I took a break from the office today and tried something new. Instead of working from home, which I do a few times a month, I headed over to WorkBar, a popular co-working spot downtown. All things equal, it’s been a nice change of pace and atmosphere – everything that I hoped it would be. There are probably 30-50 people here, and it’s surprisingly quiet. Everyone seems to be getting stuff done on their own, and respecting the airspace. There’s free coffee (I recommend the “Love Buzz”), tea, Vitamin water and even beer in the kitchen. There are conference rooms you can duck into for phone calls and meetings. The wifi is quicker than what I get at home (speed tested it this morning at 54mbps) and the chairs are super comfy – just the right amount of lean and give (hat tip the designers at Turnstone).
I could definitely get used to this co-working thing. You get the friendly, casual atmosphere of a Starbucks without the crappy wifi and melee of people, and all the facilities of an office, without the boring taupe cubes and constant disruption. I honestly didn’t think co-working would be like this. I secretly thought this was going to be a mostly counter-productive space where people came to have an excuse to socialize when they should be working. It’s definitely not that. I get it now.
I can’t speak for other co-working spaces in Boston, but WorkBar is kinda awesome.