successful home working
Posts tagged Coworking
Home workers celebrate Jellyweek
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Further to my post about the necessity for home workers to keep connected in order to stay positive, I should mention that this week is Worldwide Jellyweek, in which this unique business event is being celebrated all over the globe.
Fortuitously, yesterday just happened to be the day on which Frome Jelly falls, and here is an artist’s impression of a couple of the attendees in a (rare?) moment of concentration between laughter and cake eating. The artist is Sarah Godsill, who is usually to be found capturing much grander events like weddings.
Jelly brings together random groups of people from many industries and professions. As well as Sarah, yesterday’s Frome Jelly at The Old Church School consisted of a trainer and coach, two IT specialists, a legal consultant, a PR expert, and an international development and human rights professional. Wow! I highly recommend Jelly as a unique way of:
- getting out of the house
- meeting new people you’d otherwise never run into
- picking up bits of advice, particularly on those aggravating IT glitches that can hold you up
- helping out other people and realising that they respect and value the experience and knowledge you possess, which you probably normally dismiss as obvious and commonplace
- clearing up some boring old jobs that have been pushed down the to do list for weeks
- catching up on local gossip
- having a good laugh
- gaining a whole new perspective on your life and work
- eating cake (often homemade, yum)
All this with no requirement to stand up and talk about your business or listen to other people boring on about theirs. I’m pleased to see there’s lots of buzz on Twitter about new groups starting up in places all over the UK. To find out more and for help in setting up your own Jelly, check out my Jelly guide.
I know lots of readers are already committed Jelly-goers. Have I missed out any other Jelly benefits?
Why is an inferiority complex so often a home worker’s default setting?
242 weeks ago
by Judy
in Beating isolation
I’ve spoken to many home workers and freelancers over the last few years and one of the common themes that comes up time and time again is the speed at which the human brain spirals down into self-doubt and lack of confidence when left too long to its own devices. And solitary time is usually a big chunk of a home worker’s week, even if they are careful to plan for meetings and coworking.
‘Too long’ can mean a few hours of struggling with a piece of work, an hour of guilty procrastination, or a minute or two spent reading about other people’s achievements. From the dining table room table or spare bedroom it can quickly start to appear that other people ‘out there’ are cleverer, better connected, lavishly funded and possessed of a dauntingly impressive client list.
Our own horizons and ambitions shrink proportionately – how can we, with our family commitments and our small local clients, possibly compete? By squeezing that time alone to the absolute minimum, I’d say from my own experience.
This time last year I was co-organising The BIG Jelly with Jan Minihane and Fay Easton. It took far more time and energy than any of us anticipated and we experienced setbacks throughout the six months of planning, in fact right up to the day itself. There were many occasions when I wanted to cancel, but regular contact with Jan and Fay kept my spirits up and fortunately there was never a time when all three of us were down at the same time! The event was a huge success and I think all of us were thrilled and amazed by what we’d managed to achieve.
So I believe the best way to achieve your potential when you work from home is to stay connected, whether it’s through coworking, Jelly, networking or forming partnerships with other small businesses. Yes, it means drawing on skills we don’t have to use if we pursue the solitary life, but it also means the opportunity to learn both from other people and what we’re really capable of.
PS As usual this post is written because I need to hear it 
3 more great free resources for home workers
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The other day I mentioned three good quality freebies that will appeal to all kinds of freelancers and home workers. Today I have another selection to ease the pain on your wallet at this expensive time of year. See what you make of these:
For writers – I’m a great fan of Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art and highly recommend it to all home workers. We’re more likely than most to suffer the pains of procrastination and resistance, and this little book is a great help in kicking them into touch and getting on with the job.
Pressfield’s Writing Wednesdays are a weekly feature on his site, and get into the nitty-gritty of producing good writing, in both the practical and inspirational sense.
For home workers on the move – the WorkSnug App is a free tool for finding the nearest and best places to do some work when you’re out and about in the city, wherever you are in the world. Thousands of cafes, coffee shops, co-working spaces and libraries have been reviewed and rated for their atmosphere, WiFi, noise levels, power provision, even the quality of the coffee!
For anyone trying out coworking or thinking of opening their own coworking space – the authors of Working in the Unoffice are offering a sample of their book, which includes masses of tips for getting the best out of collaborative workspaces.
Are there any free resources you would recommend to fellow home workers?
A thank you to Jan Minihane, home workers’ Jelly champion
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So this morning it’s yet another case of ‘pass Jelly forward’ as Jan Minihane announces she is passing the reins of UK Jelly to Jim Drew, the host of Norfolk Jelly at The King’s Centre in Norwich.
I’d like to say a big thank you to Jan for all of her tireless work for Jelly, both in Shropshire, which she has made the most vibrant Jelly county in the UK, and also in helping people set up Jellys all over the UK and in France.
