We were really struck by an article in The Guardian in March that focussed on remote working, loneliness and how to stay healthy. There was also a very interesting read by Julija Savić on mental health and freelance translators. Both of these articles reminded us that while the odd day at home is great for many people, some find working from home every day really isolating. As Julija writes, “Loneliness is an unfortunate side-effect of the freedom we get through self-employment”. There’s no doubt that this is a serious and growing challenge as more people work remotely and the number of self-employed people continues to rise.
One way of combatting the isolation that Julija describes is to become part of a coworking community. The beauty of coworking means that you can be working alone, but not on your own. It means you can feed off the motivation of those around you. You can get some work done and reward yourself with a chat over coffee or lunch (and not just with the dog). Part of the freedom of self-employment is being able to choose the best place to work, but that doesn’t mean choosing the same place every day. Try mixing up your week so that some days are at home and some are with other people in a coworking space.
Coworking is a great way to make freelancing a positive and rewarding experience while avoiding the loneliness “side-effect”. There are very few coworking or flexible spaces outside the big urban centres. However, OUTWORK plans to change that by bringing coworking to the countryside. Sign up to our newsletter at www.outwork.uk.com and be the first hear about our local coworking pop-outs, coming to West Kent very soon.