Bringing Back the Nap

Thousands of years ago, the tradition of napping or siestas began in Spain as a time for people to sleep though the hottest part of the day in order to avoid the sun’s strong midday rays. As the years have passed, the nap has evolved into many different forms of a break in the middle of our days. Here in the United States, our siesta is most commonly at noon for a one-hour lunch break to leave whatever it is we are doing but does not involve sleeping or rest of any sorts. For some of us, nap time is a past time that we left in our childhood years and now actively work through since it may be the only time during the day that we get peace and quiet. Just like the nap though, we, as a society, change, evolve and adapt over time and it looks as though the nap tradition is making a come back into our adult years and it may be what you have been missing all along.

A very common amenity you will find when visiting coworking spaces is a dark room with dim lighting, maybe a sound machine and platforms with pillows, or more commonly referred to as a nap room. Why? Because it has been proven that daytime naps of 20-25 minutes long can restore focus and motor skills while reducing stress and allowing you to reset and recharge for the rest of your day. This “amenity” was originally created by The Huffington Post after editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington collapsed from exhaustion at her desk in 2007. Huffington predicted nap rooms will one day be “as common as conference rooms.” Turns out they were spot on because here we are over 10 years later and they are found all over the place as well as what are called nap-pods (look. them. up.) which are found in the offices of tech giants such as Google, Cisco, and Zappos.

Nap time during my work day? I know what you may be thinking – like we have time for that. But isn’t it worth the time if it means you will get an increase in successful results within your place of work and employees since they will be better equipped mentally & physically? We think so.

At this time, Ment does not offer a nap room but that does not mean we don’t support it! We think it’s the missing piece to many of our days and the key to a healthy work-life balance. We invite you to give it a try. Make the time – it’s only 20 minutes out of 480. You can also try a coffee nap: drink a cup of coffee before your 20-minute nap and you’ll receive the brain revitalizing benefits of a nap, plus an extra boost as the caffeine hits your blood stream right when you wake up!

 

 

 

Travel & Cowork

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Another great thing about coworking: spaces are opening up all over the place. We aren’t the only ones who offer a first-time free trial day either. One of my new favorite things to do is to try to find a coworking space for me to work from for the day when I travel to different cities. You will find each one stands out from the next and bring their own work concepts to life in many different styles. Below are a few I have visited so far which I 100% recommend.

Covo – St. Louis

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Covo was such a productive escape for the day. It is located in an old bank building in downtown St. Louis and in walking distance from many of the hotels and the arch. Seen here is their main coworking lounge which is where I was stationed in a comfy yet supportive chair and table for about 3 hours. The noise levels were soothing, with music playing overhead and the occasional chatter of a team meeting up but never loud enough to distract.

To top off the experience, Covo offers their first-timers a complimentary drink ticket to their bar, Trust, which opens up at 4 p.m. throughout the week. I just so happened to be working on a day when they were having their member happy hour which was incredible of course. Every person I talked to had a unique story as to what they did for a living and what they liked most about working out of a coworking space. It was a day filled with working + networking which in my book is a very successful day.

Check them out on Instagram: @covostl

Industrious – Downtown Nashville

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Last Thursday, our intern Maddie and I jumped in the car and headed to Nashville for a quest of coworking. This entailed getting tours of all of the following spaces and meeting some pretty awesome community managers who were more than willing to show us the ropes.

First stop was Industrious at their downtown location with community manager, Blake. Blake was nice enough to be the A to all of our Qs about Industrious as a brand and as a leader in the coworking industry. On their website they mention having stunning offices, inviting hospitality and an inspiring community which could not have been more apparent. The sunlight beamed through their ceiling to floor windows overlooking Nashville which wrapped the outsides of the every workspace in the place. Talk about stunning.

Check them out on Instagram: @industriousnashville

Center 615 – East Nashville

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Next, we stopped over at Center 615 who has three buildings that make up their campus. Here we met Beth who gave us a tour of their main building which as you can tell from the photo above was definitely one of a kind. However, what I noticed right off the bat is that they are pet friendly! Let’s just go ahead and put out there that having your furry friend with you throughout the day doesn’t have to be statistically proven to know that it is such an added benefit in the workplace. (If you want to read more about this, feel free to check out this article!)

Besides welcoming pets, this coworking space has many added benefits for its members such as dry cleaning pick up/drop off, discounts at various Nashville businesses, nap & meditation rooms and even partnering coworking spaces around the country for their members to have free work days at. Beth and her team at Center 615 truly do have the details covered so their members can focus on the big picture.

Check them out on Instagram: @center615

Three One Three – Nashville

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The energy in Three One Three was just as positively uplifting as their community manager’s, Taylor, who showed us around at our last stop of the day. Upon walking in, we were greeted with a smile and a sniff – smile being from Taylor, the sniff was from Batman, the office dog. With white walls and floors and pops of color and texture, it is a work space that embodies it’s members and welcomes all.

