Aren’t you fed up with working from home?

It can be tempting to work from home. Of course, it offers some nice advantages: no traffic jams when commuting, extra time to do some household chores, possibly even stay in your pajamas during the whole day. But it also offers some, not entirely obvious but major drawbacks that make your productivity plummet and it can even have negative consequences for your state of mind … especially in the long term.

To avoid this situation, ask yourself these  5 simple questions :

1. Does your home environment stimulates you enough?

The most brilliant ideas show up in favorable dynamic situations. Your home generally offers you a feeling of comfort, well-being and security. By staying in this comfort zone, you may not fully bloom and miss your chance to break through.

A creative work environment, such as a trendy co-working space, can help to prime you and your brain to hustle, and be innovative too!

2. Can you avoid distractions at your home office?

When your children and pets are running around the house or your spouse is watching television, this will automatically affect your concentration. Some of the top distractions when you work from home can simply be other household duties that need to be performed. If you are not working in a dedicated office space you might be tempted to quickly do some other tasks beside your professional activities, and unfortunately all those ‘little tasks’ will take up a lot of your time that you could otherwise have spent productively.

3. What about the danger of isolation and loneliness?

Working from home is convenient and comfortable, but it can also get a little lonely when you’re by yourself day in and day out. After a few weeks or months working from home, you may start to feel the effects of isolation. The single most important ingredient for long-term happiness appears to be how and how often we connect with other people. Loneliness, especially on a chronic basis, can subject you to depression, frustration and career burn-out.

So how can you avoid this? You might consider joining a shared workspace! Shared workspaces are becoming more and more famous. The investment value of a shared office is quite low and the return value is huge when engaging with other remote workers.

4. Can you really switch off at the end of the day?

When you’ve been working 8 to 10 hours in your own living space, it's a lot more difficult to try to relax and switch off because you literally can't close the office door behind you. This way you are exposing yourself to the real risk of becoming a workaholic with a lower work/life balance.

5. Does your home office provides you sufficient space and professional image?

Inviting your business contacts in your own living room or kitchen is not the best way to present your company professionally and can be fatal to your business image. You will have to keep your home clean and uncluttered at all times. Also many people love animals but that doesn’t mean all your clients will, unless you are running a pet grooming business.

Does your home provide easy access and parking space for your business relations? What if you have to welcome several relations at the same time? Co-working spaces may offer you the right spaces and services to welcome your business relations in a very professional way.

Are you curious to find out the advantages a co-working space offers you?

Coworking spaces are ideal for self-employed, freelancers and starting entrepreneurs. They offer flexible desks for different moods  and quiet zones for some tasks requiring concentration. Some offer designated desks or private offices for rent.

Joining a coworking space has countless benefits. Next to good coffee, they offer networking and galling zones. Very often they also organize community events to boost your business and even your career.

You enjoy fast WIFI, comfortable furniture, printing facilities and even meetings rooms. Focusing on your work is a lot easier in an inspiring space where you’re surrounded by other ambitious people building their businesses alongside you.

Book a free trial day in one of the Tech.Lounges in Brussels or Antwerp?

Tech.Lounge Brussels and Antwerp are new coworking spaces, equipped with the latest technological applications. They offer fixed and flexible workspaces, private offices, meeting rooms, relaxation and networking zones, a brainstorming arena, a recording studio and a fully digital training room.

Try out the Tech.Lounge and discover its affordable office spaces with support services such as on-site restaurants and meeting / event rooms. Contact us via marketing@bluepoint.be or +32 2 706 88 00.