What techniques help me stay focused and productive when working in public?
Having the freedom to work from public spaces like coffee shops, bars, co-working spaces, libraries and other places is the dream. However, this is a dream that is often ruined by distractions.
Imagine this situation: you are working from a coffee shop, typing away on your latest report that is due for your boss at 1pm, and the distractions are interrupting your flow. That lady in the corner talking too loudly about her latest relationship drama. The weird teenagers playing TikTok out loud on their phones. On the table next to you is a man eating a sandwich louder than a NASA rocket headed to the moon.
You have to stay focused and productive whilst working in public otherwise, there is little point in not working effectively.
So how do you stay focused and productive in a public setting like a coffee shop?
My Techniques for Public Space Productivity
Through trial and error, I hit upon the following five techniques that will ensure you are able to stay productive and focused while working in public spaces.
- Accept interruptions.
- Headphones.
- Bursts and Breaks.
- Ambience is white noise.
- Select work carefully.
1. Accept interruptions
Accepting interruptions is a mindset shift.
Interruptions and distractions are part and parcel when working among the public in third spaces like coffee shops, bars and other hospitality establishments.
Accepting this will help you to stay focused and productive as it puts you into a mindset that sees the disruptions and noises of working in a coffee shop as a natural part of the process. Bridging this mindset shift will help make dealing with distractions more acceptable.
This makes it easier to get back on task and ignore the interruptions and disruptions. Not accepting these facts of working in a public place like a coffee shop can make you focus on these disruptions over the tasks at hand.
Take on board that these things are going to happen and accepting them will be a first step in helping you stay focused and productive. Why? Because we have let go of the idea that we can control all the elements within our environment and accept it for what it is.
2. Headphones
Headphones will help you create a physical barrier.
Headphones are a very good way to stay productive and on task by both reducing the surrounding noise and helping you to form a small psychological bubble around yourself without working out in public.
You do not even need to be playing any music, just the effect of the dampened noise and pressure around the ears can help you put yourself in the headspace and mindset to stay on task.
For me, I have always found that wearing over-the-head, headphones works better than Airpods for creating the buddle. However, that is my own preference. I use a set of headphones called P9 from Amazon, they are both value for money and effective.
This approach like all approaches takes repetition and habit to improve its effectiveness over time. The longer I have used this tactic the quicker and smoother the transition from disruption to focus.
3. Bursts and Breaks
Working in burst then having breaks allows the brain to rest.
Working in coffee shops or other public spaces lends itself to working in intense bursts and breaks. Burst and break working involves setting yourself a time limit and working intensely for, as an example, 25 minutes of intense focus, followed by 10 minutes of rest and taking a break.
This helps to improve focus and productivity through working with our brains, our attention spans and natural rhythms. Not resting can make our brain more anxious.
Working for 30 minutes and then taking a 10-15 minute break will allow you to stay productive by increasing focus for a set piece of time. Then give your brain a break to refresh for the next burst.
This break and burst process also works well in coffee shops and public spaces as it gives you time to go get a drink without it curring into your working time and helps your brain stay focused.
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4) Ambience is white noise
White noise is the ambience that allows you to work your mind.
Part of the reason for going to a coffee shop or other third place is to experience the white noise of people going about their lives whilst you work. If you can turn this into your white noise, the interruptions and disruptions that break your focus will disappear.
Our brains have evolved to be aware of near and total silence. With that in mind, what I find works for me is a low music (I can recommend the Stellaris soundtrack as a balancing element of the noise around you that dampens the ups and lows. This works very well with headphones.
5) Select work carefully
Choosing the correct tasks and work helps your productive immensely.
Before going to a coffee shop or other public space to work, choosing the correct tasks to work on will help you become far more productive and focused. Depending on your job, the work that you do at a coffee shop or other public spaces will be as varied as the jobs out there.
Taking the time before starting work at a coffee shop to choose tasks that are suited to the environment will help you become far more effective and productive.
My personal suggestion is to focus on work like processing to inbox zero, writing, data entry, research, and mundane administration. Use the time at the coffee shop to do low-key engagement work and face-to-face meetings and save serious meetings and collaborating with people for home, office or co-working space.
This will free up your mind to focus on appropriate and limited tasks, whilst utilising the space for a a coffee shop for the type of work that it lends itself to.
Final Thoughts
Staying focused and productive in a coffee shop can be hard, and at times can be a challenge. Working with the space and environment and your own mindset and workload will make the experience focused and productive.
Never forget the Golden rule of working in public spaces: If it is working, work, if it not working leave.
TL:DR
Working from a coffee shop can be distracting, but you can stay productive by following five key principles:
Accept interruptions – Shift your mindset to accept background noise as part of the environment.
Use headphones – Create a psychological bubble to reduce distractions.
Work in bursts – Use focused work sessions (e.g., 25-30 minutes) followed by short breaks.
Treat ambience as white noise – Embrace background chatter as a productivity tool.
Choose the right tasks – Focus on admin, writing, or research; save deep collaboration for quieter spaces.
If it’s working, keep working. If not, move on!
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