January 2022 – NuvoDesk Coworking
NuvoDesk Coworking > 2022 > January

Month: January 2022

NuvoDesk front desk
Coworking Space

Six Ways NuvoDesk Can Enhance Your Working Week

Key Points

NuvoDesk offers a flexible neighborhood workspace for professionals who want to split their time between home, the office, and a coworking hub.

After more than a year of working remotely, most of us have gotten used to working outside the office. Rejoining the traditional office setting has become less appealing. The drive to work in traffic is off-putting and sitting at a stationary desk in a static office is not ideal. Today’s workforce wants variety and flexibility.

Working from home (WFH) has benefits that people have come to value during the Covid-19 crisis, including no obligation to commute, a more relaxed dress code, and more quality time with friends and family.

WFH also has challenges, however, not least the tendency for work and home life boundaries to blur. In early 2021, research into the realities of working from home found that people were spending longer at their desks than they did before the pandemic. In the UK, USA, Austria, and Canada, the average length of time employees spent logged on to their computers increased by around two hours a day.

It’s no surprise, then, that businesses are adopting a hybrid approach. This model of working – which allows staff to spend some time at home, some at the company, and some at a third location, such as a local flexible workspace – offers all the benefits of remote working while helping employees stay connected to company culture.

Here, we outline six ways that including visits to a flexible or coworking space like NuvoDesk can enhance your workweek, while boosting productivity, focus, and creativity.

Enjoy a professional environment

coworking at NuvoDesk

Some people boast natural get-up-and-go, while others need to be nudged into the work zone.v It’s well known that our environment has an impact on performance and productivity. Cluttered kitchens or cramped bedrooms acting as offices are not conducive to either.

Modern coworking spaces are all designed with productivity and professionalism in mind. For instance, NuvoDesk has natural light, workspaces equipped with ergonomic desks and chairs, and boasts amenities you can’t get at home or in the traditional office setting. Comfortable and easy-going, NuvoDesk is set up with work in mind and can immediately put you in the right headspace for a good day’s work.

Join a creative community

In the new world of work, visits to the company office are likely to be for the purpose of collaboration, but if your creative juices are refusing to flow between meetings, spending time at a flex space could help.

Coworking alongside a mix of other professionals may spark your imagination, and may even help you find like-minded new friends you can bounce ideas around with.

Fight feelings of isolation

People are naturally sociable beings, and being isolated at home for lengthy periods can have a negative effect on the mindset.

Whether it’s a quiet nod at the coffee machine or a breezy chat over the water cooler, interacting with others at a local coworking space can offer the social buzz we all need to be happier and healthier.

Reliable Wi-Fi

NuvoDesk Server

A key refrain we’ve all heard repeated during the pandemic is that people can now work “wherever there’s WiFi”. However, as anyone who’s ever experienced Zoom freeze will attest, not all WiFi networks are created equally.

Like corporate offices, flexible workspaces benefit from an IT set-up that’s better than anything most of us have at home. NuvoDesk is equipped with a secure, high-speed WiFi network and offers access to printers and scanners, which can remove additional stress from your working day.

Time well spent

Whether it’s checking emails over breakfast or laboring late into the night to finish a project, when you work from home, time becomes more elastic than when you work in an office. On average, remote employees work six hours more per week than they would if based in an office.

Working from a coworking space sets firm boundaries between work and home, allowing you to switch off properly at the end of the day.

Ditch domestic distractions

Procrastination is all too easy when you work where you live. Whether it’s the ever-growing pile of laundry taunting you, your noisy neighbors who don’t get it, or frequent disturbances from family members that break your concentration, it can be tough to properly focus on professional tasks.

Using a physical office space away from home will remove these domestic distractions, providing vital peace and calm so you can focus solely on the workday ahead.

Work Remotely

Embracing a new professional lifestyle can give you the freedom, motivation, community, and convenience you desire. NuvoDesk always has a spot for the remote worker.

