A Starbucks Survival Guide
Whether you’re a road warrior, a full-time Nero Nomad, or you just need an occasional escape from the endless interruptions of the office – learning how to get things done to the raucous accompaniment of coffee machines and acoustic balladry is an increasingly vital life skill.
So – this month, we offer up our formula for cafe hotdesking… and a checklist of kit that virtually guarantees success:
1. Pick your cafes carefully
That’s cafes, plural. You want to switch venues every couple of hours. If you don’t stretch, you’ll get Mac-back. And the moves will fit with the circadian spikes in your concentration patterns. To check your nearest options, download the WHA (Work Hard Anywhere) iPhone app, which rates your local cafes for noise, internet speed, etc.
2. Make sure they’re busy.
It may sound counterintuitive, but it’s actually easier to concentrate in a bustling cafe than in one that’s empty apart from a weird-looking bloke with a facial tic, or an invasively pretty waitress. Make sure you invest in some decent sound-blocking devices, like these MH30 Foldable Leather On-Ear Headphones (a).
3. Do reach out to the staff.
The temptation is to try to slide under the radar. That’s a mistake. A bit of banter with the barista and you’ll feel a lot more relaxed about taking two hours over a Double Espresso. Make sure you’re packing the coinage for a tip. Because you’re planning on coming back, right?
4. Stake out a strong position.
In the corner, back to the wall. Table for two, with the other chair occupied by your Hedgren Scheme Backpack (b) and your laptop’s Snugg Leather Sleeve (c). Then, to make it a hundred per cent clear you’re in the middle of something, lay out, face-up, your copy of Solitude by Anthony Storr (d). As well as being a gripping account of the way solitude has inspired geniuses through the ages, it’s the literary equivalent of a Do Not Disturb sign.
5. Hone that work playlist.
Gramatik and GoGo Penguin. These are our current picks for slick instrumentals, but let’s not fight about it. If you prefer not to agonise about these things, test-run the Ommwriter app (e), which is designed to get you in the zone with its Zen fonts, inspiring backgrounds, and range of soothing, liquid-themed soundtracks.
6. Don’t depend on power sockets.
Laptop batteries can be pricey, but an affordable Poweradd Pilot 2GS is all you need to give your smartphone that crucial boost (f). You can also extend your computer’s battery-life by doing your *blue-sky* thinking in a notebook. Atlas & I will bind a Vintage Map Journal (g) with a map of your neighbourhood. Moleskine really don’t need to sell any more of those black ones.
7. Explore the menu… and finish up with a real drink.
Take one coffee per cafe, max, or you’ll end up twitching like you’ve been hit by some heavy-duty defibrillators. Ideally, you should also intersperse the caffeine hits with something softer. And finally, when you feel you’ve got nothing left to give, give it that one last push, incentivised by a tall cold glass of what takes your fancy. You’ve worked for it.
Visit SPOKE to check out our latte-resistant Dark Navy Bulletproofs. You can never be too careful.
