I Asked My Freelancer Friend Why He Works at a Café Instead of at Home

I visited my friend at a small city café. You can feel welcome in such cafes through atmospheric details like soft jazz music and their staff recalling specific orders.

He is a freelance designer. He has a habit of waking up late, then chooses his work hours freely, yet always appears calm. I force myself to wake up at 7 AM before spending many hours at my desk feeling incomplete after completing my work.

As we settled down I hurriedly spoke my long-awaited question to him.

“Dude, you work for yourself. You have no boss. No office. No meetings. You have the freedom to do your job from any location. Why do you make the decision to work in a café daily when you have freedom to work from anywhere?

He smiled andipped his cappuccino before sharing his thoughts in a confidential tone.

“Because I actually get work done here.”

I frowned.

His apartment is a dream. The setup includes a room-sized desk combined with two monitors plus an ergonomic work chair that collectors would love today. The café offered unstable tables while people talked and their cups rattled beside undecisive music between indie folk and lo-fi beats.

I wasn’t buying it.

“How?” I asked, genuinely confused.

He chuckled. The desire to stay at home ends up distracting you from working properly. It’s a trap. Your bed is right there. The fridge draws your attention toward it. One simple click on the television remote takes us there. The most uncomfortable reality of working at home is that no one monitors your activities.

That’s when it hit me.

The magic of being watched

He told me about his peculiar experience when he was in a public environment. Despite having zero attention paid to his actions, he deceives himself into imagining others pay attention.

He expressed his opinion by describing it as a manufactured version of being responsible. Since my brain suggests that others will notice I cannot spend one hour scrolling through my phone. Slouching would make me look like a slob, although I have no specific reason for wanting to keep a good posture.

I nodded slowly. It made sense.

How many times had I sat at home, “working,” only to realize I had spent the last hour watching YouTube videos about random historical events?

Distractions aren’t the enemy. The wrong distractions are.

“But aren’t cafés distracting?” I challenged. The drinking establishment disrupts his concentration by constantly producing hissing noises from espresso machines, with nearby humans and surrounding sounds.

He shook his head. “Nah, man. That’s the point.”

He explained that cafés supply excellent levels of distraction which allow individuals to remain focused on work instead of distracting them from their tasks.

At home, distractions are personal: Your phone, your TV, your couch, your dog begging for attention.

At a café, distractions are ambient: Background noise, people chatting, cups clinking — all things that fade into the background and create a steady rhythm.

The sound works similarly to brain white noise according to his description. Even though it prevents my mind from becoming dull, it never disrupts my employment flow.

The 90-minute focus rule

He swears by one simple rule: One coffee = One work session.

He takes a seat while placing his order, then devotes his time to work until he empties his drink. He establishes a drinking rule coupled with diligent work until the beverage empties. The no-refill policy stays in effect.

And when the cup is empty? He moves. Sometimes to another café. Sometimes for a short walk. His duration of stay in any location remains brief.

“It keeps my mind fresh,” he said. “And it forces me to be productive in short bursts, instead of dragging tasks out all day.”

Maybe he is onto something.

I looked around. The cafe contained many individuals busy with laptop

typing and notebook sketching while flipping through books.

The reason for their presence at these locations was always unclear to me because they seemed to prefer expensive coffee drinks. It crossed my mind that they held a secret knowledge which escaped me.

Working from home may be producing lower levels of productivity than I originally expected.

My work efficiency became difficult because I thought I required a flawless setup for task completion.

Maybe… I needed to start working from cafés, too.

The close

After putting my laptop in my bag, I decided to visit a café the following day.

First I purchased a cappuccino before taking a seat where I committed to work the entire length of my drink.

An hour and a half later, I had finished an entire project that would’ve taken me all day at home.

I left the café feeling lighter. More accomplished. Maybe even a little bit like him.

And now, I get it.

Your environment matters. The right distractions help. And sometimes, all it takes is a simple rule to make work feel effortless.

So, next time you’re struggling to focus, try this:

Buy a coffee. Sit down. Work until it’s gone.

You might just surprise yourself.

Thanks for reading!