Coworking

Working outside the home terrifies me. As soon as I started in Automattic, I found myself attached and depended on my external monitor. I have been enjoying the wide and spacious view of everything that I’m working on — it feels like ”I have the powah”-moment. This is something that I can’t achieve when coworking, so I always feel really hesitant of doing coworking.

Enter Monday. I was working at home as usual, doing my own thing (a.k.a. getting confused with some formulas on Google Sheet) when I felt the floor rumbling followed with a loud noise as if someone is tearing down a brick wall.

And that’s what actually happened. My neighbor is doing home renovation — it just started — and one of the main tasks is Tear Down A Goddamn Wall.

I couldn’t work with the noise. Even noise-canceling headphones can’t handle it. I’m having weekly meetings and I don’t think my colleagues are signing up to join the Home Improvements Orchestra.

Thus, the coworking journey. I looked for options on KL area, and I found one: Regus

I’m interested on Regus because they are worldwide. Meaning that, you can use their service no matter where you are as long as you are the member. I found it really neat because Automattic requires the staffs to travel and having meetups. Regus makes it easier for the team to set coworking space and it would help the team checked the list faster. A bit of disclaimer, this is not a sponsored post. At all. I don’t even remember I ever got sponsored post here (Fenty Beauty, my doors are open here wink wink nudge nudge.) I checked coworking options in KL, and Regus happens to be the one that interests me.

I actually planned to start coworking on March, but the noise getting unbearable so I decided to use their service on the next day. I took the private office daily booking option for Tuesday to see how coworking is all about and how it feels.

My first impression was: Professional. It looks so office-like, and it gives me multiple feelings.

The pro: It feels like office. The whole area gives me this… ”Alright, let’s do this”-mood and I really enjoy the privacy and the quietness. Finally I work with office attire and not my usual /wp-admin shirt with some shorts.

The con: It feels like office. For someone that has been working from home for 3 years, this is quite a jump physically and mentally. My brain keeps going in work mode (because the surroundings looked like office area) and I got seriously tired at the end of the day, plus a headache. Price-wise, Regus falls into the more expensive side. I would definitely recommend Regus if you are looking for setting up virtual office or long-term coworking.

But yeah, the pros outweighs the cons. Definitely much better than listening to someone drilling and hammering walls for hours.

The private office size is 9 metres square and it has a couple of storage drawers, two desks, and two telephone units. For some, it might look so bare and spartan. For me, it’s just enough. The Internet speed is pretty stable too, so I honestly don’t have anything to complain. I did notice 1-2 connection drops when I had 1:1 with my teammate, but not super significant.

As for my issue with external monitor, I’m using my iPad as my second monitor. I’m glad Apple makes the connection is easier (you only need to plug USB-C cable and connect it from the menu bar and call it a day) so I can be a bit at ease. The screen size is still smaller than my usual external monitor, but it’s definitely better than nothing.

Pandemic-wise, that’s also the reason I’m using private office space. I tried minimize contact on public areas and I always eat takeaway lunch on my desk (I feel this is one of the reasons why my brain has trouble in taking a break) and not on the pantry area.

How about you all? Have you tried coworking, or perhaps you are a pro in doing coworking? I’m actually having problems in maintaining my energy (the tiredness and headache at the end of the day is no joke) and I want to know if there are any ways to alleviate it.