By Leslie Radford
business hand clicking expert advice button on search bar
Business

What the Experts Say About Starting a Business in Uncertain Times

Key Points

Get inspiration and advice from experts about starting a business in a tough economy

 

Starting a new business is one of the most unpredictable, tumultuous adventures you can embark on — but it also has the potential to be one of the most gratifying, lucrative ones as well.

Let’s explore whether starting a business in these uncertain times is worth it in 2022.

What Industry Leaders Have to Say

HubSpot spoke with a handful of entrepreneurs about their personal experiences with launching businesses back in 2020. Their feedback is detailed below.

Brendan Hufford, founder of SEO for the Rest of Us

Hufford founded SEO for the Rest of Us as a community dedicated to helping people stop learning (and start doing) SEO.

“If these times have taught us anything, it’s that our world is farther out of our hands than we may have ever imagined. Multiple income streams can provide security and a level of freedom that, in a way, make things more certain,” shared Hufford.

Hufford learned that, while starting his new business was stressful, he was also able to bring a bit of certainty and peace to people looking to learn SEO. “It’s been a privilege to help others grow their business during the pandemic,” he shared.

Should everyone start a business during uncertain times? Hufford says no. “You shouldn’t start a business if you’re gambling on more than yourself,” he said. “Adding that level of stress to your relationship with your significant other or children isn’t something I’d ever advise doing.”

Melissa Pedigo, CPA, founder of A CPA Writes

Pedigo is a CPA who writes tax, accounting, and finance content exclusively for CPAs, tax accountants, and financial advisors — she’s also dubbed herself Chief Nerd Officer and tax-writing wizard.

“If you already know what you want to do and are sure there’s a market for your product or service, then starting a business in uncertain times is no different than starting one in certain times,” said Pedigo.

However, she warns that if you’re not certain of the demand for your idea, you should wait until a more stable time when consequences may be less impactful.

Moreover, with a solid support system (like a spouse, friends, or business partners), you’re better suited to start a business during uncertain times. “Having a supportive spouse, both financially and emotionally, is underappreciated and under-recognized in providing the security to make big decisions like starting a business,” Pedigo shared.

Doug Davidoff, founder and CEO of Imagine Business Development

Davidoff and his team enable companies to orchestrate all elements of their sales, marketing, and customer success efforts to generate more impact.

“Asking if one should start a business in uncertain times infers that there’s an option to start them at certain times,” Davidoff countered. “In my experience, there is no such thing as certainty, especially when it comes to starting and running a business.”

In fact, Davidoff believes that uncertain or difficult times are, in fact, the best times to start a business — for three reasons:

Tough times (like recessions) have a greater impact on larger companies. If you’re a new company, there are still plenty of opportunities available for you.

Companies and people alike are more likely to be actively considering a change in turbulent times than they are in smooth times.

Good decision-making pays off far more in difficult, uncertain markets than in good, solid ones. Companies don’t become great when times are good — they become great when times are difficult.

“Businesses should be started in uncertain times because if they weren’t, they would never be started,” Davidoff stated. “I do believe there are exceptions for who should start a business in uncertain times, but it would be the same answer if times weren’t uncertain — starting a business is not right for everyone.”

Dr. D’vorah Graeser, CEO and Founder of KISSPlatform

Graeser founded KISSPlatform as an agile competitive intelligence toolkit to help you innovate and validate your ideas to bring them to market faster.

When asked about starting a business during uncertain times, Graeser said, “Times of crisis offer unique opportunities to take control of your future. [During crisis], only the companies that ventured to do something new were available when things calmed down.”

According to Graeser, crisis provides a novel scenario in which we can succeed while other companies fail. To reach that success, she encourages new entrepreneurs to make decisions quickly and take chances. “Limitations and constraints make us think better and faster,” she shared.

