New to co-working? Here's some tips and tricks

If co-working is a brand new concept for you, it might take some time getting used to it before you can start reaping the benefits. As it happens with any major change in life, this transitional period is a difficult, but a necessary step towards achieving bigger and better things.

Still, in order to help you ease up the transition as much as possible, we came up with this article, highlighting the adjustments you should make in order to thrive. Don’t worry, they aren’t as complicated as you might think. Either way, check them out and decide for yourself.

Help others

Co-working is great because it gives you a chance to interact with other professionals from your field of expertise. While some people find that they are the most productive in solitude, others like to draw motivation from other people. While most individuals choose co-working as a chance to solely focus on their projects, it’s not bad to devote some of your attention to your neighbors from time to time.

It will give you a chance to put some of your projects on hold for a while, and then return to them afterwards with a fresh head full of ideas. Not to mention that you’ll be happier as you’ve just helped someone overcome a problem that’s been bothering them for a while. In a sense, you won’t only be doing it to gain their respect, but it will fill you up with plenty of motivation to work on your projects as well.

And don’t be afraid to ask for help

Similarly, if you ever start feeling stuck in place, don’t be afraid to reach out to others and ask for some guidance. People are usually so preoccupied with their work that they’ll rarely come to you first in the moment of need. Ultimately, you’ll have to ask for everything that you want to get. It’s also an awesome way to beat anxiety and form friendships which can bring major benefits to your work and personal life.

Create a structure

Just because you don’t have a strict 9-to-5 schedule, it doesn’t mean that you should glide towards anarchy. On the contrary, a certain structure is necessary in order to remain productive. The good thing is that in this case, you get to be your own boss, which means you can set routines and rules that work the best for you. Finding a perfect balance between a relaxed state and OCD is incredibly important, as it can be the difference between working at your absolute maximum and spinning wheels in place needlessly.

Invest in better headphones

Sure, a pair of cheap headphones will do the trick for most people, at least when it comes to separating them from the everyday noise. However, extreme cases call for extreme measures. No, we’re just joking. However, it’s a fact that a decent pair of headphones, which have a good noise-canceling mode can do wonders when it comes to isolating you from your surroundings, thus allowing you to fully focus on the job at hand.

Up until recently, a decent pair of headphones would cost you an arm and a leg, but now there are plenty of affordable options on the market. Even better, if you can just be patient for a little bit, and wait until the sales begin, you can save a lot of money in the meantime.

Make yourself at home

The last thing you would want is to feel like a soldier inside an enemy territory each time you set your foot through the door. Don’t get us wrong, we are not claiming that you need to love your job to do it properly, but at the very least you want to avoid making it your personal jail. How to do that? Decorate the space with some of your favorite plastic figures, motivational sticky notes or buy yourself a piece of chocolate cake during a well-deserved break. Do what you can in order to feel welcomed.