Why do people like to write in cafes?

"it was a cozy cafe, warm, clean and friendly. I hung my old raincoat on a hanger to dry, put my weather-beaten old felt hat on the shelf above the bench and ordered a cup of milk coffee. The waiter brought coffee, and I took a notebook and a pencil out of my coat pocket and began to write. "

In the 1960s, when Hemingway recalled his life in Paris 40 years ago, he wrote the above description of the local cafe in the flowing Feast.

As the most famous cafe lover in the history of literature, Hemingway spent the most enviable time on the Germanic Avenue on the banks of the Seine in Paris. From 1921 to 1926, Hemingway, who quit his job, wrote every day at the Dilac Garden Cafe, where he finished writing "the Sun still Rises" in two weeks.

More than half a century later, today's cafe is still an alternative workplace popular with young people. There seems to be a kind of magic that can inspire sleeping artists and poets in the human heart. More and more people go to work in cafes, as if they can't do a good job without going to cafes. Only in cafes can we finish the work that is forced into deadline, which is ten times more efficient than working in the office and at home.

What kind of magic does a cafe have to attract people to go to the office to write in a hundred years?

In fact, the modern cafe that appeared in the French Revolution was not a place that ordinary people could afford to spend on a daily basis. Only those leisure-class intellectuals who do not have to go to work can afford to sit here for a day and think about and discuss some metaphysical problems.

It wasn't until 1971, when the first Starbucks was founded in Seattle, that cafes officially began to reach out to the public. In the eyes of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, the cafe is a "third space" that distinguishes people from homes and offices and frees people from home and work for a while. Whether it is the nagging of your partner, the crying of the child, or the repressed atmosphere and noisy conversation in the office, it all disappears in the aroma of coffee.

In 1989, Ray Odenberg, an American sociologist, formally defined the concept of "third space" in his book The Great Good Place. "the first space is living space, the second space is work space, and the third space is leisure and entertainment space." The quality of the third space and the length of people's stay will determine a person's quality of life. The cafe is the most typical "third space".

An article published in the academic magazine Consumer Research points out that it is more suitable for creative work in indoor noise, and writing is the most typical creative work. It's like thinking about something so intently that you can't figure it out, but when you come back from a break, you may have a solution. Just the right noise (70 decibels) is the best volume environment for focusing on work, while extreme silence actually weakens your attention and hinders abstract thinking that is most needed in writing. Because the cafe's unique ambient noise is so famous, there is even a website coffitivity.com that simulates the background sound of the cafe for those who can't go to the cafe for any reason.

However, the reason why cafes can improve work efficiency is not just about ambient noise.

The sound of the wooden armchair rubbing against the floor when pulled open, the rumble of the Italian coffee maker at work, the tinkling of copper bells serving meals, the collision of coffee spoons and mugs, the sound of people talking and eating, the sound of typing. The low, chaotic, long-lasting ambient noise mixed with the aroma of coffee and food in the air, and in the warm and elegant space of the cafe, everything was beautifully mixed, as if I could finish my week-long manuscript in four hours by sitting down at the table and ordering a cappuccino.

As the ideal "third space" for many people, the coffee shop provides a comfortable office environment. It is more formal than the bedroom, but not as formal as the library and office. Working here doesn't look like work, so it's more interesting and less resistant to work. Compared with drowsiness in the absolutely quiet environment of the library, the cafe provides food and drink, and a short break also helps to regulate the brain, inadvertently forming the general work rhythm of the "tomato work method".

The reason why cafes are loved by people who write for a living also has something to do with the working state of freelancers working from home. Compared with a dark home life, writing in a cafe can at least force you to tidy up and step out of the house. In such a shallow social space as a cafe, I am an independent person, but not a lonely person. I can hide behind any table and become a member of the group in front of me. Even if the group dissolves after two black tea lattes, it will be a wonderful encounter without disturbing each other.

Some people say that writing in a cafe has a sense of ritual, you are curled by dozens of pairs of eyes, everyone around you is studying and working, and the sound of fingertips tapping on the keyboard not far away will make you more motivated. The social facilitation effect (Social facilitation) describes such a phenomenon that when people complete a task, the presence of an audience or competitor will stimulate a tendency to perform better than when they are alone, and this effect is most intense when they do not know the audience. The cafe is a perfect interpretation of the social contribution effect.

From going to McDonald's to do homework after school when I was a child, to writing in a cafe when I grew up, the change in economic situation reflected in it is also an interesting clue. According to the Guardian's 2015 data, the per capita income of Shanghainese is 1/3 of that of London, while a cup of Starbucks in Shanghai is slightly more expensive than in London. this means that buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks is still a slight luxury for many young Chinese. For people who write in a cafe, this not-cheap cup of coffee is like an investment in their own work-input and output, under the pressure of cost. They will also force themselves to write carefully-- "I've spent 30 yuan. I must write it out."

In any case, it is a great happiness to drink a cup of freshly brewed coffee in a warm and comfortable cafe. For those who like coffee, the aroma of coffee can dilute the anxiety of deadline and the pain of running out of inspiration, which is the fundamental reason why they go to work in cafes-coffee and cafes can make work happy.

Women should stay in the cafe.

Men should stay in cafes, too.

Everyone should stay in the cafe.

Because there is WiFi in the cafe.