She agrees that while starting a business in uncertain times isn’t for everyone, it can be a smart move. “[Starting a business] will test you … but I’ve worked with many companies that look back to uncertain moments and are thankful for taking bold actions, making plans for the future, and investing in their businesses.”

What’s Your Plan?

In business, success rarely comes from winging it. Instead, you need a well-devised strategic business plan. This outlines how you’re going to execute your ideas and maintain your business over time.

A strong business plan utilizes research on your competitors and target audience. It considers competitors’ offerings, pricing models, options, KPIs, delivery, timelines, customer feedback, marketing channels, and areas for growth. The goal is to understand where your industry is at, where it’s heading, and how you can set up your business to succeed in the space.

Check back next month when we discuss tips for starting a business in an uncertain economy.

By Leslie Radford
lady organizing her office
Professional Development, Tips

How to Improve Your Organizational Skills at Work

Key Points

Learn how to get and stay organized along with the tools that can help you do so

Having organizational skills means that you can meet deadlines and be efficient in your workflow management. In fact, organizational skills can be synonymous with energy and time management. When you’re organized, you can get things done faster and more efficiently.

Organizational skills are very important in the workplace, especially if you are a solopreneur.

Let’s discuss what organizational skills are, specific examples of what they look like in action, and how to develop organizational skills in the workplace.

lady organizing her office

What are Organizational Skills?

Organizational skills mean you have the ability to use your time and resources efficiently and effectively. You’re able to manage your time, energy, and physical workspace so you can successfully accomplish tasks.

Organizational skills are about building structure, boosting productivity, and prioritizing the right tasks at the right time.

In contrast, procrastination leads to clutter, inefficiency, and miscommunication.

Having organizational skills means you’re able to come up with an effective plan for your work schedule. Many people with good organizational skills break up projects into smaller goals so they are easier to accomplish.

Importance of Organizational Skills

Organizational skills are important because they’ll help you get tasks done on time. These types of skills are important in the workplace because managers will see that you can handle your tasks, and have autonomy over your own projects. This will help you get promotions and references if you apply to new jobs in the future. As a sole proprietor, these skills will reflect how your customers and clients perceive your ability to run your business. Being constantly unorganized can turn off customers.

If you don’t have a plan in place for how you’re going to accomplish something, it will be much harder for you to achieve. You’ll need to be able to anticipate how long a task will take, what resources you’ll need to complete that task, and have the discipline to block out the necessary time to finish it.

Types of Organizational Skills

If you break down organizational skills into specific skills, here’s what they would look like:

  • Communication
  • Time management
  • Delegation
  • Attention to detail
  • Decision making
  • Strategic planning
  • Goal setting
  • Creative thinking
  • Problem-solving
  • Productivity
  • Managing priorities
  • Teamwork/collaboration
  • Deadlines
  • Scheduling
  • Conflict management
  • Office management

How to Develop Organizational Skills

Enhance your organizational skills with these tips:

  • Own your calendar.
  • Make lists.
  • Figure out what tools will help you.
  • Communicate with your team.
  • Declutter your workspace.

Own your calendar

Man Using Calendar App on Tablet at Work

The best way to develop organizational skills is to truly own your calendar. Block off time where you need to get work done. Then, create a schedule for yourself that is realistic to stick to. Know yourself and when the best time is for you to get certain tasks done. For example, are meetings better for you in the afternoon or in the morning? If you can run a more effective meeting in the morning, try to avoid them in the afternoon.  It’s hard to stay organized when you have random meetings popping up on your calendar.

Work in 30-minute increments. By keeping a smaller block of time, you know you’ll need to complete a task accordingly and can get more done in the day.

Make lists and prioritize items

When you have a lot on your to-do list, you can make separate lists for what needs to get done and when. Have a running to-do list where you add everything you need to do for the week. Then, break that down into daily to-do lists. You can organize your lists by tasks, meetings, reminders, etc. It also helps to put the top 3 things you need to do for the day at the top. Having smaller lists will prevent overwhelm.

