PSA: The coffee shop coworking thing in Austin was a total waste of my Friday

I went to that trendy spot near South Congress last week because everyone says it boosts your focus, but I spent 45 minutes fighting for a seat near an outlet and another hour dealing with the barista's loud blender. On top of that, I overheard two guys screaming about their startup ideas for 20 minutes straight. Am I the only one who thinks open-plan coffee shops are useless for actual proposal work?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesc7913d ago

Nah hard disagree lol @black.oliver, I actually crushed a whole grant proposal last week at a spot off Rainey because the noise kept me from overthinking every sentence. If you can't tune out a blender or some bro talking about synergy maybe the coffee shop isn't the problem.

black.oliver14d ago

Totally agree on the "fighting for a seat near an outlet" part. I tried a spot off East 6th and ended up hunched over my laptop on a barstool for four hours (my back is still mad). And yeah, the startup bros yelling about pivots and "synergy" is basically a free, unwanted podcast. Coffee shops for real work are a scam, just a loud, expensive way to feel productive.

thomas.river14d ago

Two espresso martinis deep one time at a place on 23rd. Thought I was gonna write a novel. Ended up watching three hours of cat grooming videos with the volume on zero. Some guy next to me was loudly "closing deals" on speakerphone. Like, dude, we get it, you have a laptop and a dream. I left with a $9 matcha latte and zero work done.