Is there something that’s been sitting on your to-do list for a little longer than you’d like to admit? A project you excitedly started but just haven’t been able to push yourself to finish? Are you stuck and need some help getting un-stuck? You are not alone.

Inspired by a similar weekend created by Nicole Forrester and our friends at Indy Hall, Office Nomads is excited to host Finish Up Weekend on October 11-13. The idea is simple: we’re going to spend the weekend together laser-focused on crossing our finish lines.

The weekend will kick-off on Friday, October 11 from 5-7pm with guided goal setting and project planning. Then we’ll spend Saturday and Sunday (from 9am – 5pm each day) doing focused work sprints, breaking for a long lunch, work sprinting some more, and then sharing our progress at daily Show + Tells.

It’s going to be a great time, and we only have room for 20 participants. We want to be sure you’re one of them.

The cost of the weekend is $75 for non-members, $50 for members of Office Nomads.

RSVP here.

Working remotely, even for part of the time, is here to stay. Our friends at Emergent Research recently shared that remote work is now the norm for independent Americans, and it’s also the reality for nearly half of traditionally employed Americans.

That’s a whole lot of us who are trying to get traditional office-based work done outside of a traditional office setting.

While remote work may be normal for the younger workers among us, for the broader culture of work this arrangement is still very, very new. As a broader society, we’re still working out the best ways to make remote work really work for everyone involved. That means not only being productive, but forging real connections with coworkers, staying sane, and developing professionally over time.

No matter what your path was to remote work, if you’re one of the millions of Americans attempting to be productive and satisfied with your job, you have some challenges facing you that others before you simply have not had to cope with.

We want to help.

We asked the wonderful members of Office Nomads – many of whom work on a remote basis for other companies – what they could share about their successes (and failures) as remote workers. We wanted to share some of what came out of those conversations.

So much comes down to culture.

We’re going to start with what is not completely in your control: your company’s culture. Whether you work for a company that is 100% remote or your company just moved to a “Work From Home Wednesday” policy, the culture your company has in place to support remote work has a lot to do with how successful you may or may not be.

Supporting remote work means having established norms in a company that help remote workers feel personally connected to their coworkers and the work they’re doing as a team. Here are some great examples we heard from our members:

• Communication is key. If employees are distributed, being sure that people are on the same page with projects, client communications, and team progress is paramount. Danyel says his company’s norm is that all meetings get meeting notes, and even spontaneous hallway conversations that are noteworthy will get summarized on Slack to be sure coworkers are kept in the loop. While it may be difficult to keep up on every bit of written documentation, it is valuable to have a reference point if you need it.
• Be intentional about socializing. “What I find missing with remote work is the “water cooler” time: the personal conversations that have nothing to do with work but that feed the soul.” Member Ally immediately identified one of the central pain points of remote work. Social connections don’t happen as naturally without physical proximity, so remote teams need to be more intentional about getting to know one another. Nearly every remote worker we talked to had examples to share of how their teams made social time even if they’re not in the same room:
  • Josh (of cloudrun.io and MixedInKey) works on a team that regularly jumps in and plays Minecraft together – we “dig into the cobblestones of each other’s personal lives” while playing, he says.
  • Longtime member Bobby works on a team that schedules several “open channel” calls each week that do not have an agenda other than catching up.
  • Similarly, Danyel’s team has weekly “coffee hangouts, when people meet remotely and chat about their weeks.”
• Help employees set (and maintain) boundaries. It can be hard to know when to call it a day when there are fewer physical boundaries between work and home. Companies that help their employees to not be “on” all the time are doing it right. (Side note, one of our former Nomads regularly writes about creating healthy work boundaries on Twitter and you should follow him if you don’t already.)
  • Bobby reports “I’m forbidden to have anything work-related on my personal laptop or phone. Additionally, I’ve set my own rules: my work phone and laptop stay in the office when I’m done working for the day. I used to always check my work email as soon as I awoke in the morning, but at my current job I don’t check for work notifications until I’m actually ready to start working for the day.”
  • A pager system can help. It’s common in many software companies but it can be valuable outside that realm as well: whoever has a pager is “on call” for emergencies, and that responsibility rotates to spread out the responsibility. If you’re not on the pager, then, as Josh reports, “when we’re off, we’re off.” The importance of valuing “offline time” cannot be overstated. Setting the tone for that is a company-wide responsibility.
  • Lead by example. Ally highlights another common struggle: “With the owner of our company putting in long hours, never taking vacation or family leave, and working weekends, it’s hard for me to prioritize taking personal time and setting work/life boundaries without feeling a sense of guilt or that I haven’t done enough to contribute to the company goals.” If the leadership in your company does not value boundaries and balance, it makes the hurdle to achieve balance that much harder for others.
• Carve out time for heads-down work. When you’re distributed, meetings can naturally increase – it’s normal. But there needs to be balance. Danyel reports that “no meeting Wednesdays” are part of their company-wide habits designed to minimize reliance on in-person collaboration. Having an entire day each week that is laser-focused on project work can let employees have the time they need to actually get their stuff done.
• Support employees getting out of their homes and into coworking spaces. Clearly we’re biased, but the research also shows that people who go to coworking spaces are happier, less lonely, and feel more sane. Any great company that utilizes remote workers will help them be at their best by supporting them with a coworking membership if they want it.
• Get together in-person when you can. Even if it’s only once a year, seeing your coworkers in person and spending time IRL is important.

