With a lot to do on a Monday morning — working on a story I had been writing over the weekend at the top list — I went to Paris Baguette in North Brunswick, NJ for a cup of coffee and a place to work.

I selected a pastry, ordered a drink, and sat down at a smooth white table to get started.

And then, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t write in there.

The bright lights reflecting off of the shiny wall tiles were distracting, the patterns on the floors and chairs were busy, the images on the video screens by the menus bounced around quickly, and the music was very, very loud —  maybe because the machines behind the counter were even louder??

I couldn’t hear the cashier/baristas when my coffee order was ready.

I couldn’t hear myself think in there — at all.

Disappointed, I figured I wasn’t going to get much done and would have to leave quickly; as I took a first bite of the delicious pastry, though, I shifted my focus to the other things on my to-do list.

I tackled an email and then a couple more, organized the desktop on my laptop, placed some online orders, checked social media, and updated my calendar.

I actually got quite a few things accomplished, just not any of the writing that I had set out to do.

So, while it wasn’t the creative writing environment that I needed, the pastry was good, the coffee was hot, and the energy in the space turned out to be conducive for getting other things done…which I can keep in mind the next time I have a lot of administrative tasks I need to finish up.

Chances that I will go back to do work there again:
Probably.   

~Melissa