Does Virtual Coworking Make You More Productive? Science says yes!

There are many perks to virtual coworking, productivity is just one of them. Let’s dive into the science and find out why virtual coworking is such a gamechanger for productivity.

Picture this. You’re at home, you’ve just finished a delicious slice of avo toast. It’s time to migrate to your desk, coffee in hand. You sit down, open the laptop and before you’ve even looked at your to-do list, you’re attention has been hijacked by a news headline or an Instagram DM or a Facebook memory.

Distractions are everywhere. Being your own boss means no one is there to keep you on task except YOU.

Enter virtual coworking.

Virtual coworking is just like regular coworking, but entirely online. It shares many of the same benefits as physical coworking, but you don’t have to go anywhere for it. You simply log on, say hey, and get to work with your crew beside you.

6 ways virtual coworking makes you more productive

There are some key behavioural triggers working to subconsciously spur us into action. Plus a few practicalities that make virtual coworking so damn effective.

1. Implementation intentions

When you declare that you are going to work on something to someone else, it acts just like a contract. In our Virtual Coworking Club sessions, every member shares what they are working on at the start of the session. By doing that you feel more ambitious and less likely to cancel or succumb to distractions that can, and will, arise.

2. The social facilitation effect

One of the earliest findings in social psychology was the “social facilitation” effect. It explains how the energy of others can act as a substitute team, even when working solo. The mere presence of a team, even if not collaborating on something, boosts our motivation and helps us perform better. So even if you think you work better alone, that might not actually be true.

3. Pre-commitment

When you make a commitment in advance of time, for example putting a virtual coworking session in your diary, you have set an intention to show up. You have pre-committed.

Think about going to a fitness class—it’s easy to bail when it’s just you, but when you’ve told your pal you’ll meet them there, it’s WAY harder to cancel. Research shows that breaking commitments generates discomfort. As such, plans are particularly effective when they are made as commitments to another person.¹

4. Eliminates distraction

Virtual coworking sessions are hosted or facilitated by someone. That means you have a real human reminding you to put your phone away, snooze emails and focus. We all need that reminder sometimes.

5. Supports concentration

Our poor old noggins are so easily distracted. Short focused work bursts retrain the brain to concentrate and achieve more. One technique that we use in Cool Wow Collectives Virtual Coworking Club is the Pomodoro technique. Developed in the 1990s, the Pomodoro technique uses a timer and a simple concept: write down a task, work on that task for 25 minutes without interruption, and then take a break for five minutes. It’s so simple and it works!

6. Eliminates overwhelm

When you have a session you know you have a certain amount of focus time to work on them. By breaking tasks down into blocks of time reflective of each focus session, you can start to make progress—even on big projects. Virtual coworking can eliminate overwhelm and give you a sweet sense of achievement by the end of the session. That feel-good feeling is your reward. Which in turn motivates you to do it again in the next session and see what else we can achieve.

Try Virtual Coworking with Cool Wow Collective for free

Cool Wow Collective opens doors to the Virtual Coworking Club twice a year. Give virtual coworking a try for free and experience the benefits to your productivity. Find upcoming dates for free coworking and register here >.

Over to you…

Have you tried virtual coworking? Has it helped boost your productivity? Drop us a DM on Instagram @coolwowcollective, we love to talk about this kinda stuff. And if you are looking to join a virtual coworking club, check out our virtual coworking club membership here to see if it might be the right fit for you.

Sources:

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation_intention
² https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilpatel/2016/08/12/7-brain-hacks-to-improve-your-focus-at-work/#39801ff259a8