This coworking space takes it to another level as they say, “Beyond creatives to all business profiles.” Their space includes an entire warehouse dedicated to their e-commerce members who need fulfillment centers to ship products. Past that, every nook and corner in the place has been transformed into a work spot which makes them perfect for teams of all shapes and sizes. It is a transformative space that is 100% made up by the people who are working there.

Check them out on Instagram: @313cowork

There you have it! The list will continue to be added to as we head into the new year. Our challenge for you is to do the same! A simple google search for coworking spots around me when you have some down time while traveling could lead you to some pretty neat places and people who could end up being a great resource for you in the future.

Happy coworking!

Everyone Can Cowork {Even Corporate Companies}

Have you ever wondered who you have to be or what industry you have to be in to cowork? We’re here to put that question to rest because the answer is simple: all you have to be is you, no matter the industry. It is an option that has a one-size-fits-all type style.

Let’s start with some name dropping to give you an idea…

  • The company our printer is made by, Ricoh, had their innovation team work out of a coworking space called NextSpace in Santa Cruz for several months to observe how people work and where they hit pain points. They were able to use the members in the space for focus group opportunities and therefore later launched their Smart Presenter, a globally used paperless meeting solution.
  • Instagram was developed in just eight weeks in Dogpatch Labs, a coworking start-up hub in Ireland.
  • To bring it back home locally, artist Sarah Gust of Folk Sense Arts, coworks out of Ment where she creates, meets and comes to get inspired.
  • IBM, Microsoft, and Verizon, all use coworking spaces for their employees so they can be close to and easily interact with innovative startups.
  • For some even bigger names, WeWork memberships include Salesforce, Starbucks, Facebook, and Bank of America all choosing to have employees cowork.
  • Lyft, Pandora and Pinterest all have worked or are working out of Industrious locations all around the world.

As you can see, many different people are choosing to give coworking a try. Why? There is no simple one reason, but it has been proven that for corporate companies, spending time away from the office at a coworking space can spark new ideas and become part of the company’s strategy. It can help your people and your business thrive which is the point to doing it all, right? For those starting businesses, it is a chance to network and meet new clients within arms reach. And for those who work remotely, it gets them out of their at-home office or what we like to call the procrastination hole.

Being a part of this cultural shift to mobility is also about being a part of a social movement. It is no longer about just going to work to do a job. It is about supporting a healthy work-life balance, creating inviting atmospheres in a workplace, encouraging collaboration amongst departments and building community. This shift in our society is catching CEOs’ attentions as much as it is attracting freelancers and small business owners. It is altering ways of business function by giving employees the option to work remotely from a coworking space. It is promoting everyone to be their authentic best selves. The result from doing so is employees who feel more committed to your organization, and are more likely to bring their best energy and ideas to the office each day.

Article used: Why People Thrive in Coworking Spaces

 

Who is Coworking and How has it Become an International Phenomenon?

The stats are in and proving coworking is more than a global trend, it’s an international phenomenon. According to an article released earlier today by Coworking Resources, in 2020, 40 percent of coworking members will be freelancers, independent contractors and part-time workers. These members range from the usual digital nomads, to startups, small businesses and even healthcare professionals and lawyers. And by 2022, there will be over one million coworking members in the U.S. alone and over six thousand spaces in the U.S. Can you believe it? What is even better is those who are leading this exponential growth are independent business owners and entrepreneurs entering the market for the first time such as our owner JD Haase.

Bringing the coworking concept to Bowling Green was a decision made to fulfill a need that was becoming more apparent. People are starting to need more flexible work environments to get their work done in. Not only are they needing it, they are wanting a more collaborative, productive space to work from instead of a traditional office. Corporate companies and enterprises such as Microsoft, Verizon and IBM are jumping on board with coworking as well by having some of their teams stationed in cowork spaces to promote creative thinking as well as innovation. So it is not just freelancers or digital nomads who are occupying our space which is the beauty of Ment – we welcome all industries big and small.

So, what changed and where did this need to kick the 9 to 5 M-F office job out the door come from? One big reason is the cultural shift to mobility however, some would say it is the millennial generation who shifted the workplace. A generation of questions being asked, working diligently in our own way and on our own time while constantly hustling on the side. A generation of change and it just so happens that this certain shift is being picked up and widely accepted across the world.

Though seen as millennial driven, all generations are partaking and adding to the accelerated serendipity that occurs in these types of spaces. A small business owner could bump into their new PR firm at the coffee station, their new graphic designer in the cowork lounge and then even their new legal representative in the next office over – accelerated serendipity. We can see why it has become an international phenomenon – it’s a one-stop-shop!

If you would like to see for yourself, swing by any time for a free tour and trial day. We have the space, you bring the ideas.

 

Article Used: https://www.coworkingresources.org/blog

Video Used: How coworking is changing how and where we work