I’ve always worked well in a café – now there is research to explain why I’m not the only one.
One would think that the best ideas, the best proposals, the best pieces of work would come after thinking long and hard about them at our desks. But of course we know that this is not always the case. I have my most creative thoughts when walking or swimming and they tend to be the first seeds of a project, a book, a pitch, a workshop outline.
Of course they don’t all end in success – some of them disappear into that special place in the sky where all good ideas that don’t come to fruition fly to. But most of them do get developed. So for me, being away from my desk allows me to be at my most creative. And when am I at my most productive? Simple, in a café. (Of course, probably due to the fact that I live in London and can find one around the corner wherever I am.) I don’t carry my laptop around and I don’t have a smartphone so, if I’m in a café, my usual distractions disappear.
When I need to tackle a long piece of writing, or work on a project, write a proposal etc, I move somewhere where there are people around. (To clarify, this excludes my usual workplace which is either a small office where I’m the only one within four walls, or my home.) So there is obviously something about the setting and noise levels that make some busy places better to work in.
Even though I am used to working in a quiet environment, I remember being able to work in a large, open-plan office in a creative department with no problem – though I’m not sure whether this was due to noise stimulation or my ability to block out noise.
I’m obviously not the only one intrigued by why some noise seems to make me more productive than complete silence. As reported in Business Daily (BBC Radio 4) on 13 April, white noise or ambient noise is most conducive to working: constant and loud enough to drown out the noise that would distract us, with no sudden or sharp interruptions to disturb our train of thought. To try to understand why, the programme cites studies in Sweden that have been carried out over the last ten years, with children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. White noise helps children with ADHD to concentrate, by raising dopamine levels. The last set of studies has shown these children’s memory is improved by being exposed to the right level of white noise (by “right” I mean not too loud and made of a mixture of frequencies).
It would therefore seem, that in adults, working in a café-like environment, stimulates both our visual and auditory systems, making us more alert and therefore more prone to being effective. I do enjoy it – and if there is chocolate and coffee also involved, I am happy to allow my dopamine levels to hit the roof!
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