Why I Prefer To Read In Starbucks

It wasn’t until I was almost thirty years old that I started reading books on my own volition. Before then, my reading consisted of encyclopedia articles, magazines, and the stats on the back of basketball cards.  I just wasn’t into reading books.

But then something changed around thirty.  I guess I got to a point where I realized that my life wasn’t going the direction I wanted it to go and I didn’t really know much about anything beyond trivia level factoids.  I was drifting and I needed to get moving in a specific direction.

So me and books started anew.

One thing I found is that it is very important to be in the right place if you’re going to have a good read or the whole learn-session is ruined.  I tried different places: my house, my car, the library, bookstores, restaurants, parks, hotel lobbies, you name it.  What I found over time is nowhere works better for me than reading in Starbucks.

Here’s why:

I don’t fall asleep in Starbucks. As a person who can – and does – easily fall asleep during any movie, TV show, classroom, or other quiet place, I find that I can stay alert in Starbucks. I’m held accountable by the people that I imagine are watching me.  The baristas, the people in the drive through that can see me through the window; they all know me well and are watching my every move, ready to laugh and point when I nod off.  That kind of pressure keeps me awake.

Distraction free zone!  No refrigerator, no Netflix, no solar salesmen at my door, no overly friendly dog trying to lick my pants (why does she do that?).  Also, there is no little person trying to talk me into helping him go to the bathroom.  It’s just me, my book, and all my friends in the store that I don’t have to talk to.

Breaking it down into smaller steps.  If you ever want to get something done, but can’t seem to get yourself to actually do it, break that difficult thing down into easy steps.  I may not feel like reading today, but I can get in my car.  And if I get in my car, I can drive to Starbucks, and if I can drive to Starbucks, well, I’m not just gonna stand around and drink my Orange Mocha Frappucino.  Nope, now that I’m here, I might as well sit in front of all my friends I don’t know who are watching me making sure I don’t go to sleep and read my book.  Mission accomplished.

Consuming long form content (reading books) has been a major game changer in my life.  There’s not an issue or struggle I face that someone before me hasn’t also faced, conquered, and written about.  And for my money, it doesn’t get any better than sitting in Starbucks tackling the issues.