[Reading level: C1 – Advanced]
A place where you can pay staff to look over your shoulder to help you stop procrastinating.
Earlier this month, we got wind of a new weird cafe opening in Tokyo, and this time it had nothing to do with cats, maids or bathhouses.
This new cafe, called Genko Shippitsu Cafe (“Manuscript Writing Cafe”), is all about writing, and though you might be quick to think, “Isn’t any cafe primed for writing?” the drawcard here is that you have to be a writer on a deadline to enter, and what’s more, staff won’t let you leave until you meet your deadline.
As writers ourselves, we know how hard it can be to stay on track with tight turnarounds, so our reporter P.K. Sanjun stopped by the cafe to find out if paying staff to look over his shoulder would improve his concentration and writing speed.
When he arrived, he was surprised to find there were a lot of other writers in need of help with motivation too, as nearly every seat inside was taken.
With no background music playing, and everyone buried deep in their work, typing away feverishly and eyes locked on their laptop screens, there was no relaxed, cafe-style ambience here. And that’s the way the owners like it, as they want to create a sense of pressure to help keep even the laziest writers on track.
Before you’re seated, staff will ask you to fill out a form to let them know your nickname, your writing goal, and the amount of verbal pressure — “mild”, “normal” or “hard” — you’d like when staff perform their “progress check” on customers. P.K.’s writing goal was to finish one article in two hours, and to help him achieve this, he requested “hard” pressure from staff.
The article he would write would be this one you’re currently reading, which meant he had to take photos, process them, and write the article all within two hours — well, technically less than that now, as he’d been shown to a table and the clock was now ticking on his visit.
So, he decided to take his interior shots while grabbing a free drink from the self-serve drink counter, which was stocked with water, tea, and coffee. Unlimited refills are included in your visit, which is charged at 150 yen (US$1.20) per 30 minutes, but you won’t have a lot of time to refill if you’re on a tight deadline like P.K.
By the time he’d taken his photos, P.K. felt he was now well on his way to clearing his goal within the time limit so he began to relax a little. However, that’s when he glanced at the battery level on his laptop and reached in his bag for his charger, only to realise he’d left it at the office.
With only 64-percent battery life left, P.K. now had even more incentive to finish his article in time, so he quickly transferred the photos over from his camera and began writing. As he typed away, and watched the percentages slowly go down on his laptop battery, he began to sweat as the pressure of writing to an even tighter deadline than he’d planned for began to weigh down on him.
That’s when he really began to feel the speed of time breathing down his neck. In fact, the sense of a presence looming up behind him felt so real he turned around, and that’s when he saw a staff member standing there.
Are you progressing?
This burst of speed and concentration felt fantastic, and it was all thanks to the pressurised environment he was sitting in. Well, that and his worrisome battery level, which was now threatening to sputter out within the next ten minutes or so.
Thankfully, all these factors contributed to P.K. finishing his writing goal and meeting his deadline well within his self-imposed time limit. So when staff came around to hand out small snacks, he didn’t feel bad about treating himself to a biscuit. He’d earned it, after all.
At 150 yen for 30 minutes, with free drinks, snacks, Wi-Fi and power included — for those who remember to bring their chargers — a visit to this cafe is an absolute bargain. The reason why the cafe is able to get by on such little profit, if any, is because it’s attached to a recording and broadcasting studio called Koenji Sankakuchitai, and the cafe is open on select days when the studio isn’t being used.
It’s a great place for writers to concentrate on their work without any distractions, and if find yourself working through lunch on a grumbling belly, staff are happy for you to bring in your own lunch from home or get food delivered to the cafe via delivery companies like Uber Eats.
You can even pop out to the convenience store across the street to bring back a bite to eat, as long as it’s within your allotted time. And while staff won’t let you leave until you’ve met your deadline, don’t worry — they don’t keep customers back after they close, so you’ll be able to leave after your deadline or by the 7:00 p.m. closing time, whichever comes first.
P.K. thoroughly enjoyed his visit to the Manuscript Writing Cafe, and one of the best things about it was the strange sense of solidarity he felt with the other patrons, as he knew they were all feeling the pressure just like him. So if you’re looking for a place to give you a push to help you meet your writing deadlines, you should definitely stop by and give it a go.