Here’s what you can do:

Beyond your company’s culture, there are things you can do as an individual to help make your experience working remotely far more enjoyable. Most of the advice that our remote working members had to share on this front were all about relationship building from afar. Because without the benefit of in-person time, Bobby says, it can be “hard to remember that the pixels on your screen and sounds coming out of your headphones are actual, real people with real hopes, dreams, and struggles. Sometimes work can get very methodical and the human connection slips away.”

Here are our members top tips on how to make remote work actually work:

• Be yourself. You have to put yourself out there if you want to build rapport. Showing your personality and being yourself is the easiest way to get started. “I don’t know what it means when you feel comfortable emailing a client a bunch of puns, but they still apparently want to work with me, so the jokes must not be too bad,” says James.
• Be curious. Getting to know your coworkers is equally as important. Josh says: “Take the time to socialize with your coworkers. Ask them personal questions. It’s easy to see it as wasted time, but having a personal connection eases tempers when there are disagreements, and just generally makes work more enjoyable.”
• Get out of the house. “Avoiding becoming a weird mumbling shut-in is always a challenge. Coworking spaces solve this though!” says Josh. Juan echoes this, and says one of his favorite parts about working remotely is “getting to stay in the neighborhood during the day, and feeling like I’m part of my community all the time, not just nights and weekends.” Whether it’s your neighborhood cafe, library, or coworking space, be sure to get out of your house regularly. Your coworkers (and your friends and family) will thank you.
• Set boundaries. While some companies may have policies in place to help employees not feel like they have to be “on” 24/7, most still have a lot of work to do in that department. If you find yourself working at odd hours and struggling to have a sense of balance, it’s time to set some boundaries. Ally says “the biggest thing I’ve done to set boundaries is to limit how people can contact me and when.” With a combination of porting phone calls to an email inbox and turning off notifications, she is less likely to “be pulled into work via a phone call when I’ve chosen to to not be at my computer working.”
• Enjoy the flexibility, have a routine. All of our remote worker members reported that flexibility was one of the biggest perks of remote work. For Bobby, it’s paramount: “If I want to commute to a coworking space I can, but I can also just roll out of bed and start working if I’m feeling like I need a day or two at home. With so many coworkers in different time zones, my focus time comes in the afternoon when it’s quieter on the west coast.”
  Flexibility is awesome, but having some sense of a routine can also help keep away the work-from-home blues. Juan calls it a “consistent-ish routine,” and it’s one of his top recommendations for people new to remote work. It doesn’t have to be rigid, but there should be some rhythm to your week to keep you motivated and refreshed.
  (One of our favorites for work-from-home days is to actually build in a walking “commute” – get dressed, take a 10-15 minute walk in your neighborhood, then return to your place for work. Works even better with a dog.)
• DIY coworker. If having social connections at work is still a struggle, Ally recommends identifying someone in your life “to share the emotional ups and downs of your everyday work with. Remote work is isolating; having someone to vent or strategize with is incredibly valuable. Bonus points if it’s someone you don’t live with.”

