The coworking movement saw nothing but so much untapped potential and great opportunities during the year 2017. The movement slowly but surely became a global phenomenon as the population of digital nomads and remote workers grew. This generation’s startups and professionals created a new need for flexible workspaces that allows them to work anytime and anywhere they like. Moreover, they have put much emphasis on the importance of a good work-life balance. As a result, the demand for office spaces that allows them to maximize their efficiency without sacrificing their overall well-being rose.

As the year comes to an end, let’s take a look at all the major developments coworking has made over the year before moving forward to the coworking predictions that the new year has in store for us.

The Global Coworking Unconference Conference recently released their GCUC Survey for the year 2017. Discussing the results of their annual survey, the report showcases a quick summary of the improvements and future predictions for the following year.

According to the aforementioned report, a total of 14,411 coworking spaces are now available around the world. Experts forecast that the number will grow to over 30,000 in 2022, globally. Members originating from the US would grow to 1,076,000 by the same year.

It was also during this year that large companies and tech conglomerates experimented on workplace models.

Given the proliferation of open layouts and shared offices, established corporations are giving the latest workplace organization strategies a try by moving some of their teams into coworking spaces. More and more employees from big players are moving in and taking over.

A recent survey have also said that almost half of corporation in the US alone are making use of some sort of flexible office space solution. Moreover, based on the data gathered from the aforementioned report, researchers believe that an increase in the demand and usage of these work areas can be expected in the following years.

By studying the information we have observed from survey data results and trends of the previous year, experts have put together a picture of what coworking predictions for the year 2018 has in store for the industry.

As mentioned earlier, the population will continue to thrive as the years go by. GCUC predicts that the number of spaces will expand to 17,725 this year with an annual growth rate of 16.1% and members will grow to 2.3 million globally from the previous year’s number of 1.74 million with 24.2% annual growth rate.

The trend of mega corporates transitioning to flexible workspaces will accelerate over the next five years as administrations look forward to reducing their exposure towards long term leases. In addition to this, the continuous demand of this generation’s labor force for better workplace options will move the numbers forward.

Startups will also continue to flock these shared offices around the world because of the flexibility and talent attraction advantages that they provide. And as the market grows, so does the demand. With the prediction that over 50% of the global population by 2020, more brands will continue to consolidate spaces that will be built to suit the arrangements of the ever-changing workforce.

It seems that the movement will continue to move upwards and has the capability to evolve even more. Sounds interesting right? Talk to us today and take a quick look at the future.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” Cried Alice

When Alice fell down the rabbit hole, it was evident then that its young audiences will develop a highly curious nature. Much like her, we marveled at the whimsical creatures that she met along the way – the Cheshire cat, the mad hatter and the nervous white rabbit wearing a waistcoat. Together, we believed that nothing is impossible, that despite of the several chances Alice had to quit, she continued on.

Yet unfortunately so, only a few grew up laden with the spirit of inquiry. A large number of us have lost our natural interest towards the world as the years have gone by. The moment we caught a glimpse of the realities of our surroundings, we no longer looked up to Alice. We seemed to have forgotten about the adventures she had and how she taught us that risks can sometimes bring brilliant unexpected results.

According to a Harvard Business Review article from September 2015, curiosity is one of the main attributes expected from CEOs.

A PwC survey from the said year reported that more than a thousand participating CEOs have said that “curiosity” and “open-mindedness” as leadership traits have become increasingly critical during taxing times. Chief executive of Dell, Inc., Michael Dell said in a statement that curiosity can inspire leaders to continuously seek fresh, new ideas and approaches in order for them to keep up with the ever changing market and stay ahead of its competitors.

Inquisitive leaders also has the ability to set an example that influences creative thinking through the company. Hollywood producer Brian Grazer writes in his book A Curios Mind, leaders who manage by asking questions are laying the foundation of a culture of curiosity in your company or team.

The idea that curiosity can produce good results in business is not a new phenomenon. Years ago, Walt Disney stated that the reason why his company continuously innovates is because of their curiosity, the same trait that kept leading them to new paths.

