[Coworker] Tobi and the benefits of coworking
Let’s start our interview with a little bit about yourself…
Tobi: Hello! I am the Editor-in-chief and co-founder of Dream Nation. Dream Nation is an events and media company that was created to inspire people, especially the millennial generation to be Practical Dreamers. Every day I am positively overwhelmed with the impact my team and I have been able to make with our work, not only in London but in the UK. My dream is for us to make a global impact very soon.
I am also a freelance journalist, I love to report news and generally just give my two pence on a number of issues. I can usually be overheard telling somebody to ‘do you, unapologetically’ because if you aren’t being yourself then what are you doing?
You joined, few months ago, work.life London Fields, why did you choose to join a coworking space and why did you select work.life in London Fields?
I actually found out about work.life in London Fields over twitter last summer. My social media manager had direct messaged me a tweet regarding a competition that work.life was running in conjuction with the London Field’s branch opening. All I had to do was figure out how many jelly babies were in a jar in a picture. I sat staring at my computer screen for some time, and then as I remembered how bad my maths was, I got out my calculator. I began to type numbers in, multiple, add and subtract. In all honesty I have no idea if the equations I used to get my final answers was relevant but it needn’t matter. A few weeks later I was contacted by work.life to tell me know that I had guessed the exact number of jelly babies in the jar. All from a picture and guess-work!
It was then that I discovered the world of work.life and what co-working space really meant.
You recently wrote an article on work.life blog’s on how beneficial it has been for you to join a coworking space, what did you find there you did not find before?
I loved writing that piece! It was extremely therapeutic and a process in which I had to admit to myself that behaving like a superhero saves nobody and that community is everything. That’s really where work.life fits in for me. People assume that working in co-working spaces is only for freelancers but it’s also for people already in a team, like myself and Dream Nation. So what did I find at work.life that I did not have before? Well, Dream Nation and I had been at a co-working space previously but it was nothing like work.life and it’s really hard to explain that apart from pinning it down to the atmosphere. The deliberate vibe that the staff at work.life create makes it so easy to work and feel a part of a huge community. It’s never forced activity but endless situations created to encourage natural relationships. This was great for me because I am an extreme introvert so the thought of speaking to someone new or engaging in brand new conversations is extremely nerve-racking. Being new to the world of freelancing, self-employment and co-working spaces, I needed an environment like that of work.life’s to encourage me to be intentional with my network. Work.life is more than a physical space to co-work in, it is community.
How work.life helps you every day to get things done?
This may seem strange but the aesthetics at work.life makes me productive.
The inside of London Field’s office encourages creativity AND focus. And a lot of the time the two of those things struggle to co-exist in my life. The activities, socials and workshops that go on throughout the week keep me going and give me a necessary and productive break. Work.life has what feels like limitless facilities and is a place to boast about whenever I need to have business visitors or hold large meetings, people always compliment on interior of the office.
What would be your best coworker tip?
Be an actual co-worker. Don’t act like you are alone. It took me a while to know what that meant especially as I’m such an introvert and I can feel like it’s unreasonable to make me make friends. But you don’t even have to do that, just carry yourself in the same manner you would if you were in a traditional working environment.
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