chrisbrogan.com - Latest Comments in Why Bookstores Are My Office

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Wesleymales — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:04:20 -0000

I am looking for the Nostradamus Bible.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

David Young — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 03:33:29 -0000

The best place to work and meet clients outside your home office is at the Starbucks. Setting up a virtual office at Starbucks just makes sense. Great coffee. Good food and free WI-Fi.. I would also like to share these magical tools I found that make a virtual office work.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

turnstone — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:34:05 -0000

I totally agree that our favorite places to work are generally outside the office. Yet, we still need the office collaboration and time with co-workers. As a furniture manufacturer our solution has been to re-invent office furniture around the way we like to work outside of the office. We've had some good results and we're really trying to create a movement around this idea.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Paul — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:06:32 -0000

I agree. It is important to support places like B&N and Borders. Even if there prices aren't as good as Amazon, whenever I'm there I support them by buying magazines, coffees or books.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Lee — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:59:34 -0000

Interesting article. More interesting is that I don't see co-working at people's homes or anything about the Jelly movement (workatjelly.com). I thought those ideas were great but I've never participated in them either. I love Panera and Atlanta Bread Company but find that if I go to one too close to my house that I end up working for a short time and then going back home, so I usually travel a distance to get to one so that I'm not tempted to go home and do laundry while I work. I often use my Bose noise cancelling headphones to drown out the din at these places and sometimes listen to instrumental music to keep motivated. Lately I've been listening to the PodRunner Workout Podcast to get my heart rate up so that I can increase my writing speed and find that 136-145 bpm is about right for me. Anything around 172 bpm or more and I'm afraid I'll set my keyboard on fire by typing too fast. Also, I've recently found that using DarkRoom for the PC (freeware) allows me to CRANK on writing because I can focus on the content, not the formatting. I frustrate the heck out of my co-workers by not keeping my e-mail client live 24/7, but forget them...I'm judged on my output, not whether I answer e-mail in sub 3 milliseconds. I check email about three times a day, once in the morning (when I'm the most creative) and two or three times in the afternoon (when I'm coming down from my sugar high). I try to support local shops rather than chains but the chains usually have better wi-fi. I find it beneficial to work in a location where there isn't wi-fi too, so that I'm forced to focus on what I have to do rather than get on the web and pay bills, make travel arrangements, etc.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Guest — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:28:08 -0000

Bookstores are a pretty good choice because there aren't people getting up all the time and walking around, so it's less distracting than, say, a Starbucks.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Deb Ng — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:01:19 -0000

I enjoy working at the library for the same reason. it's quiet, there's free wifi and handy reference materials are all over. The coffee shop is missing but that's why Starbucks is on the way. Because I work at home along all day, I often work at the library just to be around people.

I think in this economy more employers should consider allowing employees to work remotely, not only to save expenses, but because of higher productivity and morale.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

annie — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:46:56 -0000

Yeah, I hated that second reason when I was a teacher. There was always this assumption on the part of admin that if they couldn't cage me somewhere, I wasn't thinking, creating and problem-solving in the name of education. I actually get great ideas walking or running and bookstores are awesome places to meet and collaborate (so is Panera).

I have a home office now, but I find that I work more diligently at Starbucks or the library.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Beth Avery — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:13:35 -0000

Great post! If I wasn't working in the office, I'd love to be in a bookstore (or cafe).

I didn't realize you were from the Boston area - I grew up south of Boston, and now reside in DC.

I found you on Twitter recently, and I'm really enjoying your blog.

I'm in inside sales management, but have recently been asked to take on addition responsibilities for the time being.

I'm excited about getting involved with our marketing team, and your blog has been very insightful!

Beth
@bpvorsight
www.vorsight.com

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Herb Jones — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:02:38 -0000

Chris - great post and comments. I too LOVE the bookstores (and my favorite local coffee shop) but it is entirely TASK dependent. I am completely addicted to my Matrox dual head to go and my 3 monitor setup in my home office when I am publishing, doing keyword research or landing page optimization but when I am writing, reading or just looking for ideas I always head out to the bookstores.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Conrad Buck — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:17:45 -0000

I have to agree with many of the comments here, mainly:

1.Hard to find a good, comfortable chair.
2.What about phone calls with all the noise going on around you?

I have a great independent coffee shop just down the road that has free wifi but because I am a regular and the cafe community is like a large family I can never get any work done as there is always someone there to chat to!!

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Schalk Neethling — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:08:21 -0000

“we can’t tell when people are working or not.” - I have heard this and the alternative "we are not set-up for it" so many times I want to run to hills and scream. What a great article, thank so much I hope this gets read by everyone and I hope to meet you one day in a coffee shop over a cup of coffee and an inspiring book.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Daina — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:08:58 -0000

I fortunately live in Tel Aviv which is full of cafes. While I miss stores like Borders dearly...we have no such concept here...However here in Israel, unlike the states, you can sit in cafes for hours without a bill being delivered. In fact sometimes it takes me 40 minutes just to get my check!