Thanks so much to the members who contributed their thoughts to this post! You can find Danyel Fisher here on Twitter, James Gaines here, Bobby Watson here on Twitter, Josh Noe’s work at Cloudrun and MixedInKey, and if you’re a remote company looking for an experienced, customer-centered designer, check out Juan Valera’s work. You can swing by Office Nomads and say hello to Ally.

Did we miss anything? We’ll keep this post updated with additional tips as you share them with us.

Conflicts happen within all communities. It’s natural, and is to be expected. What’s not always intuitive is how to handle it. Over the years, especially in traditional corporate settings, we’ve been trained to delegate all conflicts to a human resources department. We’ve gotten used to hiding behind our screens and either swallowing difficult interactions or venting about them to an echo chamber online.

We can do better. And coworking communities can be a part of helping us get there. We can foster environments where all members are trusted to be adults who can act with kindness and agency all at once.

At Office Nomads, we want our members to share their needs and preferences with one another so they can connect with each other as humans, rather than seeing the people around them as problems to be solved. To that end, we recently sent a message to all of our members specifically about how to navigate conflict that got more positive feedback than any other message we’ve sent in recent months.

Here is the full text of that message, which now also lives on our internal member portal:

Conflicts happen amirite? Yes, even in our happy li’l coworking community. With over 100 people sharing a space, we’re bound to bump into each other and cause discomfort (pretty much always unintentionally). Every day is different and everyone is different. That is the beauty that is us in this place together. 

I wanted to share a little message to acknowledge the awkwardness that can come with conflict, remind us all that it’s totally normal, and throw a few tips out there to help us all smooth things out when necessary. Because we should always make sure that, especially in instances of conflict, we are treating each other with care and respect.

• Address your needs simply, clearly, and kindly. If you haven’t met the person you need to talk with, start with that first. Examples:
  • “Hi! I’m Susan, I’m working just over there. I’m finding that we’re both raising the levels of our voices to be louder and louder throughout the day. Do you think we could reset our volumes down a bit?”
  • “Hi you two. I love that you’re having this fun conversation but do you think you could just take it over to one of the couch areas? I’m pretty focused on this article I’m writing.”
  • [You, waiting for the person before you to wrap up in a meeting room so you can get on your Very Important Conference Call.] Look into conference room and make eye contact. *Wave, smile, point to clock, mouth “thank you!”*
  • Remember to say thank you. It really helps.
• The space is designed to be flexible so you can always settle into a new spot for the day to see if that helps. We all come into the space in different modes every day. Some days having lots of conversations nearby is exactly what we want. And then the next day you just want to dive into a hole. That’s OK – there’s usually a spot in the space that matches your mood. 
• Ask us if you need some help talking it through. Mike and I are here if you need us. Always. <3 

Thanks so much for all you do to help make Office Nomads a place that we can all feel comfortable. I appreciate you. And you. And also you.

Susan

It might feel uncomfortable to face conflict head-on, but the more we do it the better we get at navigating it. Together.

It’s important to acknowledge: we’re not claiming to be the best at this! Have you found a way to navigate conflict that you can share with us? Reach out to us on Twitter and let us know – we love any opportunities to learn.

New parents: we see you. We know your sleepless nights, your endless uncertainty, how your phone is now 100% full baby photos, how your world has changed dramatically. It’s awesome in every sense of the word.

Whether your time away from work has been two weeks or six months, the process of returning to work after welcoming a new kid into your world can be rocky. We want to help make it smooth.

Here at Office Nomads we’ve had our fair share of new parents in the space and we’ve learned a thing or two about what works when it comes to getting back to work. We recently asked the parents of Office Nomads what they wish they’d known as they got ready to leave their compounds and return to the working world. And they had some really great things to say:

“Take it easy on yourself.”

Application engineer and dad of three, Alex reminded us right off the bat that the most important thing is to be kind to yourself. “It’ll take a while to catch back up to everything that’s going on at work and to be able to contribute like you were before. That’s not only ok, but is really expected.”