The desire to explore and find a new perspective towards your surroundings – just like Alice – have become even more important in today’s evolving, innovation-driven industry. Experts and consultants alike suggest cultivating a culture of curiosity and inquisitiveness to drive the creativity out of one’s workforce.

In order to hone curiosity well into your company culture, it’s only apt to consider certain principles that encourage the spirit of inquiry.

First and foremost, it is important to encourage query. Employees of the California-based non-profit research organization HopeLab are motivated by its CEO and President, Pat Christen, to ask questions and challenge themselves. The company created stimulating tools such as a deck of cards called “Questions for Curious” that comes with 12 categories including “beauty”, ”candor”, ”emotions” and “100% responsibility”. These can be found around the office, at desks – even in conference rooms – and is often used by employees on their own or in meetings.

And because of the hectic workdays one would usually have, these tools help find time for reflection and conversation.

Another way of promoting curiosity in one’s usual workday is by writing agendas as questions that needs to be solved by the end of a meeting or a day – by doing so employees become even more engaged knowing what they can bring to the outcome. Christen explains in the aforementioned Harvard Business Review article that everyone present in a meeting is invited to join the conversation and is expected to ask questions, share ideas and contribute.

Private enterprises are not the only ones coming up with other strategies in strengthening the sense of inquiry of today’s workforce. The well-acclaimed movement of shared offices commonly known as coworking spaces have used architectural design and the psychology of performance in their advantage. By implementing open layouts, members get the chance to share their thoughts with other like-minded individuals. Its diverse community encourages members try out new things and open doors to undiscovered opportunities.

Somewhere amidst her adventures, Alice began to think that there are very few things that are impossible. Her story pushes us to become more versatile, more creative and motivates us to remain eager to learn.

When our plate gets too full with deadlines, projects and other deliverables, we easily feel trapped and loaded.

The feeling of overwhelm starts to creep in and we don’t really have much options but to simply go through that long to-do list and successfully accomplish each one. Though it seems like it’s the best way to go, forcing yourself to grind through day and night can do more damage than help.

Employee burnout have become a pressing problem in today’s work industry that it already reached epidemic proportions.

Vice President of the workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions provider, Kronos Inc., Charlie Dewitt said in an article that though several organizations around the world are now taking action on managing employee burnout, there are fewer efforts in proactive solutions. He further emphasizes its grave consequences by saying that not only will employee burnout deplete productivity and augment absenteeism, it will weaken engagement which can result to the departure of the top players of the organization.

In a survey conducted by Kronos, in cooperation with HR advisory and research firm, Future Workplace, nearly half of the HR leaders who participated have said that employee burnout is responsible for over half of their annual workforce turnover.

And thought the phenomenon affects organizations of all sizes, large companies are more susceptible to it with one out of five HR leaders from well-established enterprises with over 100 to 500 employee, citing burnout as the culprit behind 10 percent of their rate of replacement.

Admittedly, senior leaders and their respective C-suites are the ones expected to initiate the amelioration of the issue but employees, in their own little ways, can also contribute in amending the aforementioned predicament.

Contrary to popular belief, there’s actually a lot that you can do other than that of working until your brain melts. Here are three strategies on dealing with overwhelming feelings at work.

When there’s so much to do and so little time, sitting down to plan how you’ll accomplish each task becomes a luxury we simply cannot afford yet giving yourself enough leeway to map out a plan of action can help you become more efficient.

So breathe in and don’t panic. Grab a piece of paper and write down each task that you have to accomplish for the day. The simplest act of jotting down what needs to be done and deciding what order you’ll be tackling each one is effective enough. It grabs hold of every project or assignment going through your head and puts them into a list that later on creates action. Prioritize each item so that you know where you’re utmost attention should be instead of jumping from one task to another.

Put the pen down and shut down your pc or laptop. Take a break and get some sleep.

Our first intuition of pulling all-nighters the moment we receive a large amount of workload creates more damage than help. Whenever we coerce ourselves to work instead of getting some rest and right amount of sleep, it slows us down.

