Many people struggle to find a balance between work and life, often finding themselves spending extra hours every week and denying themselves the time they need to recharge at home with their families.
While co-working provides entrepreneurs with many opportunities to grow their business, it’s also an opportunity to work in an environment that makes finding a balance between work and life easier by sharing the space with people in situations similar to your own.
Often times, co-working environments provide solo entrepreneurs with a quasi-support system, where they can lean on other people in the shared workspace for advice or decompress over a cup of coffee.
Here a few strategies you can use in a co-working space to help you find a better work-life balance.
Work Alternative Hours
Shared office spaces allow for work hours outside of the usual 9 to 5. You can flex your time around your family’s needs and still have the productivity you need for your business. This benefit is especially helpful for families with children that need a parent home with them at all times.
Improve Your Social Life
A shared office space gives you the opportunity to network with the other office users whether that is at a business event or sharing a lunch with them. If you’re used to working alone, a shared office space can give you the social connection you need to make new friends and have new experiences.
Keeping Home and Work Separate
Many people work at home, but for some, it is difficult to keep work and home separate when they do. If you have the tendency to get distracted from work when you are at home, or you spend too much time working, a shared office space can offer that separation.
Professional Atmosphere
Sharing an office space gives you a professional setting to meet clients. Instead of having them come to your home or a coffee shop, you can meet them in a private office that looks and feels professional.
Shared Technology
Sharing an office space also means having useful technology on hand that you don’t want to purchase yourself. If you need more than a tablet or laptop for your work, you can have access to printers, telephone systems and other high-tech equipment that you can’t afford.
Skilled Support Staff
Not all shared offices come with support staff, but you can find staffing at some. If you like to have a layer of staff between you and your clients, this service is available. Depending on what type of work you do, having support staff offers a way to deal with multiple clients more efficiently. It also creates a more professional atmosphere for new clients when they are just discovering what you do.
Supporting a Better Work Routine
Having a designated office space for your work with specific work hours can also help you maintain a better work routine. For some freelancers, that means having specific work hours and focusing on work at those times. For some, it means that they are available to clients during those specific hours. And there are also those freelancers that find it difficult to get to work each day when they are at home in their pajamas. For all of those reasons and more, sharing an office can be a great benefit for those who work alone and want to improve their work-life balance.