The BIG Jelly was Jan’s idea and although as a co-organiser I’m entirely biased, I know I’m not alone in thinking it the most extraordinary business event I’ve ever been to, not only in terms of efficient organisation and high quality content, but in its welcome for every attendee and dedication to giving them a good day.
Jan built the UK Jelly website out of her enthusiasm for Jelly and her determination that every home worker and freelancer in the UK should have a free local coworking group within reach. She has kept the Jelly map up to date with all the new groups setting up, organisers in touch with each other through starting the UK Jelly Linkedin group, and the Jelly message going round the world with the UKJelly Twitter account. All this on a voluntary basis and in her own time while also growing her social media business and looking after her young family.
Many home workers and small business owners have benefited directly from Jan’s efforts, and I’m sure many more will do so now that Jim has taken over. I hope that those who may be wondering about taking on the role of Jelly organiser will recognise how effectively Jelly spreads good PR with no need for selling or self-promotion, and be encouraged to take part!
How to shift from solo working to coworking
564 months ago
Coworking spaces are popping up all over the place these days, in rural areas as well as town and city centres. If you’re used to working at home alone, like me, you might wonder how on earth you could possibly work surrounded by people you don’t know and who have no connection with your business.
Don’t let doubts like these put you off, as coworking can both brighten up your usual routine and give you a supportive network – without requiring you to go to any events!
Here are some tips to help you acclimatize to coworking:
Check out the space – If you’re lucky enough to have a choice of coworking spaces, check out each one (they often offer a free trial) for factors such as facilities, atmosphere, noise and levels of interaction. Choose the one most suited to your business requirements, personality and whether you simply want another place to work or to become part of a community.
Introduce yourself straightaway – As it can be awkward to do so later when you’ve been working alongside people for a while. Take in some snacks to hand round if you’re a bit shy about doing this and not only will you get to meet everybody but you’ll be guaranteed instant popularity.
Take headphones – If you prefer working in silence you might be distracted at first by people moving around the space and talking on the phone or face to face. Bring in headphones so you can play your own music or one of the white noise apps; do try not to hum along!
Start with easy tasks – If you’re worried about being distracted, at first just take along some routine work that doesn’t require massive concentration. It’s the ideal time to do that computer housekeeping you’ve been meaning to get round to, or research to keep up with your industry. You will adapt to being surrounded by activity and gradually be able to introduce jobs needing more application.
Learn the phone policy – Make sure you know the policy on dealing with phone calls and follow it. That may mean leaving the room to take a call or simply keeping your voice down. It shows consideration if you put your phone on the Meeting setting so that your colleagues don’t have to listen repeatedly to your ring tone.
Chat a bit – Don’t feel guilty about spending time chatting and view it instead as relationship building. You’ll be amazed how much information and advice emerges from these casual exchanges and they can give you enough inspiration to last the rest of the week. And you never know who might be a potential partner – one of your coworkers might be actively looking for just your skills.
The great thing about coworking is that you can choose how much or how little you want to participate, and slot it into your routine where it fits best. Good luck in finding your own perfect balance for maximum happiness and efficiency, and I’d love to hear your own tips for acclimatising.
This post was first published on www.workshifting.com, the site for people who work out of coffee shops, hotels, airports and their homes every bit as much as the office
PS I’m not giving Jelly up completely!
96 months ago
Just a quick postscript to my previous post about passing on the organisation of Frome Jelly to someone else. I should have made it clearer that although I can’t continue as organiser – and often I’m not even in Frome on Jelly days, which makes hosting a little difficult! – I’m still just as interested as ever in coworking, mobile and flexible working and so on.
In fact the more I get out and about, the more I’m meeting people involved in those fields, such as Richard Leyland of WorkSnug, the app that lets you find not only your nearest place to work, but now also places where you can do printing. Clare Flynn Levy, flexible working champion, was our special guest at How to Work from Home at Central last week.
And I’m thrilled to have just secured two more guests for future How to Work from Home meetups. San Sharma, Community Manager for both Bitsy and WorkSnug, will be leading a discussion on the Top 10 Tech Tools to Save Time on Thursday 29 September.
On Thursday 27 October, Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation and Bitsy, and the person the Government consults about home business, will be the guest at our session on organisation. I’m still working on details of the event for 25 August, but that should be finalised very soon!
All the Jelly information will be freely available on my site, and I’ll continue to post articles on my Work from Home Wisdom Facebook page and to retweet details of new Jellys. (I stopped RTing existing Jellys some time ago, as there are now so many and UK Jelly does an excellent job of that!) I’m happy to keep answering enquiries, like the two emails I’ve received this week about setting up new Jellys, and I’ll be continuing to spread the word about Jelly at my own and other events and to whoever I meet.
Oh, and I’ve just had a tweet about Fiona no longer organising Jelly at Monk’s Yard near Ilminster in Somerset, so perhaps a piece about finding a replacement organiser is called for – Jelly never sleeps!