Sleep deprivation directly affects our cognition – rendering us more susceptible to distractions. Moreover, our brains work even harder when we are suffering from high levels of stress.

When we’re feeling overwhelmed and our adrenaline are at a high, our offices may not be the best place to be in. We tend to feel paranoid as if people are constantly watching over us – colleagues and of course, your superiors – like the walls are suddenly closing in on us.

We become anxious about everything that we do and instead of inspiring us to create more, our workplace averts us from getting anything done.

If things become too much, leave.

Even if it’s just for 10 minutes, go out of the office and walk. Get some fresh air and clear your head. Ask if a colleague wouldn’t mind taking a break with you and talk to them about your current workload. Though we essentially have the irrational anxiety of sounding whiny or incapable, talking about it out loud could help you organize your thoughts. In addition to this, they could give you insights on how to deal with the overwhelming feelings you are going through.

If allowed, take your laptop with you and work in a different environment – away from the hustle and bustle.

Members of coworking spaces are well-familiar with this specific assistance that the shared office brings to their usual workday. Unlike the traditional workplace, coworking spaces gives you the ability to switch from one working environment to another depending on what they need. In addition to this, majority of office providers now delegate a space wherein workers can relax and take a breather with other members like pool tables, karaoke rooms and even game rooms.

Remind yourself that there’s another world outside the bubble that is your career life.

It’s hard not to get carried away by all the responsibility thrown our way, not to mention all the overwhelming feelings that go with it, but with the help of these strategies and by keeping in mind that they will be done soon, you’ll get through it without losing your mind.

There are certain moments in a day wherein we’d find ourselves staring into nothingness – or most likely, out of the window from the train or our office – minds aimlessly strolling away from what’s in front of us.

And when someone catches us, asking why we are in such deep thought, we’d play it off and say that we were just bored, nothing more. We just wanted to be somewhere else for a minute because of how futile things seemed to be where we currently are.

To make things worse, we’d sometimes drift off during a meeting or a lecture. Upon realization that we’ve been staring out the window for a good solid 5 minutes, we’d scold ourselves and say that we should’ve been listening to our boss or to our teacher. We probably should’ve started that task stuck in front of us instead of wasting time.

The majority equates this act to lethargy and vanity. It seemed to produce nothing, serving no purpose to any of us. Yet there’s more to it than just cupping your chin into your hands near a window pane.

See, we’re not exactly looking outside. Instead, the activity serves as an exercise as we try and discover the contents of our minds. It’s easy to voice out to the public that we know what we think, what we feel and what’s going on in our minds but it’s very rare that we recognize each one of them. A large part of what makes us who we are remain to be unexplored – carrying potential that has never been tapped.

If done right, staring out of the window paves the way for us to listen to the quiet suggestions and perspectives hidden deep within ourselves.

Plato once used a metaphor in explaining the human mind. According to him, our ideas are like birds fluttering around the aviary of our brains and in order for them to settle, he understood the need for periods of calm that are free of purpose. Instances that doesn’t require us to do anything.

These occurrences of which we often perceive as moments of boredom causes us to lapse into a form of brain activity called mind wandering. And in a world obsessed with productivity, it is often seen as a lazy habit, categorizing it as a kind of thinking that we rely on when we’re not really in the mood to actually think. It is often viewed as a sign of procrastination instead of efficiency.

But in the light of the recent years, neuroscience has changed the way we view it. During the year 2010, Harvard psychologists Daniel Gilbert and Matthew A. Killingsworth released a paper in Science that documented the fondness of the human mind in disappearing on a rabbit hole of its own. The aforementioned scientists developed an iPhone app that contacts 2,250 respondents at random times to ask about their current activity and level of happiness. Results show that the participants were engaged in mind wandering 46.9 percent of the time.

Contrary to what the majority of us believes in, daydreaming or mind wandering is imperative to our daily life.

In some way, these idle times and occasions of boredom acts as a necessary filter for when we have too much information at hand.

