Menagerie Coffee

There are some productivity and self-care tips I feel like I’m always hearing over and over again, so much so that they’ve become white noise. Even the word “self-care” itself makes me think, “here we go again…” Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s really really important and I get it, but that’s just the thing; I get it, I really do. This is not new information. I want to hear something new. And yet, even though I know this, how often do I actually implement what I know? I only do what’s convenient for me or convenient for what I want. For example, I like the tip of changing my study environment as a productivity habit, and my favourite way to do this is by visiting different cafes.

Menagerie Coffee was an excellent choice for this. There were several outlets and already many people there working with their laptops out, and that was comforting to see, because I’m always paranoid that baristas get annoyed by people who only order one thing and then loiter in their cafes for the rest of the day (me). They’re probably more annoyed by people who walk around their cafes with cameras (me), getting in everyone’s way (me), and disturbing innocent customers minding their own business (also me).

But you know I can’t help myself against white walls, wood accents, exposed brick, wall antlers, glass bottles, faerie lights, coffee, and man buns.

After having my fun with #aesthetics, I got down to work and was quite productive, if I do say so myself. I ticked an item off my list. There was still another one, but I could feel myself losing focus and my productivity declining. So what did we do? We decided to get up and take a walk, and not just any walk, but a walk to our next cafe to switch up our study environment.

It was so nice to stroll through Old City. I’m sorry I can’t think of any other adjective, but it really was so nice! A walk and sunshine does wonders. It’s a tip I hear often but hardly ever implement. People always tell you to take breaks, but I think this is hard for me because I feel like I take breaks before I even start working, so once I finally start working, I feel like I don’t deserve a break until much later than the popularly recommended 30 or 45 minute work periods. I need to make a greater habit of taking periodic breaks, even if they’re just to walk out the door and stand in the sun for a few minutes.