If you work from home, you can probably relate to this article in the New Yorker. The satirical piece – “I Work From Home” – imagines a phone call between Robert, who works from home, and a 911 operator. Spoiler alert: It’s funny …. and oh so true.
I can relate because I work a lot from home. I’m Paul Briand, I’m a freelance writer, and, while I haven’t been recorded on a 911 call, I have been known to talk to the cardinals, chickadees, and occasional wooly woodpeckers at the bird feeder outside my window. It can get a little lonely, a little isolated.
Thankfully, I’m also a member at the Cooperative Venture Workspace. The membership as a part-time occupier of some dedicated space, helps me achieve a balance – enjoying the economics of working at home, while enjoying the social and professional interaction that the shared workspace provides.
Freelancers, consultants, and one-person proprietorships have any number of options when it comes to going to work. If there’s wi-fi, we can work. Even if we don’t have wi-fi, we can work by hot-spotting off our smartphones (but watch those data charges).
I found an interesting online magazine — Deskmag — that is all about this issue of work as a mobile venture, and it has a good article that compares and contrasts the options of a home office, co-working space, and coffee shop.
The article pinpoints the reasons why I value the time I spend at the Workspace — greater motivation, quality social encounters, and professional venue.
When I have a lot to do, I know when I sit at my desk at the Workspace that a lot of work will get done. I’m disciplined and productive at home, but there can be distractions — my guitars, for example. (Spoiler: There are guitars in the 911 call.)
I enjoy talking to the people I’ve met at the Workspace. I like being able to drop in on Nick Bouquet and talk about his latest Evergreen Partners Housing project. Molly McPherson of Social Shift Media likes to hear about my grandson; I like to hear about her daughter. I poke my head in to say hi to Leslie Wiseman at Love Affair (full disclosure – she’s helping out with my stepdaughter’s wedding). They engage me, they inspire me as fellow small business people.
And the venue is truly professional. I recently had an interview with a couple of local folks for a story I was writing. I took a lot of pride in being able to greet them at the front desk and bring them into a space with a lot of class and style.
The Workspace helps me achieve a certain work/life balance that can be challenging when the office is at home …and when the birds just don’t care to talk back.
The Cooperative Venture Workspace is evolution of the creative, shared workspace.