It’s easy to forget this in the haze of new parentdom, but you are not the first person in the world to go through this process. Many of the people you work with, whether a teammate or a client, have been in your shoes. They remember those first days and weeks back at work and how disorienting they can be. Try to take it easy and give yourself some time to get re-acquainted with your work and your new schedule. You don’t have to set your expectations of yourself at “superhero” level.

One great way to help you take it easy as you get started? Express your gratitude to your teammates, your clients, or your colleagues who stepped up in your absence. This will help in two ways: first, they’ll feel great that you recognized their efforts. Second, expressing your gratitude can help ground yourself in the process, and remind you that you are note alone.

Working from home? Set some boundaries.

For many of us, the reality of getting back to work with a new kid in the house will likely mean working from home for some or all of the time. If working from home wasn’t easy for you before, it won’t be any easier now. So it’ll be even more important to set some boundaries so you can get back in the game.

“Set a timer for yourself so you have a clear boundary around some work hours,” says Susan, mom of two. “During your allotted work hours – you know, during nap time – it’s important to let the house work go. You have to let the dishes and the messes wait. I found that working in short “sprints” let me get just enough done before my kid woke up or I needed to go change the laundry.”

“Plan for more sick time.”

New reality alert: your sick days are not just for when you are sick. They’re also for when your kiddo gets sick. Roberta, freelance science writer and momma of one, shares: “have a plan for your kid’s sick days: build in extra days off for yourself, have backup babysitters on speed dial, and figure out if/how you and your partner will trade off child care during the day.”

Coordinating how you want to handle sick time before the sick days arrive can save you the stress that comes with “OMG what am I going to do?!?” And maybe, just maybe, it’ll make those sick days a little less scary.

“If you can, start slow.”

Finally, if you have a choice in how you return from leave, take it slow. If starting back part-time is possible, give it a try. Ask for some flexibility as you get used to your new schedule. And remember that your new schedule will feel different every day, depending on how well rested you are. Our Nomadic Parents all told us that if one day feels totally overwhelming, it can be really useful to remember that it all might feel completely different in one week. Giving yourself some time and patience is the best gift of all.

As a special bonus for coworkers of returning parents, Bill has a great practice to share: “we start a re-boarding document for [the new parent] (like onboarding) that is meant to track important changes in work while they are out.” That way a returning parent has a snapshot of what has been going on during the time they are away. Pretty great, right? If your team doesn’t do this already, it’s never too late to start.

You can do it, we know you can!

If you are a parent heading back to work after a new addition to your family, you can get two months of coworking at Office Nomads (at any level you’d like) for the price of one. Because we know that in those early days especially, things usually take twice as long. We get it.

See you soon.

Capitol Hill isn’t just a great place to live and play, it’s an incredible place to work. If you’re just getting started as a freelancer in our fair neighborhood or if you’ve been here for a while and just need to shake things up a bit, we asked around and collected this awesome list of resources right here in our neighborhood that can help make your freelance life the best life. Check it:

Read: Capitol Hill Seattle Blog

Want to know what’s going on in the neighborhood? Look no further than Capitol Hill Seattle: a locally-owned, locally-written, and award-winning news site. It’s a great place to learn more about our neighborhood, find out about great events that are going on, or even share something that you think would benefit the neighborhood (that’s right, freelance writers – you can become contributors to the blog too).

Focus: Neighborhood Libraries

Our neighborhood is home to several incredible libraries, all a little different. Whether you’re looking for a quiet place to write, librarians to help you with your research, free community resources to tap into, or just some beautiful space to be in, our libraries are it.

• SPL’s Capitol Hill Branch is in the heart of the neighborhood and is home to some great events (yes, they even have a book club) that are free and open to the public.
• At Seattle University’s Law Library, you can purchase a $5 day pass and soak up as much legal research as you’d like (as Mike told us when he recommended it – “what freelancer *hasn’t* had a legal question?!?”).
• It is closed during SAAM’s remodel, but once it reopens the SAAM building is also home to the McCaw Foundation Library for Asian Art. Neat, right?

