Welcome to the fifth day of the 30 days writing challenge of this year. You can find a list of all the articles I wrote at the end of each article. Please have a look at the end of it to understand how can you participate in this one.
Coffee Shops? Why Working From Coffee Shops?
As a digital nomad, you get to enjoy a lot of freedom and many interesting experiences. One of these experiences revolves around the diversity of the places you get to work from. There are three main categories of places from where you can work as a digital nomad: public libraries, coworking spaces and coffee shops. I almost never worked from public libraries (although this is an option I always keep handy), I had my share of working from coworking spaces (especially when I was managing one) but my favorite category is coffee shops.
Why?
Well, for many, many reasons. Here are just a few:
- you meet and interact with a lot of people
- you can sample different coffee and food every day
- you explore new places
Of course, there are also cons, like noise, instability (sometimes my favorite coffee shop is packed when I get there and there's no more room, etc) or bad WiFi (the most common drawback) but, overall, it's always a nice experience and I get very productive while working from coffee shops.
What follows is a short list of best practices for working from coffee shops.
1. Learn To Spot The Power Outlets
I almost always look for power outlets when I go to a coffee shop, even if I don't have my laptop with me. That's how big of a reflex this habit became. If a coffee shop doesn't have enough power outlets, I don't work from it, no matter how nice and cozy the place is. At the other end of the spectrum, many Starbuckses today have even USB power outlets, which makes them really convenient for working.
2. Try To Make Friends With The Staff
I always try to have some casual conversations with the people working in these coffee shops, especially the small ones, where the baristas are more often than not the actual owners. It's not only good for social interaction, but you get a lot of nice information from them, like what are the best hours to work or when interesting events are happening around the area.
3. Have Backups
Like I said, instability is a big problem, or probably I should have write "unpredictability". A coffee shop is not a rented desk so you may not always find a free spot. That's why it's important to have backups. That goes back to actually explore a lot around the area you plan to be located, and be prepared to pay some extra cash just to be able to analyze a spot. What looks nice from the outside may not be as productive as you want from the inside, or it's more expensive than you can afford, but at least you know what to expect.
4. Have Backup WiFi
I always have a phone with me when I work from coffee shops, loaded with at least a couple of gigabytes worth of 4G traffic. Similarly, when there is no mobile coverage in a coffee shop, I tend to avoid it, no matter how cozy or nice it looks. Having a WiFi backup is really important, especially if you the majority of the work you do is online.
5. Switch Places
Wherever I go I usually find a place that I fall in love with, a coffee shop that becomes "my base". But every once in while I try to work from other places too, just to keep myself accountable and avoid getting too comfortable. For instance, in Bucharest I had a nice Starbucks close to Piata Victoriei, and in Valencia I really fell in love with Artysana, a very nice place in the heart of Ruzafa.
So, this is my (very short) list of best practices for working from coffee shops.
How Do I Participate In This Challenge?
The criteria for 
- post must be at least 300 words long
- post must be original
- post must be on best practices
- post must use the #challenge30days tag
Previous Posts In The Challenge
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Keeping A Successful 30 Days Challenge
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Selecting Relevant Crypto Projects (Day Two)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Surviving In The STEEM Universe (Day Three)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Working Remote (Day Four)
Steem on!
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me 
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