Why Your Home Office Needs an Occasional Coffee Break
There are perks of working outside your bubble.
So, there you are. In the same chair you’ve been glued to for the past—what is it now?—six months? A year? Maybe four? Let’s be real, the days blur together when your daily commute is five steps from your bed to your desk. Welcome to the glamorous world of remote work, where pajama pants reign supreme and your houseplants (or maybe kids! yay) are now your closest coworkers.
During the COVID lockdown, I heard a study confirming the benefits of changing into work clothes, even if you work at home. At that time I thought…umm, absolutely not. Leggings are the absolute HEIGHT of getting dressed.
I get it. Working from home has its perks. I mean, who doesn’t love the freedom of attending a Zoom meeting with only the top half of you dressed like a responsible adult? (We’ve all done it). But let’s not kid ourselves—there’s only so much a person can take.
Enter: the coffee shop coworking session. The life-saver you didn’t know you needed.
Allow me to paint you a picture: instead of shuffling into your kitchen for the umpteenth time to make another sad, soggy salad, you decide to take a trip to a local coffee shop. You walk in, the smell of freshly brewed espresso hits your nose, and—wait for it—actual, living, breathing humans are around. Not just the mailman or your weird neighbor who yells at squirrels. Actual humans. Some of whom are working too.
You grab a seat, order a latte that somehow tastes better than any cup of joe you’ve made in weeks, and fire up the laptop. Suddenly, the ideas are flowing again, and it’s not just the caffeine talking. There's something about being around other humans that makes your brain kick into high gear. A change of scenery can spark creativity you didn’t know you had left in you. Yes, really. New sounds, new smells, new people typing furiously on their laptops while sipping artisanal brews—it's the perfect kind of chaos.
Also, let’s talk networking! Slack channels and LinkedIn connections are nice, but nothing beats a real conversation where you don’t have to worry about whether your camera angle makes your head look like a melon. In a coffee shop or co-working space, you might meet someone in a completely different field who can offer a perspective you’d never considered.
If mingling in the coffee shop is not your thing, let’s not underestimate the power of people-watching. Because let’s be honest—sometimes watching the guy next to you struggle to write an email for 45 minutes makes you feel like a productivity god. And sometimes, you need that tiny ego boost.
But seriously, the benefits go beyond just a mood lift. Co-working spaces or just an afternoon at the local café break up the isolation that comes with remote work. You get a fresh dose of inspiration, a chance to brainstorm with new faces, and you get to return home with a renewed sense of focus and gratitude for that comfy chair.
So next time you find yourself in a remote work rut—mix it up. Get out of the house, change your scenery, and maybe even strike up a conversation with the guy who has his entire desktop setup (yes, monitor and all) on the communal table. You never know, that conversation could lead to a new idea, a fresh perspective, or at the very least, a much-needed laugh. And hey, even if it doesn’t, at least you got a damn good cup of coffee out of it.
Remote work may be a blessing, but every now and then, let the world remind you that you're still a part of it.
