Why You Need to Find a Work Crew
Working remotely used to be an indulgent perk I felt lucky to have when my corporate job allowed me to do it once a week. Then I started freelancing, and suddenly my once-a-week perk became a full-time routine. This was the dream! I was the master of my own schedule — free from useless meetings, and no commute. But, after becoming my own boss, I realized that I didn’t want to manage myself as a lonely team of one. I figured other people must be in the same boat. Work Club helped me find them, and I haven’t turned back.
You’re not alone, but how would you know?
Dealing with the feeling of isolation is one of the worst aspects of working remotely. But, it can be fixed! Just adding a couple of meaningful in-person interactions to your day decreases loneliness and makes you healthier (according to Cigna’s Loneliness Index). So how do you find peers to work with? Work Club does all the heavy lifting to connect people who work outside a traditional office.
Exercise self-care through osmosis.
Simply put, being around other people makes you feel happier and healthier. I recall the initial excitement over having the option to eat, bathe, do laundry, and talk on the phone whenever I wanted. Or just stay in my pajamas all day. Then, by the time 6 o'clock rolled around, I’d have time to play because I’d finished all my personal errands plus my work, right? I quickly learned that was not the case. The lines between work and play started blurring. I was shoving my self-care routine into my workday, and vice versa. My overall productivity declined because everything was happening in the same place. I barely left my house.
Meet people in a low-key setting while getting sh*t done.
I was hesitant to show up at my first Work Club because I had no idea what kinds of people would be there. Would they be weird? Would they judge me? Would I get distracted by them and not do my work? But I took the leap, and here’s what happened…
Everyone was super welcoming, I had more focus than usual, and I felt more accountable for my time. I didn’t feel pressured to chat, but when we took a short break midway through, I wanted to. I found myself genuinely interested in what other people were working on, and it gave me a solid moment to focus on something other than me-me-me. I met a student working on a botany thesis, an author of YA novels, and a lawyer writing legal briefs. I was working on a creative writing project, transcribing recordings of my mom’s family stories, and got some good advice from someone who’d done it before. After a little social time, we all quietly got back to business, and I felt like someone had hit the reset button on my energy level. I was more motivated to finish what I was doing, so that by the end of the Work Club I could share in a sense of collective accomplishment. Regardless of what you’re working on, it can help to talk it out for a minute so your thoughts aren’t stuck in a vacuum.
Don’t figure it all out on your own.
Let’s get down to logistics and expectations. One of the best things about Work Club is that it takes the “work” out of deciding how to design your day. Each venue is carefully vetted by a human first, so you know you’ll be getting all the things crucial to a stress-free, productive workday. The WiFi will be speedy, the bathrooms will be clean, there’ll be plenty of outlets, and noise levels will be low. There’s enough space for everyone to spread out a bit, do a power pose, and make big thought bubbles. And, if you have questions, the Work Club host will help you out. There aren’t any expectations or rules beyond what you’d normally do in public.
Just sign up and show up — that’s it. The hardest part of trying something new is the first step. I still work from home some days, but I really look forward to my dose of IRL.
