Co-working: Productivity + Networking

What is Co-Working?
​Co-working is meeting with other individuals to share work time while increasing focus and productivity. 

According to Merriam-Webster: "being, relating to, or working in a building where multiple tenants (such as entrepreneurs, start-ups, or nonprofits) rent working space (such as desks or offices) and have the use of communal facilities."


History of Co-working
Co-working is said to have begun as early as 1995 in Berlin, Germany. The term is credited to Bernard DeKoven in 1999. The first "official" co-working space is considered to be in San Francisco in 2005. These references can be found in many articles. A solid history is available thanks to a LinkedIn article by Matthew F. February 2024. Another good history is brought to us by coworking resources in April 2021.

Where Can You Co-Work?
As of 2017, Focusmate has been offering this concept online. I discovered it June 2024. They offer some great science behind why co-working works, complete with footnotes. They also have a great pricing structure - free for up to 3 sessions/week, roughly $7/month for unlimited sessions, and they offer business plans. 

I've been participating in a weekly co-working session created by a few editing friends from a Facebook group. One person has created a recurring weekly zoom-style link and added weekly Events on Facebook as a reminder. There's a related discussion group to let each other know if the leader will be taking the week off and to communicate for someone else to manage the link or motivate each other. 

I've headed to a local Panera on my own or with a colleague or two for years to work on projects related to an organization, each doing our own thing or sharing ideas on a certain collaborative project. I didn't realize I  was "co-working!" 

How Does This Work?
The appeal is primarily to those who work from home who would like the accountability of committing to showing up at a particular time and place (productivity method + goal strategy) or who want a bit of social resemblance to a work site. 

Whether you meet at a physical location or online, the general concept is you arrange to meet at a certain time - someone is counting on you as an accountability partner. You show up with a brief introduction and your goal(s) for the session and you get to work. You reconnect for a few minutes at the end of the session as a check-in on goals and success of the work session. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

Focusmate tends to have 50 min session blocks that start at the top of each hour giving you a 10-minute stretch or bathroom break. You can schedule as many as close together on your calendar as you wish. You may be part of a group on Focusmate to find partners within that group, or you can partner with anyone who is a Focusmate user from around the world.

There are desk sessions and active sessions (exercise or clean together). It's tricky to find particular people until you've had a session with that person or send someone an "invitation" to find your calendar to collaborate.

Once you collaborate and it seems to work well, you can "favorite" someone to more easily search for sessions on the calendar. Focusmate has an active Facebook group where members can seek and respond to others with similar interests to partner in these sessions.

Is It Useful?
I've become a big fan of these co-working opportunities! As a solopreneur, my home is my office. Scheduling these sessions helps me focus on work activities with someone else who is working. It does improve my productivity and keeps me accountable - I promised to show up. 

It's also a fabulous networking tool as you meet others from around the world, in your affiliated field, potential clients, or completely unique individuals! It's useful to get out of your own space and interact with others. 

Have you had any co-working sessions using Focusmate or some other platform? Love to hear how it went for you - likes and dislikes. Looking for a co-working partner to make progress on your goals? Let's chat!

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