Revive: Green Spaces

Freelancing means you can fill your days (and nights, for that matter) with non-stop work. Self-care can easily fall off the list. Thankfully, our neighborhood is awash in gorgeous green spaces that can give you a much-needed spirit lift and rejuvenate you so you can be at your best all year long. Some of the hill’s best spots include:

• Volunteer Park – One of Seattle’s historic Olstead Parks, Volunteer Park is a gem of the neighborhood. You can sit quietly beneath huge trees, escape the rain and enter the oasis of the Volunteer Park Conservatory, or soak in the beauty of the Dahlia Garden as it comes to life each summer.
• Nearby Louisa Boren Park is the Office Nomads members’ favorite green space in the neighborhood. At the overlook you can peek at multiple volcanoes and maybe spy some bald eagles flying past with Lake Washington in the background. Aaaaaah.
• Streissguth Gardens – Walk into a most unexpected city oasis carefully dug into the hillside of this north Capitol Hill stairway. If you’re looking to get a good workout in, march yourself up and down this amazing set of stairs set amongst the well-tended gardens.
• Seattle University Campus is home to an incredible landscape thoughtfully designed and managed with a focus on sustainability and even food production! Print out either their Edible Campus Guide or Tree Guide (or both!) and take them with you on a walk through the campus. Inspiration, fresh air, and maybe even a snack or two await!

Hone: Hugo House

Did you know that our neighborhood is home to one of the greatest places for writers (seasoned, aspiring, and everything in between) out there? Hugo House is “a place to read words, hear words, and make your own words better.”

Neighborhood writer and resident Allison says “I’m going to recommend Hugo House for classes to improve your freelance writing, but also for events, which I always use to network with other freelancers and writers outside the office.” From events to classes to fellowships, Hugo House is a gem in our neighborhood.

Connect: Coworking Spaces

We know we’re biased, but we believe strongly that one of the most important things you can do as someone who has the ability to work from anywhere is to get yourself in a place where you can truly connect with other people. Isolation is simply too easy to slip into, and we don’t want that to happen to you. Coworking spaces can be a really great way to escape social isolation, and to add into your routine to boost productivity as well.

Our message, as always: find the coworking space that you are eager to be a part of and contribute to. It’s easy to get in the mindset of only looking at what you can get out of a space, but we know you’ll be more successful if you land in a space that you’re excited to be a part of.

Here’s all the spots we know of here on Capitol Hill. Fun fact: all the spaces with a * were founded or co-founded by women:

• Office Nomads* – Yep, that’s us. We’re the ol’ cozy spot on Capitol Hill that people have described as feeling the most like a living room. We take that as a high complement. C’mon by anytime – we’d love to meet you.
• The Cloud Room* – a gorgeous space dreamed up by Capitol Hill powerhouse Liz Dunn. It has a rooftop deck and a public bar built in, and is home to some of the neighborhood’s most creative people. We walk in and get stars in our eyes.
• The Office at Ada’s* – did you know that our awesome neighborhood technical bookstore is *also* home to a coworking space? Yeah, it’s pretty much the coolest.
• The Riveter* – One of the newest additions to the neighborhood coworking scene, The Riveter is a coworking space “built by women, for everyone.” They host a staggering number of events and they have a meditation room too!
• Indies Workshop – Capitol Hill’s coworking home for the gaming community. This industry-focused space is host to brainstorming, community-events, and even some shared equipment.

Borrow: Capitol Hill Tool Library

Got a project you need to work on but you don’t want to have to buy all the tools to get it done? Let us introduce you to one of our favorite neighborhood gems: The Capitol Hill Tool Library! Whether you need a food dehydrator, and air compressor, or a bike stand to do some repairs, the Tool Library is there for you. Not only do they have items to borrow, but they regularly host classes to help you learn how to mend and care for things so they last. It’s awesome and you should go. Go now.

Learn: Seattle Central College

One of the city’s greatest educational resources is right here in Capitol Hill: Seattle Central College! Whether you need to brush up your knowledge or you’re interested in totally changing direction, Seattle Central has a host of programs and classes for you.

Bonus? Head to Seattle Central’s Culinary Arts Program for an awesome (and affordable) lunch!

