Coworking: The Change of Space & Pace

WeWork has been an old friend of mine. I first worked out of the Sydney WeWork back in 2018 and fell in love with being surrounded by energetic startups and entrepreneurs that were situated out of one of their first locations in Australia.

Fast forward a few years, a continent move and Covid later, I was faced with a real dilemma; Continue working from home which gave me a sense of calm but a dose of complacency or the chance to shake things and get out of the local bubble. I chose the latter.

WeWork Long Acre - Image Courtesy of WeWork

I’m week 5 into trialling WeWork On Demand and have now made the switch to WeWork All Access which has provided me with a little more stability and a bit less of a strain on my bank account.

For me, feeling a part of the community is what I’ve so dearly missed. Although I’m working solo and free to roam around, being surrounded by people, noise and atmosphere have been something I didn’t know I was craving. I instantly have felt closer to my working self again. I have the ability to carve out times for work and then side projects which when working from home, I’ve found it super difficult to decipher the two. 

My top tip if you can visit WeWork or a local co-working space is to spend some time thinking about what you are looking for. For me, WeWork Lab was a big factor. I am missing the contact and networking working in the office gave me so I’ve been able to start connecting with like-minded individuals plus seek advice when creating a startup.

WeWork Poultry - Image Courtesy of WeWork

Coworking Mental Health Tips

Take it easy.

I was slightly nervous returning to a workspace. I needed to regain confidence around it. Start from the beginning: instead of heading directly for a full-time membership, see if you can test out different spaces and trial what you are after. I felt super nervous but after testing the WeWork On Demand, I felt more at ease committing to a longer membership.

Invite a friend

If you’re feeling anxious like I was about entering a workspace full of strangers (and felt slightly embarrassed about it) invite a friend. Book a meeting room and take some time with a friend to chat about how you’re feeling and catch up. That way you’ll have a familiar face and it allows you to take a step in a positive direction.

Check out the Events Boards

Events are the perfect way to gain some inspiration and maybe a new mate. Live events are amazing for you to practice your socialising muscle however if you aren’t read right away, check out the online events. These are still full of nuggets of goodness and can still help you get into the swing of things.

Thanks to WeWork for allowing me this opportunity to showcase the beauty of coworking.