Coffee Shop Culture

I'm sitting in my local Caribou Coffee waiting for my boys to finish basketball practice and doing some work.  I know this is not a new observation, but somehow today it connected with me that I have completely changed my work/life model.


The coffee shop office, for those of us who work at home, has become a lovely field trip.  It's an opportunity to get out of the basement office, away from the laundry and fridge calling my name and work for awhile.  


I actually get a good amount of work done, and I really appreciate the change of scenery - especially when I'm stuck.  I think it helps with the procrastination too - I give myself a couple of hours to get something done and with less distractions than my house, it seems to work.


What a change this is even for someone of my young age.  As a young woman working in NYC, I bought a "regular" coffee from the guy at Zabar's every morning and went to my office in the Citicorp Center from 9:00 to about 6:00 and then headed for the train station home.  A coffee shop was a diner, and I would never consider sitting in the shop for any length of time.  And, of course there were no computers, never mind the lightweight laptop I bring with me now.


I am happy to be a part of this "coffee shop culture" and am interested to see what happens down the road - what kind of "culture" will our kids be a part of as they make their way in the work world of the future, I wonder?