More

There are a few other resources we were made aware of that we’d be remiss to not loop you in on as a freelancer in our neighborhood:

• Michelle Goodman’s Column in the Seattle Times – Michelle has been living the freelance life and sharing her journey for years and we can’t say enough good things about her. Head to her column and soak up all the goodness therein.
• They don’t meet in the neighborhood, but we’d be remiss to not tell you about the Creative Freelancers & Coworking Union Meetup group. They are a group of creative freelancers that get together for some really great discussions. Check it out!
• Seattle SCORE – Neighbor Dana says “Seattle SCORE has reasonably priced workshops and plenty of virtual resources, such as how to build a business plan.”
• Gotta print something? We had a few people tell us the best printers in the neighborhood are at the Capitol Hill location of FedEx Office. Veronica’s tip? “Juliana is the best!” So maybe ask for her when you swing by for some fancy color prints.

We know that was a lot but we’re also sure we missed something. Give us a shout on Twitter and we’ll be sure to add it to the list!

But here’s the thing: we don’t just want you to give coworking a try. We want you to find the coworking community that is best for you and that you want to stick with for the long run. Because we know that people who belong to coworking space (and the communities therein) report being happier. They report being less lonely. And they report that coworking helps keep them sane.

In addition, our friend Cat Johnson recently shared with us that surrounding yourself by people who are productive, engaged, and motivated means that you are more likely to be productive, engaged and motivated.

Those are all some pretty great reasons to put your pants on, get out of your kitchen, and get over to your neighborhood coworking space. But before you head out the door, we wanted to share a few tips we’ve learned from our members that will help get you started strong in your coworking space:

Budget in breaks

Especially during your first six months in a coworking space, setting aside some time in your day to connect with other members is key, says longtime member Veronica. “Hang out in the kitchen or other social spaces to get to know folks. Be intentional about making connections with others.”

It might be easy to get caught up in how much more productive you are in a coworking space, especially in the first few weeks. But if part of what brought you to a coworking space is the possibility of making connections with others, then be sure you carve out some time for it each day.

Say yes

Most coworking spaces are home to events. Whether it’s a “lunch + learn” presentation or just an organized coffee break, events are great opportunities to meet some of the other members in a coworking space.
“Shared experiences create an opportunity to connect with new people,” says George. “The people who participate in events are usually up for getting to know the other people there.”

“Say yes to everything you can for a little while” echos Juan. “That helped me meet a bunch of Nomads and try out things I wouldn’t otherwise do.” Even if “everything you can” is one event in a month, it can go a long way towards slowly building connections with new people.

Pitch in

Any great coworking space is great because of one thing: the members. And members who are actively engaged in making the coworking space and the community in it better make everyone happy. “For a quick way to make friends, learn how to make the coffee!” says Bobby.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s a really important point. Don’t just look for the coworking space that you can get the most out of. Look for the coworking space that you are eager to be a part of and contribute to.

Other useful tidbits

Some other items that are worth keeping in mind as you get started in a coworking space:

• It’s OK if it takes time. Relationships aren’t built in a day! It takes time to get to know new people and build trust between you. Don’t rush it. As member George reminds us: “People come to coworking spaces for a variety of reasons depending on the day – don’t assume that everyone is here to socialize or network every day.” Look for social cues common to coworking spaces: if someone has their noise-cancelling headphones on, that’s a good indication that they’re not up for a chat.
• If your space has a newsletter or email list that you’re going to join as a member, sign up using your personal email. If you sign up using your current work email and then your job changes, you might miss out on connections to your coworking community without realizing it.
• “Where should I go get lunch?” could be one of the greatest ways to get a conversation started AND help you find the best spots for a great lunch.

I was doing something I had no idea how to do and I was having a great time.

I recently uttered these words during an interview, discussing the experience of starting a coworking space in a time when no one knew what coworking was.

Saying it out loud was this little epiphany. I hadn’t realized how important not knowing what I was doing was in my experience starting and continuing Office Nomads.

Not knowing meant I had no roadmap other than the one Jacob and I created together. It meant that I could figure out what I was good at and identify the areas in which I needed help to succeed. It meant that every day was different and every day provided an opportunity for me to learn something new.

That’s some pretty exciting, powerful, life-altering stuff.

The same week I had that interview, I listened to this podcast featuring Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code. She talked about running for elected office and starting a nonprofit teaching girls to code – both areas in which she had no experience. Then I got to hear Samin Nosrat speak at Benaroya Hall here in Seattle, and she talked about having Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat turned into a Netflix special (and thereby launch her into stardom). She didn’t have acting experience – she’s a chef. She had to figure out how to be on camera in order to bring this book she was so passionate about to life.

