop, and the walk to and from my home provides me with a much needed 40 minutes of exercise.
Oh yes, and coffee is thought to improve both your memory and your energy level as well.