Coffee shop culture

Over the past week or so, I have spent every free hour of my life in Coffee #1 on Thornbury high street cramming and cramming and cramming for my exams. Bex and I have our own special table: that's the extent of our relationship with this place. We notice when they've hired new staff or changed the menu design and the people who work there have finally started being nice to us. We've gotten into this routine where we get there, get drinks and chat for approx 1 hour before blocking eachother out with earphones and not making eye contact for 3 hours because we will undoubtedly get distracted. Sounds horrible but it totally works - I always get loads done and feel super productive after a Coffee 1 marathon.

It's the only place I actually get stuff done: at school there's always the distraction of people who I would rather talk to than revise and at home it's the telly/laptop/constant supply of tea and food that distract me. Coffee shops are a nice happy medium: there's just something about the buzz of conversation and constant flow of people that is surprisingly undistracting in comparison to the library or my dining room table. It's a comforting murmur of conversation to fill the gaps between songs on my revision playlist. Other benefits include the toasty temperature (always), comfy sofas and inspirational (cheesey) quotes on the walls. Oh and they have nice coffee, too. I like it so much that I can even forgive them for the flickering light in the women's toilet.

Now my exams are over I think I should probably reduce the frequency of my trips there from every day to a couple of times a week... A while ago I wrote about the five coffee shop customers I cannot stand and now I have pretty much become worthy of a place on the list. Think I'll have to add a number 6: the lingerers. The ones who come in every day, buy one drink and then occupy a table for 5 hours whilst everyone else stands around moaning about the lack of seats (they even have the cheek to smuggle food supplies from the Co-op next door). I'm pretty sure the staff are starting to get worried about me anyway and it is getting a bit awkward bumping into the same people on each visit, so, although it will be difficult, I guess it's for the best that I try and reduce my time spent there. Oh God, I think I'm addicted.

Seriously though, if you're struggling with revision or just generally maintatining concentration levels then try a change of scenery and venture to the local café. Block out noise with a motivational playlist, buy yourself a cappuccino and knuckle down. Just think carefully before you spend a double figured number of hours revising at the same table in the same café drinking the same drinks facing the same person. Because unless you're like me then the likelyhood is that you'll get sick of of them.