I started working from coffeeshops recently. It breaks up the tedium of working from the Oak Lawn apartment, and reminds a lot of my days studying for the bar exam.
The Texas bar exam was held in a suburban convention center in a half-completed business park. To make sure I wouldn’t miss the test due to unexpected traffic, I started every day around 5 a.m., cramming at a Starbucks close to the development.
There was another bar exam taker who had the same idea — a gay guy who would sit on the other side of the café focused on his note cards. We always took the same seats and mostly ignored each other. We were the Starbucks regulars for the week, but it was (thankfully) just a temporary thing.
I already recognize regulars while working from my new (much closer) Starbucks. Similar to the bar prep days, people have their favorite seats and mostly ignore each other while focusing on their screens.
This week, I had the rare weekday with no morning meetings, so I changed up my routine and went to the coffeeshop in the morning instead of the afternoon. When I walked into Starbucks, there was a familiar face in my seat — my 5 a.m. study twin from a suburban Starbucks 20 miles and 4 years ago.
I didn’t say anything to my former study twin, and I am not sure if he recognized me. But, if my coffeeshop work is as productive as the bar exam studying, I think I am in good shape. 📚
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