I think that for many people, and especially for women, we are taught to stay safely within our wheelhouses in order to have the highest likelihood of success. There’s a lot to that – working within your skillset to bring on success is not a bad thing. But that mentality can build up resistance to stepping outside of our comfort zones and doing things that are unknown to us. That resistance keeps us from learning, keeps us from progressing, and keeps us from the thrill of experiencing the unknown.

And here’s the thing: the more you get comfortable with not knowing what you are doing but moving ahead anyway the easier it gets. And then you start seeking out experiences that push your boundaries. Because you know just how fun it can be.

Over the years I’ve been honored to witness many of our members throw themselves into the unknown. Whether it’s been striking out as an independent contractor after years as a FTE, starting a family, or embarking on a career change later in life, our members have taken on a whole lot of “new” over the years. Both from my own experience and through the joy of witnessing our members’ journeys, I wanted to highlight a few tips that can be enormously helpful when leaping into the unknown for the first time:

• Practice letting go of your expectations. If you’re embarking on a project where you have little experience and you’re going to be doing a lot that is completely new to you, you are going to mess up. A lot. More than you think you will. Especially in the early days, that messing up can be disheartening and discouraging. It all gets exponentially harder of you have an expectation that you’re going to knock it out of the park on your first try. So take it easy on yourself. Expect to mess up and expect that success may take you a lot longer than you might think. In fact, it may not come at all and you might have to just scrap and start all over again.
• Be sure there is an element that lights you up. The allure of newness (or just the allure of $) can’t be all you have to look forward to in order to step into the unknown. If there’s not something that sparks your interest throughout the process, it’ll be too easy to let go after the first few failures. Be sure that part of what is driving your exploration into the unknown is something that truly ignites your curiosity and keeps you going.
• It’s OK if you reinvent the wheel. Especially in the age where there are 25 apps for any one thing you might want to do, you might think that you can skip your way across knowledge instead of actually absorbing it. Why reinvent the wheel, right? Well, reinventing the wheel means you actually learn the hows and the whys behind what you are doing. And that’s more than OK, it can be vital to you knowing how to make decisions going forward.
• Identify your human support system. This one can’t be emphasized enough. Whether it’s a dear friend, a business partner, a spouse, or a mentor, be sure to have people you can reach out to and lean on for support. You don’t have to do everything by yourself and struggle unnecessarily (yes, even if you’re busy reinventing the wheel). As for help. Admit defeat. Have some hands ready to pull you up when you need it.

What about you? Have you ever leapt into the unknown? How did it feel? What did you learn? Give us a shout on Twitter and let us know.

It only takes a quick search to find news of coworking spaces expanding at an incredible rate. They’re adding specialty services, gobbling up square footage at an alarming rate, and shouting to the rooftops about it. It’s seriously hard to miss.

In the fall of last year, Office Nomads decided it was time for us to do some growing too. But instead of growing in size, we opted to grow in our ability to connect. And we just learned a great way to explain exactly what it was that we did – Office Nomads right-sized.

We up and did the opposite of most coworking spaces out there – we made ourselves smaller. After six years of being spread out across two floors of our building, we made the decision to shrink our square footage in order to bring our members closer together.

And after nearly six months in our “new” space, we can say with confidence: we’re so glad we did it. But don’t take our word for it, take the word of our members instead:

When asked what the most noticeable change was after the move, member Bobby said “I get to see everyone! It feels like we’re all able to be better connected now that we’re all on the same floor.”

Josh echos this sentiment with a twist – after joining as a member briefly several years ago, he came back after the move. “One of the reasons I didn’t last as a member [before] was that I felt the vibe was pretty quiet and I was looking for something with more buzz/energy. I like it way more this time around; it’s more in line with what I was looking for.”

That buzz and energy was mentioned by several other members when we asked. Katherine told us “the most noticeable change is that it’s more cozy and lively.” Fellow member James concurred: “It’s more active and busy!”