I am a freelance web designer and I sit in a cafe nearly everyday to work for about 5 hours. If I stayed home I would get hungry and preparing a meal would be a 3 hour event for me. My time is more valuable...I don't pay for an office and my cafe bills are very reasonable compared to what office rent would be...and no one is going to serve me food there! (well delivery I guess? but I don't like to waste all that plastic containers everyday into the earth).

I like the sunlight and windows..my apt is a cave...However. I'd like to see more cafes built on the concept of a "working" cafe...ie...no loud cell phone yakkers...or big party groups...or music that is disruptive to work ...sometimes I have bad cafe days where the people that come or music that's played just don't go with my cafe workday vibe...often though, I find at least 3-5 others doing exactly what I'm doing...seems like there is a huge audience in this city for a freelancers work cafe! I would love to help start a cafe built on that concept...

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Barb Giamanco — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:49:28 -0000

What a great topic! I don't necessarily go to bookstores to work, but I certainly do spend a fair amount of time there, because I'm addicted to reading:). To stir my creative juices, I often take the laptop to the park or just sit outside in the backyard when the weather is nice.

Surprising that we still don't see more people tele-commuting for work. The "we can't tell if people are working or not" comment is so crazy to me. I totally agree that it is a management/measurement issue. Maybe more on the management side. Managers need to do a good job setting expectations, make sure people have the tools to get the job done and stay involved in the process (not micro-managing mind you). If you are paying attention, you know pretty quickly if the RESULTS are happening or not. Seems to me there is a trust issue for many managers. They assume that if they can't "see their people" then they will take advantage of the situation. Any manager who mistakenly believes that seeing someone's body in the office means they are working effectively may well be in the wrong job. As we all know, that is not necessarily the case.

On the flip side, not everyone is ready to work virtually. You can't be home doing laundry while trying to get the job done. Many new business owners figure out the hard way that "working from home or in the coffee shop" isn't always easy. You have to have a certain amount of discipline or you'll just flounder around.

After all this time, it is still surprising that companies don't get the virtual office, tele-commuting idea.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Amanda Denton @amandala — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:07:23 -0000

I am preparing to transition from working in an office environment to the digital nomad work/lifestyle. I appreciate all the insights shared here on the pros and cons of each and while I will miss the conversations sparked in the hallway and the ease of walking in my colleagues' offices, I am excited about the new opportunities posed by working in varied environments. Thanks everyone for sharing your insight, it's great to hear your collective thoughts on what "going to work" means today.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

JamieSanford — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:46:35 -0000

I have been meaning to try out one of my "working from home" days in the bookstore instead of in my living room. Great list of reasons why I should definitely do that. Thanks Chris.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Ajay Gupta — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:57:23 -0000

I work in bookstores (Barnes & Nobel), coffee shops (Starbucks), etc. too. I own a small business and we are a 100% telework shop - mainly to reduce our carbon footprint and let people spend the commuting time with their families. As long as you trust your staff to be accountable for their productivity, there are no problems.

I do have an office though, when clients want to meet us there.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Andrew Lightheart @alightheart — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:48:12 -0000

Since I got a netbook with mobile broadband, I have a category in my business expenses called 'Mobile Office'.

I figure a few coffees is way cheaper than keeping a separate space and being able to get up and browse some books makes my inner writer feel like it's playing hooky.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Tom Martin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:02:58 -0000

Chris

Love the post and think that a lot of folks, especially freelancers are trading office rent for the daily latte. But as someone who's done it both ways, I have to say that the value of an office is that it creates intersections. While you and I can quickly chat about an idea (IM or Twitter) you can't overhear my conversation with another member of the team in the hallway.

Some of the best ideas I've ever been around have come from a chance intersection where I and another staffer were both in the right zone or frame of mind and a spark happens. I guess that can happen in the virtual world and it does, but an office seems to create more sparks.

My .02.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

greg cryns — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:12:50 -0000

I was out walking around my little town of Paso Robles today. As usual the farmer's market was open in the square.

I stopped at each booth taking time to strike up conversations with each business owner. Some sold fruits and veggies, of course. Others sold olives and juices.

I forgot how much fun it can be to chat about business with people you never met before. They all were anxious to talk to someone who offered a free ad on the front page of his local website. That's a great ice breaker.

The point is that I was away from home, away from the phone, TV and other mundane disturbances. My office was on the streets of Paso Robles and I was enjoying myself immensely.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Christian — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:53:35 -0000

dude I totally don't get why people go to the office anymore. i have a meeting with my team once a week. besides that, i'm gone.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Christian — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:52:41 -0000

bookstores are the bomb. and panera. panera is my favorite corporate headquarters right now. great place to meet with a client, then sit for hours on free wifi. nothing better :)

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Chris Brogan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:29:13 -0000

I buy about 4 books a week, one way or another. It's a bit incurable at this point.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

TopViet — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:23:00 -0000

This is a good article. With today technology, we can work anywhere, any time.

Re: Why Bookstores Are My Office

Tia Sparkles Singh — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:16:57 -0000

While I love love love bookstores and cafes, I get too distracted with people watching and engaging with others in cafes to get much work done. A bookstore might be a better idea but I can`t stop browsing and reading when I`m there!

Not a fan of offices and that`s why I work from home in a very non office looking envt.

Any tips for not getting distracted when working at cafes then?