Seems like a waste to me, especially since he's in the same city (DC). I am down at Affinity Lab (coworking space) and it only costs $325/month compared to his 1000$/month on coffee. Plus the internet works, you get to know a bunch of people, has more facilities than a coffee shop and it's definitely comfortable enough to leave your stuff. I've left my stuff for hours unattended and never worried about it.
(Hey, I'm actually the author) We were actually working out of Affinity Lab for over a year. A great place. That's what you do when you want to upgrade.
But the trick with any coworking space is that it's gotta be convenient. We moved out of the city and it's just a bit too far out. But AL is great.
Also, you don't have to spend $1000/month - that's just what happens if you're not careful. I generally spend about $4-5/day - so it rounds out to about $150.
How do you account for wasted time out of curiosity? Do you just find 1 (or a few) places you always go to or how many hours per month do you waste searching for somewhere to work?
The location is definitely a factor, I was driving to a metro and then metroing in - it took between 1-1.5 hours. Then I just started driving at off peak times and it's much faster.
When I first got my iPad I put a timer app on it, and at some point I got really frustrated by how much time I perceived was being wasted, so for a few weeks I timed it every time I wasn't able to work when I was trying to (wifi down, no power, going to a new place, etc). It was crazy, actually, but I was losing half my working day (shortly after that we joined Affinity Lab).
Of course, now that I can't get to a co-working space, I had to get way better at planning and finding good places. Now I don't waste much time.
For that matter, I think I am more productive (for now) because I can't chit-chat and get distracted as I would when I'm around people I know. All of our work is offsite and online right now, so no productivity is wasted.
The biggest trick is, if it's a 3hr commute there and back to your office (plus settling in time) you have to weight it each time whether it's worth the trip or not. But I hit the coffee shop every morning, like it's my office, and gain 2.5hrs. You just can't slack off.
I wouldn't suggest doing it forever, but if you're going to do it, that's how.
Thanks for your explanation :) I actually don't find that I am wasting the travel time though. I have no anxiety about going personally, I know once I get there, I can sit down and get to work without thinking about any of the potential problems. In fact, it's a great time for me to think about things.
Going in: what do I absolutely need to do today? What would I like to do? How can I get it all done?
Going out: Did I reach my goals? Why/why not? What are some of the bigger issues I need to keep thinking about while working the day to day?
It's not an insignificant amount of time, but I don't find it wasteful, I easily spend that much time thinking about problems anyways, now I just am commuting at the same time!
