best houston coffee shops for productivity

Let me tell you the story of how my coffee shop obsession began (it's really not THAT exciting of a story, so if you skip this entire paragraph I will not be offended).  It was the summer of 2015, and I was finishing my last semester of grad school in Waco while studying for the CPA exam.  Most of my friends had already graduated.  Waco is super cool and trendy now of course (thanks Chip and JoJo), but at the time there were exactly two cool coffee shops in the city - Common Grounds and Dichotomy (the latter is still my favorite coffee shop in the world; post coming soon I promise).  Anyway, I wanted to be cool and trendy, so I went to Dichotomy almost every single day to do my homework and study for the CPA.  Upon graduating and returning to Houston to like, work and stuff, with two parts remaining on the CPA, I decided to continue my strategy of only studying at coffee shops.  I did extensive research.  I made maps and spreadsheets ranking the places I tried.  You may think I am exaggerating - I am not.  As you can probably imagine, it got expensive.  But also...it worked.  I looked forward to trying new coffee shops so much that it almost made studying enjoyable, and I passed the CPA.  I also had a Google Doc full of information about every Houston coffee shop, ranked by how productive I was at each one, that I had basically no use for anymore.

Fast-forward a few years.  I now have a job where I can occasionally "work from home," this blog, and a New Years resolution to read more books.  I recently broke out the coffee shop list and decided to write this blog post, mainly as an excuse to revisit all my favorite places.  These are the Houston coffee shops that I have found to be the best for productivity - whether it's working, studying, reading, journaling, or just endlessly scrolling through Facebook.  (In order[ish], with my favorites at the top.)  

P.S. Shoutout to my amazing photographer/"working from home" buddy Joanna for taking most of these super artsy pics!

I'm not even going to pretend that I'm actually working here.  I'm reading a think piece about The Big Lebowski.  

Paper Co.

This is, in my opinion, THE number one coffee shop in Houston for getting stuff done.  There's tons of seating, it's relatively quiet, there are accessible plugs, and the WiFi works well (at least it did the last time I was there).  I also had some great breakfast food!  The only downside is that it does not stay open late.  Also, it is part of Ecclesia church, so you probably want to avoid going during a service (as it will be much louder and more crowded).

Reezy Does It and I discussing our upcoming business ventures at Slowpokes (jk we were talking about TPS Reports).  Side note: after we had been sitting at the bar for an hour or so, they put us in charge of controlling the music.  Basically a dream come true.

Slowpokes

I love every single thing about this place.  First of all, it's sloth themed, which is brilliant.  There's a huge sign reading "I'm a slowpoke."  It's like they want you to come hang out here and be lazy (but I'm actually always super productive here).  The WiFi is fast and reliable and there's plenty of seating.  The coffee is good, and they also serve good sandwiches and such.  The vibe of this place is totally me, from the eclectic and Houston-y decor to the hipster-ish playlist (I'm actually sitting in Slowpokes writing this right now, and The Shins - pretty much my favorite band ever - just started playing).  They also stay open until 10 PM daily and serve wine and beer.

Throughgood.  So focused.

Throughgood

My work BFF and I checked this place out for day two of our "working-from-home" Houston coffee shop adventure, and we loved it.  The only downside here is that it closes at 4:30.  Great coffee, donuts from Hugs & Donuts, taco truck outside, good WiFi.  Also - not crowded! My favorite part is the vinyl records constantly playing in the background.

A 2nd Cup

Refer to my last post for a better description of this place, but I'm including it again here because it's a great place to go to get work done.  On multiple occasions, I've seen literal study groups meeting here like an episode of Community or something.  Also, like I mentioned in my previous post, the proceeds from this shop are donated to charity.  Just think how good you'll feel about yourself if you come here to get work done AND simultaneously support a great cause!

I brought my laptop to Siphon purely for appearances.  I was reading Turtles All the Way Down (it was really good, by the way).

Inversion

This is a great Montrose shop that serves Morningstar donuts and has reliable WiFi.  This is a popular spot for working so it can get crowded, and parking can sometimes be a pain here.  There is a nice patio for when the weather permits, though!  I'm also a fan of the artsy decor.

Siphon

Siphon has been pretty packed almost every time I've been there, but you can usually find a spot if you're going solo.  Also, 97% of the patrons there will be on laptops.  Last time, I decided to sit on this comfy couch with a great view of this fun Texas flag painting (optimal for your Insta story, obviously).  There's also a little patio if the weather is nice (unlikely, but, ya know).

I actually was working at Cafeza.  I was working on this blog post.

Cafeza

Tried this place on a Friday morning recently.  I'm a big fan of its proximity to my apartment, the chill atmosphere, and the fast WiFi.  It was quiet and not too full in the morning, but judging by the instruments in the corner there is apparently live music sometimes (I'm guessing at night?).  So probably not an ideal late-night spot if you're trying to be productive.

Boomtown

Boomtown has some of the best coffee in Houston, of course, and WiFi, so I always see a lot of people working when I'm here.  There's less seating than some of the other places on this list, it tends to be crowded, plus it closes at 7 PM, which is why I have it lower on this list.  It's still one of my favorites though, and a decent option for productivity.

Tout Suite

Okay, I was a little hesitant to add this one.  It can get loud and crowded, and I have sometimes had trouble connecting to the WiFi.  By most of the metrics I'm judging these places on, this one doesn't really pass.  I personally don't mind the noise, though, and I have come here many times to read a book in the corner with my headphones in.  And I always get a cookie or cake ball, obviously.

Next time you need motivation to get ahead on work, start a new project, or even finally finish a blog post about productivity that you've been promising everyone you would do a week ago, grab your laptop and try one of these places!  There's a good chance you'll just end up getting stuck in an endless Wikipedia rabbit hole or watching cat video compilations, but at least you'll feel really hip and trendy doing it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

<3 liz