Source: https://soranews24.com/2022/04/26/a-trip-to-the-deadline-cafe-in-tokyo-where-staff-wont-let-you-leave-until-youre-done-writing/
WORD BANK:
procrastinate /proʊˈkræs.tə.neɪt/ (v): trì hoãn
get wind of sth (idiom): biết về cái gì
weird /wɪrd/ [B2] (adj): kỳ lạ
prime /praɪm/ [C2] (adj): chủ yếu
drawcard /ˈdrɔːkɑːrd/ (n): thông tin thú vị, đặc điểm thú vị
stay on track (idiom): giữ tập trung
turnaround /ˈtɜːrnəraʊnd/ (n): thời gian
reporter /rɪˈpɔːr.t̬ɚ/ [B1] (n): phóng viên
concentration /ˌkɑːn.sənˈtreɪ.ʃən/ [B2] (n): sự tập trung
motivation /ˌmoʊ.t̬əˈveɪ.ʃən/ [B2] (n): động lực
bury /ˈberi/ (v): vùi, chôn
feverishly /ˈfiː.vər.ɪʃ.li/ (adv): hí hoáy
ambience /ˌɑːm.biˈɑːns/ (n): bầu không khí
progress /ˈprɑː.ɡres/ [B1] (n): tiến độ
currently /ˈkɝː.ənt.li/ [B2] (adv): hiện
technically /ˈtek.nɪ.kəl.i/ [C2] (adv): về mặt kỹ thuật
interior /ɪnˈtɪr.i.ɚ/ [B2] (n): bên trong
grab /ɡræb/ [B2] (v): lấy vội
charge /tʃɑːrdʒ/ [B1] (v): tính phí
glance /ɡlæns/ [B1] (v): liếc nhìn
incentive /ɪnˈsen.t̬ɪv/ [C2] (n): động lực
transfer /ˈtræns.fɝː/ [B1] (v): chuyển
presence /ˈprez.əns/ [B2] (n): sự hiện diện
patron /ˈpeɪ.trən/ (n): khách quen
collar /ˈkɑːlər/ (n): cổ áo
mumble /ˈmʌmbl/ (v): lầm bầm
indecision /ˌɪndɪˈsɪʒn/ (n): sự do dự
burst /bɝːst/ [B2] (v): bùng nổ
factor /ˈfæk.tɚ/ [B2] (n): yếu tố
contribute /kənˈtrɪb.juːt/ [B2] (v): góp phần
bargain /ˈbɑːr.ɡɪn/ [B1] (n): món hời
distraction /dɪˈstræk.ʃən/ [C1] (n): sự phân tâm
grumbling /ˈɡrʌmblɪŋ/ (adj): cồn cào
pop out (v): lao ra
solidarity /ˌsɑː.lɪˈder.ə.t̬i/ [C1] (n): đoàn kết
masterpiece /ˈmæs.tɚ.piːs/ [C2] (n): kiệt tác
ỦNG HỘ READ TO LEAD!
Chào bạn! Có thể bạn chưa biết, Read to Lead là một trang giáo dục phi lợi nhuận với mục đích góp phần phát triển cộng đồng người học tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam. Chúng tôi không yêu cầu người đọc phải trả bất kỳ chi phí nào để sử dụng các sản phẩm của mình để mọi người đều có cơ hội học tập tốt hơn. Tuy nhiên, nếu bạn có thể, chúng tôi mong nhận được sự hỗ trợ tài chính từ bạn để duy trì hoạt động của trang và phát triển các sản phẩm mới.
Bạn có thể ủng hộ chúng tôi qua 1 trong 2 cách dưới đây.
– Cách 1: Chuyển tiền qua tài khoản Momo.
Số điện thoại 0947.886.865 (Chủ tài khoản: Nguyễn Tiến Trung)
Nội dung chuyển tiền: Ủng hộ Read to Lead
hoặc
– Cách 2: Chuyển tiền qua tài khoản ngân hàng.
Ngân hàng VIB chi nhánh Hải Phòng
Số tài khoản: 012704060048394 (Chủ tài khoản: Nguyễn Tiến Trung)
Nội dung chuyển tiền: Ủng hộ Read to Lead
Lớp luyện thi IELTS online
Bạn đang có nhu cầu thi chứng chỉ IELTS cho đầu vào đại học, đi du học, xin việc hay xin cư trú và đang phân vân chưa biết học ở đâu?
Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm dịch vụ luyện thi IELTS online với giáo viên uy tín và chất lượng, cũng như học phí phải chăng, thì thầy Trung (Admin và dịch giả chính của Read to Lead) có thể là một lựa chọn phù hợp dành cho bạn.
Hãy liên hệ (nhắn tin) tới trang Facebook cá nhân của mình (https://www.facebook.com/nguyen.trung.509) để tìm hiểu về lớp học và được tư vấn cũng như được học thử nha!
