Coworking pass vs. cafe hopping in Chiang Mai - which actually works better for focus?

I used to bounce between 5 different cafes every week, spending like $3 a day on iced coffee and hoping for a solid wifi connection. Then I got a monthly pass at Punspace for $120 and it changed my workflow completely. The first week I got twice as much done because there weren't people talking next to me or baristas blasting music. But now I miss the random conversations and cheap snacks from cafes. Has anyone else gone back and forth on this setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_hill232d ago

Huh, that's a real trade-off. So when you were cafe hopping, were you actually getting focused work done or just showing up and hoping for the best? I mean, five different places a week sounds like you were already chasing something the cafes weren't giving you. What's the tipping point that makes you think about switching back - is it the cost savings on coffee, or do you just miss having people watch you type?

taylorm891d ago

Actually, you hit on something I didn't really think about until now. I think I was chasing something the cafes weren't giving me, but I wasn't sure what it was at the time. The tipping point for me is definitely not the cost savings on coffee - it's more that I realized I was spending more time deciding where to go and packing up than actually working. I'd get to a place, order, set up, and by the time I was settled I'd already lost that initial burst of focus. Did you ever find yourself doing the same thing, or were you more strategic about picking which place to work from?