Science reporter Benedict Carey further explains in his New York Times article that experts believe that people tune things out for good reasons and that more often than not, it becomes a tool aiding in sorting information. Research from various fields such as neuroscience and education suggest that falling into a dazed trance allows the brain to rework the outside world in such a way that is both productive and creative.

Psychology Today even notes that it could be a stepping stone to creative productivity. They argue that when unengaged, our minds are providing us with a blank canvas, ready to be painted on with colorful ideas.

Professionals and startups who work in shared offices like coworking spaces would know the importance of having the freedom to be by themselves and reflect from time to time. Though majority of its members joined the movement in the effort of avoiding boredom and isolation, providers remain adamant in recognizing the need for reverie and introspection.

Some of them even go as far as delegating spaces for meditation and contemplation. And unlike in traditional working environments, you don’t need to worry about getting scolded or frowned upon for staring out the window, its home-grown community understands you more than you can imagine.

Our productivity obsessed societies disavow the potential of mind wandering and day dreaming, yet even famous personalities admit that their greatest insights come from when they are irresolute.

Staring out of the window is not a mere act of ennui, but instead, it stands as a form of divergence from the excessive demands of pressure.

Procrastination

We all do it and we all have done it at least once or twice in our life.

We probably did it when were in school. We’d gather our books and other materials but end up staring at that homework – barely accomplishing anything.

We’d prepare all that we need for that new project yet we don’t even have any clear starting point.

Admittedly, we don’t really mean to do it. Sometimes we simply lack the motivation – the urgency to get things done – or the creativity to produce something we actually love. Other call it resistance. Surely, it’s frustrating and as time passes, the only thing that seems to have made progress is the hour.

It seems innocent at first until the consequences start show. We are forced behind on the output and at the worse, we end up sacrificing the quality of what we produced due to the time we’ve wasted.

Creatives and artists know these instances too well, the feeling of being stuck or blocked. Tough weeks would go by and they would force themselves to produce something almost every day. Some would be good, others not so much – but this is okay. It’s normal to have some hits and misses every now and then. However, what’s not okay is, staring blankly at an empty canvass or screen, cough up, mope and repeat the same cycle over and over and over again.

Design Luck writer and Medium contributor Zat Rana advises in an article

“When you’re stuck, do more”

Though forcing yourself to write a new song or draw another portrait is often seen to be counter-intuitive, action brings something to the table that could help spark artistry.

Majority of us would assume that in order for one to take action, there should be inspiration present through imagination or enthusiasm, when in reality, it’s the complete opposite; the need to act is what forces ingenuity.

This hindsight is expected of with the various misconceptions surrounding breakthroughs and how they are made. Stories like how an apple falling led Newton to discover gravity made it easier for us to fall into thinking that they come naturally.

Truthfully, they do happen yet they often occur sporadically. There’s a huge chance of failing if we only sit and wait for inspiration to strike.

Rana claims in the aforementioned article that action stimulates inspiration more than inspiration stimulates action. A certain song or art piece can inspire us and spark a brand new idea but nothing will come off it until we actually start doing.

The moment we start doing, we gain enough momentum that we become even more energized to continue the process. The more we become invested and engaged in the activity, the more we become inspired to learn, to improve and to finish.

Instead of coercing yourself to do a task of importance half-heartedly, cut loose and let it go. Make a list of other smaller tasks that needs to be accomplished within today and start from there. Go through your emails or clean your room – these seemingly menial tasks can help you gain enough push to create a domino effect to tackle more.

Freelancers who’re fortunate enough to be members of coworking spaces can switch from one work area to another in between tasks. They can sit down by the communal areas to meet with partners and other collaborators or get a private desk of their own for some brainstorming. As they go through their To-do list, they gain enough momentum and end up finally sitting down on that great big project.

Inspired by the concept known as activation energy in Chemistry, these seeming menial tasks once done serves as the base amount of energy needed for a reaction to move forward. You now have enough energy to tackle a task that seemed difficult earlier.

At the end of the day, its core is finding a way around whatever it is that’s stopping you. Give yourself the freedom of having easier alternative and let it help you in finding the right direction.

Feeling stuck is alright, but staying isn’t. So go do something.