As a freelancer, working from the comfort of your own home can be a great experience. You don’t need to wake up early, dress up nicely, and drive your car or ride public transport to get to work.
However, the benefits of this work-from-home setup might not last as long as you’ve expected. Over time, you may feel the adverse effects of isolation or simply the demotivation associated with working as a freelancer on your residential property.
This is where shared office spaces (also known as co-working spaces) enter the picture.
Essentially, shared office spaces refer to fully furnished areas designed for professionals like freelancers and entrepreneurs who don’t want to work from their homes.
These spaces are set up like offices, with telephones and internet services to give freelancers a comfortable and productive working experience.
If you’re a freelancer and have been thinking about using a shared office space, here are some benefits to consider:
More effective collaboration
As a freelancer, collaboration is essential to expand your network and explore more job opportunities.
Unfortunately, it might be impossible if you’re working from home. This is where shared office spaces become beneficial.
When you work in a shared area, there’s a high chance you’ll interact with other like-minded people. If you plan on creating a freelance project, you can easily collaborate with other freelancers also working from the shared office space. You may have an opportunity to develop better ideas on how to jumpstart your project and make it successful.
To make the most out of collaboration, you can also use the shared office spaces for meetings and other business gatherings. Hence, if you’re looking for a shared space in Melbourne or within your location, you can search online by typing ‘meeting room hire Melbourne‘. Doing so can give you a potential list of shared office space providers in your area where you can work and collaborate with other freelancers to achieve better outcomes.
Working flexibility
Another benefit of working in a shared office space is the flexibility it gives you as a freelancer.
Although you can have your own working space at home, it doesn’t mean you can expand it quickly when the need arises. This is especially true if you have no extra space in your home.
For this reason, it’s best to rent shared office space within your area. It usually comes with flexible agreements that enable you to expand your workspace quickly and without hassle.
As a result, you can focus on what needs to be done, which makes you more productive in the long run.
Boost your sense of wellbeing
A work-from-home setup can adversely affect your physical and mental health.
As time goes by, it can cause isolation and loneliness, especially if you’re working alone or working long or irregular hours.
Also, most freelancers may not have an ergonomic chair in their home where they can sit comfortably and properly to avoid back pain.
Lastly, doing freelance work in your residence comes with some distractions, especially if you have kids running and playing around at home as you are trying to complete work.
Due to these circumstances, working in a shared office space is a great way to improve your sense of wellbeing (as well as your productivity).
You’ll feel less isolated when you’re there because you’ll be sharing the space with other workers that you can interact with sporadically throughout your day.
Workspaces in shared offices also provide chairs and other office furniture that are ergonomically fitted and designed to ensure your comfort.
And you’ll be free of all those at-home distractions, allowing you to get on with being productive and meeting those deadlines.
Access reliable technology
When working as a freelancer at home, you probably have an Internet connection to perform your job remotely.
However, there are instances when the connection shuts down due to technical or natural issues. When this happens, you may have to stop working, which could impact your productivity and income.
Unlike in your home, shared working spaces provide reliable IT infrastructure that allows you to work without disruptions, allowing for a smoother workflow.
Consider a shared working space
For freelancers and other professionals, shared office spaces have become a popular way of working independently.
If you’re a freelancer and haven’t considered this work setup before, consider all the benefits and how using a shared office space can help improve your work productivity and overall wellbeing.