Figure out what tools will help you

Obviously, everyone works differently. Some people like to have a physical calendar and some like a digital calendar. Find out which works best for you. These days, there’s an app for everything from to-do lists to specialized calendars and project managers. Below is a quick list of physical and digital tools to help you stay organized.

Physical Tools

  • Planner
  • Calendar
  • Notepad
  • Folders
  • Journals

Digital Tools

  • Google Calendar
  • Trello
  • Asana
  • Evernote
  • Teuxdeux

Communicate with your team

Another way to develop organizational skills is to communicate with your team. It’s important to communicate your plan of action to any necessary stakeholders. Additionally, communication will help keep you accountable.

If you’re working on a project with several people, you can communicate updates on your part of the project as they occur or at the end of the day. This is a great way to keep the team organized and on task.

Declutter your workspace

Lastly, to truly be organized, your workspace should be free from clutter. While not everyone likes to keep everything neat and tidy all the time, you should still only have necessary items on your desk so you don’t get distracted. Piles of paperwork and unnecessary items will only overwhelm you. When you need to find an item, it’s important that you know exactly where it is and it doesn’t get lost.

Organizational Skills in the Workplace

Organizational skills don’t just mean that you keep to-do lists. It means you manage your time efficiently, you’re productive, can solve problems, and think critically. That’s why it’s important to develop your organizational skills whenever you can. Find blogs and podcasts that can keep you motivated to stay organized and you’ll be successful.

By Leslie Radford
NuvoDesk relaxing workspace
Coworking Space

Coworking in 2022 – The Future of Workspaces

Key Point

How the pandemic has changed how the world does business

 

Traditional offices appear to have been indisputably altered by the pandemic, perhaps forever. More people are wanting a flexible office space and schedule as they experienced during quarantine. That’s why many companies are offering more remote work, hybrid offices, and allowing employees to make their own schedules. This is not very different from how coworking spaces operate.

NuvoDesk shared workspace

How Work Gets Done Post-Pandemic

According to an interview with New York Times, Grant Christofely, North American associate director of workplace strategy at M Moser Associates, a workplace design company, some organizations still design their offices the same way they did 50 to 70 years ago: static, inflexible spaces where employees perform individual, task-oriented work for eight hours or more per day.

“But that’s not how work gets done, how you make money today,” he said. “You make money from ideas being exchanged. And technology has had a huge impact on the way people work, the way ideas are exchanged. The way ideas were exchanged was changing before the pandemic — people are realizing that the time to change is now.”

Since the pandemic, many buildings that housed offices are converting to coworking-like spaces due to people working remotely. The dynamic for landlords has changed and they’re having to adapt to fill office spaces.

Many businesses are providing standing or mobile desks, portable technology to work where needed, virtual meetings — a more flexible office environment all the way around.

Flexibility is Key

John Harrison, design director of the Houston office of Gensler, the architectural firm, told NYT he believes “the biggest shift in the post-pandemic workplace will be the radical change in flexibility. People’s behavioral habits are going to be different. The physical office must accommodate that in a forward-thinking, creative way,” he said. What will emerge will be “a blended workforce where some people will work from home, some in the office on certain days,” he added.

To make offices attractive to those who choose to work there either occasionally or full-time — rather than at home — companies are creating spaces for employees to socialize and meet, either in person or virtually.

People are better supported when things are movable and changeable, with more options for places to work throughout the day. The workplace needs to become more adaptable and responsive to what individuals and teams are doing. Offering different areas to work, mental break options, and relaxation spaces are also becoming a thing in the traditional office setting. 

NuvoDesk relaxing workspace

Evolution

An office is no longer a one-size-fits-all place. The new office environment must continually be evolving. Of course, coworking spaces have known this all along.

nuvodesk corporate infographic the future of offices and workspaces

By Leslie Radford

NuvoDesk offers private office spaces, dedicated desks, shared desks, and flexible workspaces, plus numerous amenities — come take a tour!

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