When we right-sized, we took the opportunity to completely re-arrange our second floor space with the help of rockstar member and designer Katie Davis-Sayles (and of course the input of all our members along the way). We didn’t want the process of shrinking our space to feel anything like a retreat to the way we were – it was an intentional step to create a new space for our members to better connect with each other.

“The new layout makes the place feel well sectioned out yet everyone is still close in proximity,” Katherine tells us. “Simple designs that I noticed such as the free-standing cubes used to divide desks with plants placed strategically as decorative barriers makes every seat feel like one’s own without cubicle walls all over the place. Overall the second floor feels more spacious than it really is!”

The new design was specifically made to help our members remain focused and productive but to have even more opportunity to connect with one another. “I see more conversations and connections happening, while at the same time I can still put on my headphones and focus on work when necessary” says Bobby.

“It allows for the perfect blend of getting things done and socializing. I love that there are different sections, each with their own vibe,” says Josh. “The community table near the front was a really great idea – I always feel like I want to be spending more time there!”

We want to be spending more time here, too. And if it’s been a while since you’ve been in, we hope you’ll come on by. It’s better than ever up here and we’d be so glad to catch up and hear how you’ve been doing.

Yup. A small group of our members, planking.

At a coworking space? Right there in the middle of the room? What?

Well, it’s a fun story. And we want to share it with you because it’s more than just a silly thing we’ve been doing in the office of late. It’s one small way that the members of Office Nomads have been building not just their core strength, but their community.

There are a few reasons why we think it’s been so successful and we want to share those tips with you to inspire you to get something awesome started in your community!

A Collaborative Attitude

It all started with a conversation about Cotivation. Clint, a newer member of the Office Nomads community, had asked to host the next Cotivation round. As he was getting himself organized as the host, he was talking with Mike about what kind of goals people usually set for the five-week sessions. Mike listed out some of the goals he’d worked on before, and then he shared that he really wanted to start planking every day. Not today of course, but someday.

Someday.

“I’ll do it with you if you start right now.” said Clint.

Jess, another member sitting nearby, said “I’ll do it with you too.”

That was literally all it took. They were off.

Consistency

From there, it just caught on and gathered steam. Every day, right around the end of the lunch hour, members would gather together and make their way to the floor. The consistency of the gatherings made it easy for members to jump in if they felt like it, or wait until another day if they were not up to it.

“I think it brought people out of their shells,” Clint told us. “Some people had never planked before and it was a safe space to give it a try. Other people totally surprised us with their planking skills and that was fun too.”

Simplicity

The nice part about planking is that it takes little to no effort to coordinate. Someone usually just chimes up “Planking, anyone?” and then we begin. One person is in charge of keeping time and occasionally shouting out how long it’s been since we started.

“It was fun and approachable. You can plank for 30 seconds and you’re still planking,” said Clint.

This new daily ritual included members who came every day to join in, and some members who just came one time for a laugh. Clint (or someone else if Clint wasn’t around) diligently kept track of everyone’s planking times so they could watch their progress as the weeks ticked on.

Levity

Funny things happened during planking sessions. A visitor came in who had never been to the space before and was greeted by a circle of 10 people all butts-up. It was clearly not what he expected to see, but his reaction was absolutely priceless.

Occasionally one of the office dogs would join in the fun, licking faces that were closer to the ground than they usually are.

Every session to date has involved laughter. Because sometimes all you need is a break and an opportunity to do something different.

For us, as it always has been, it’s the little things. They really are simply the best.

We hope this inspires you to do something simple and fun to bring your community a little closer together.

We see you.

We know that suddenly not having a place to go to do good work in the world has to be jarring, frustrating, and sad. Because a job isn’t just a job, especially when it’s public service. It’s a sense of purpose. It’s a community (yes, even if your fellow community members drive you crazy sometimes). It’s knowing that you are working on behalf of others.

You do important work.

We know we can’t fix it for you, but we want you to know our doors are open to you. If getting out of your house and into a warm, welcoming community of fellow workers would help you kick these shutdown blues, we would love to see you.

If you are a Federal Employee unable to do your job, c’mon in for a free 5-day/month membership at Office Nomads for as long as this shutdown lasts. Make it an opportunity to work on some other projects that fulfill you. We hope that this little offering helps bring some light into a hard time.

<3,

Office Nomads