For me, coffee shops are definitely places to get away from work, to think about other things rather than things that take you away from work routines.

Certainly, coffee shops are places that lend themselves to many activities. Depending on the place, you can even stay to study, read, work, exchange gifts, have meetings, have a date... or simply enjoy your coffee in your own company. They are places where everyone is warmed up. A coffee shop is ideal for any of these options; However, for work, they are not a place I would prefer.

Enjoying a different coffee in a place that allows you to be and be different...

Perhaps because of the nature of my work or the discipline I have had for years, work is something I prefer to do in very quiet places, without the traffic of people. I do find people who bring their computers or tablets to work and I have even seen groups having purely work meetings while consuming any food apart from coffee. That for me would be a real feat.

I prefer to think of a coffee shop as a meeting point, like an island in the middle of what you do every day.

I remember that some time ago, when I worked at the Ministry of Education, it was very common for work teams to meet on the street while we were visiting educational institutions. So it was quite common for short work meetings to take place in bakeries or coffee shops. I did not participate directly in them, I remained a passive participant.

In this sense, saying that I cannot stand work meetings in coffee shops would be a bit of an exaggeration on my part; However, I wouldn't choose that option either, if it were up to me alone. I can understand people who do it, because the atmosphere of coffee shops is something magical, ideal for developing any activity you want to do there, as long as you like it.

Being able to enjoy your favorite desserts, while checking, if you want, texting on your phone or just chatting.

The mood I see in people who meet up for work or who work alone is incredibly proactive. So I think they are right where they want to be. On the contrary, when it comes to my job, in particular, I couldn't because my job is in education and it involves making diagnostic reports, planning, writing complex materials where I have to consult many tests and many sources... I definitely couldn't do that in a coffee shop.

For me a coffee shop is a personal place.

Now it would be different if I had a space, inside the coffee shop where there were private spaces to take and put my notes and you could have a coffee whenever you wanted. I would think about it! Here in Cumaná, a long time ago there was a place very similar to a coffee shop because it was really an internet cafe, where you could rent a computer in separate spaces; However, the most I could do there was go check some sources when I had problems with my internet at home.

That's what coffee shops are for me, places that give you the opportunity to get out of the routine, to get safe from what you should do and get closer to what you really want to do.

Photo taken with my Redmi11 phone.
Translation done with Google.