Journaling & Field Notes
Café Journaling in Marikina: What It Is and Where to Do It
Café journaling means taking your notebook to a coffee shop and writing there. Here is how to do it politely, and how to choose a Marikina café for it.
Café journaling is exactly what it sounds like: you bring a notebook to a coffee shop, order something, and write. People like it because a café gives you a start time, an end time, and just enough background noise to quiet your own head.
How to choose a café for it
- A table that fits an open notebook and a cup. Tiny round tables are for espresso, not spreads.
- Light. A window seat in the afternoon beats any lamp.
- No pressure to leave. Slower hours are kinder: weekday mornings, or mid-afternoon.
- A menu you can order from twice. If you stay two hours, buy a second thing.
The Marikina coffee directory keeps a list of study-friendly cafés in Marikina and a guide to book cafés, both good starting points. One journaler on Threads wrote about a day spent journaling at Viet Cà Phê in Marikina, over coffee, tea and pasta.
Café journaling manners
- Order first, then set up.
- Keep your supplies on your own half of the table.
- No glitter, no spray, nothing that smells.
- Ask before photographing staff or other customers.
- Tidy every paper scrap before you go.
Ideas for the page
Describe the cup. List five sounds. Copy one line from the menu and say why you chose it. Write a letter you will not send. Or keep a proper coffee journal and give the café its own page in your Marikina Field Notes.
Quick answers
What does café journaling mean?
It means writing in your journal at a coffee shop, usually over a drink, either alone or with friends who are also journaling.
Is it okay to journal in a café for hours?
Usually yes, if you order, keep to one table, avoid peak hours and buy something else when you stay long.