Virtual Coworking

I learned about virtual co-working in the past year when a Conscious Growth Club member introduced me to it. It’s very simple. A group of people hop onto a Zoom call together, and they work, each person in their own physical space. A work session session might last for a few hours.

This might sound odd, but it’s surprisingly helpful if you’re used to working solo. With everyone sharing their videos and being able to watch each other if they want, you also know that you’re being watched, which can make you feel more accountable to doing real work. You see everyone else working diligently and looking focused, which makes you want to join in.

There’s also the option to check in with each other at regular intervals. Ultraworking hosts sessions with 30-minute work cycles and 10 minute breaks. Those intervals are a bit short for my tastes since the check-ins feel too frequent, but the general concept is interesting.

I’ve done many virtual co-working sessions, mostly last year, and while I wouldn’t want to do them all day long, they’re nice now and then. I like the variety of it, as long as the check-ins aren’t too frequent.

Once drawback, however, is that it’s not that exciting to do virtual co-working with strangers that you don’t know. It’s not bad though since it’s basically the online equivalent of working at a Starbucks surrounded by strangers.

Well, one CGC member recognize the opportunity for inviting other members to do this together, so she started up a co-working group inside CGC in March. Now some members are doing regular “let’s work together” work cycles in the CGC Watercooler (our 24/7 member video hangout).

I think this is a great idea, and I could imagine this becoming a popular feature if other members want to join in on some of these sessions.

Virtual co-working not only helps with accountability, but it also makes working from home (which many of us are doing now) feel more social. Instead of taking breaks by yourself, you can take breaks to check in with your coworker friends. You can share progress updates and help each other stay motivated, focused, and productive.

Since CGC is a pretty stable group – the minimum membership is a year – you’ll surely get to know the other members too, so then it feels like you’re working with a group of friends. It’s nice to feel that other people care about your projects and are keeping tabs on you.

I love the organic nature of CGC because there’s lots of opportunity for interesting ideas and experiments to bubble up inside the group. This year I’d like to encourage more of these kinds of experiments, and then we can work on making the popular ones more consistent, so they’ll always have a space inside the club.

By the way, if you’re thinking about joining CGC this week, I invite you to join us for a Q&A call with me and some of our members on Thursday, April 30 at 11:11am Pacific time. You can learn more about the club and what it’s really like inside. Meet some of our members. See this news post for the call details:

Conscious Growth Club Q&A and Meet Your Future Friends

The deadline to join Conscious Growth Club is Friday, May 1st. This is the only week of the year that we’re inviting new members to join. Many have already joined this week and are getting a warm welcome inside the club. 🙂