Morning behind the counter in the café
The time is 04:50, and the alarm is blaring in my face although I already opened my eyes 5 minutes ago. That is the consequence of being conditioned after 12 years of running cafés and being open 360 days a year. Has the morning shift woken up? Is anyone sick today? Will they call me soon? Did I send that important email? But this morning, it is my time to open the store.
- 04:55 - get out of bed
- 04:57 - do 10 push-ups and 10 tibialis raises
- 05:00 - shower + morning routine
- 05:30 - leave for work
- 05:50 - put out pillows, flowers, signs etc.
- 06:00 - start the oven, music, cash register etc.
- 06:05 - change into work clothes
- 06:10 - place bread, buns and sweets from the bakery
- 06:30 - start making the sandwiches
- 06:57 - open the doors
- 07:00 - first guest arrives
When that door unlocks, the real day begins. The smell of the first batch of espresso that comes from the grinder makes every receptors in my brain fire at once. Every day my usuals come through the door. I am so glad to see them. Not to be narcissistic, but sometimes you can feel like a small celebrity in your area because you are the “local baker.” It makes me smile.
I continue making sandwiches for the day and start planning in my head what my staff needs to prioritize.
- make chia puddings
- make yoghurts
- make juice boxes
- deep clean under the dishwasher
- deep clean the refrigerator
- get ready for milk delivery
I would like to make a longer list, but we are missing one staff member. There are always more things to do than there are hours in the day. We will do the rest tomorrow.
I love having a workday where the days repeat themselves. It’s not about spending the quarterly all-hands aligning on synergies, circling back on action items and leveraging our core competencies to drive alignment on the North Star metric and unlock stakeholder value in this space and to just leave with the same problems we walked in with. I did that for two years, and what a fucking waste of time. I like working with my hands, handing the product to the customer, being proud of the product I deliver every day, and making money, of course.
Anyway, the day continues. I need to order milk and coffee beans before 09:00. My next staff member comes at 09:00, so I have to place orders between making sandwiches, taking orders, and making coffee. I have done it a million times before, so that is no problem. The next team member arrives. I have to put on a smile. That is not difficult because I like my job. I ask her how her day was and try to remember what she was going to do the last time I saw her. I put her to work.
It’s coming close to lunchtime, and soon my shift is over. I have to give instructions to the closing shift on what they need to remember. I also have to order cakes, bread, and buns for the next day. I do that while eating my lunch.
All the staff have now gotten their lunch, and all emails have been answered. The time is 13:55, and I get to leave. Every day is the same almost like Groundhog Day. This life demands that you work for a living so finding your Groundhog Day could also be freeing.
