Ask anyone who works from home if they like the isolation, and you’ll likely get an answer something like love and hate. There’s a fine line between enjoying the solitude and holding too many conversations with the voices in my head (there’s John, Susan, Frank, and about five more in mine)
Myself, when I get deeply involved in a project, I only leave the confines of my tiny home office to open the back door to let out my whining dog. When I do venture out, I enjoy taking my laptop to a coffee shop and just hearing other voices. (the ones in my head argue too much which is annoying after awhile) However, with the economy as it is, I’m sometimes loathe to spend money on expensive beverages with names I can’t pronounce just so I can use their wi-fi. And for the times I do go out, I want to be able to control what I spend, since I’ll often get lunch while I’m there. So, I just hadn’t been going out. Not a socially healthy thing to do, especially for writers who need to see the outside world occasionally.
So, I came up with the idea of buying a monthly gift card for myself to the local coffee shop. That way, I feel more comfortable going out since I know I already spent the money so I might as well use it. And, since I have to make that card last all month, I won’t go over budget. There has been a lot of criticism of gift cards in the news, but by paying attention to the terms and how you use it, you can use these cards to your advantage.
Starbucks and Panera Bread are the two I use. I’m sure there is one or multiples in your area. Neither gift card has maintenance fees, nor expires. Both cards also offer an auto-reload feature when your card balance dips below a certain amount, but that sounds like a financial disaster to me.
If you register your Starbucks card on-line, you’ll get two free hours of wi-fi a day and unlimited brewed coffee refills — plus some advertisements, I’m sure. The free refill is only for coffee, so you’ll have to pay for that second mocha-latte raspberry cauliflower drink. To get the wi-fi in the US, create an AT&T account. If you live in Canada, the wireless provider is Bell Canada, and you’ll instead create an account with them. Here’s the details on Starbuck’s wi-fi services. To receive these perks, you must use the gift card once every 30 days, probably not a problem for most people.
The Panera gift card doesn’t offer as many extra benefits. On the other hand, they already have free, unlimited wi-fi and refills on coffee.
For those who travel, these gift cards can be great to get some work done away from the hotel room. However, not all Starbucks will accept their cards. You can use it at any regular Starbucks in North America, but not yet at all shops in other places like airports, bookstores, and college campuses. For Panera Bread, they have different cards for the US and for Canada, which at the moment aren’t interchangeable.
So, if you drink a gallon of coffee a day, or just want an excuse to get out the house more, try using a gift card to manage your caffeine expense.
Resources
Panera card FAQ
You have NO IDEA how jealous I am of your ability to write in isolation, Robert. I had to stop writing completely three weeks ago due to the fact that my real life was demanding my attention and I just had to get my head back in that game.
No sympathy whatsoever. None.
Go drink your damn Starbucks and be sure to let the dog in!!!!
(all said with love, of course!)
PS the gift card thing really *is* a great idea. I think I’m going to use that for my food on campus.
I created an account… testing my avatar now.