You Should Probably Go Outside

Hello everyone! I am back again with the last blog post of March. Where has March gone? I feel like 2019 just started and we are a quarter of the way through.

Well, you probably know this already, but this month at Ment we have been focusing on making our lives a little more g r e e n, whether that is recycling, getting out into nature, or getting more bang for our buck. We are rounding out this month with a look into our daily lives, examining how much time we are spending outside.

This month as well, we have partnered with the BikeWalkBG initiative to promote people to go out and see our beautiful town. I am not originally from Bowling Green; I moved here in 2016 for my freshman year at WKU. However, I have always found that the springtime is my favorite time of year on campus and in the town as well. The cherry blossoms on campus bloom right around this time. They cover the walkways with shades of pink and red and make the campus all the more beautiful. Outside of campus, I love Fountain Square, with a cup of Spencer’s Coffee in hand. Also, I love to go to local parks and hang up my hammock and taking in the sunshine on my face. Bowling Green has some of the most beautiful green spaces and you would be crazy to not take advantage of them!

Just taking in some of your local green spaces immensely boosts your mental health and overall well-being. Ment Cowork is lucky to be so close to Fountain Square Park and Circus Square Park. Taking a walk outside or in nature is proven to boost your energy and reduce stress levels.

I know it isn’t always practical to go outside every time you are stressed. Instead, open up your window in your office and let the natural light in. One of my favorite things to do in the morning is open the blinds and let the sunshine hit my face. It instantly wakes me up and helps me start my day. Maybe get a real plant to put in the corner of your office. Just that little piece of green will spark something. Something as small as this will kickstart creativity and happiness and we all know happiness beats productivity. Take a lunch outside, display natural art in your office, or meet outside. All of these things create a greener workplace environment.

There are many studies that show the positive impact of nature on us but you don’t need a study to tell you how it makes you feel. I know for me, a day spent in nature raises my spirits. Hopefully some of these tips allow for a lifted, more productive, more g r e e n workday.

P.S. Our giveaway with BikeWalkBG is still going on until 3/29! Head over to our Instagram to enter to win a one day pass to Ment, a Ment hat and shirt, gift cards to Bike Rack Bistro and Nat’s Outdoor Sports, and MORE!

 

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The Luck of Your Office

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Hello again! It is Emily back this week with another blog post!

As you might now, our monthly theme for March is all things g r e e n—whether that is becoming more sustainable, making more money, or St. Patrick’s Day. Last week, we focused on the importance of being more environmentally friendly and even employed the help of our friend The Lorax! In this week’s post, we are examining The Pros and Cons of Coworking and how that can make a better bang for your buck and help you thrive. 

When working in a coworking space, you are exposed to all kinds of people and businesses you wouldn’t normally be exposed to. For instance, Ment houses a magazine, a lawyer’s office, a mortgage company and more. Many of those people wouldn’t cross paths if it wasn’t for their connection to Ment and we call that luck. We strive to create a community that members want to be a part of. Our members can network daily in the office and due to that community aspect, coworkers have a 50% higher chance of getting more clients or jobs.

Interested in making more g r e e n? Coworkers have reported higher incomes that those who might work in a more traditional office. We all love more money, so who wouldn’t want to get in on that? Coworking spaces have been popping up rapidly all over the world at a rate of more than 16% a year. They originated around 2007 with 14 coworkers and in 10 years time, there were 14,000 around the globe, with an expected 30,000 by 2022. It is one of the fasting growing industries and rightfully so. Our author states that it is because it has “the holy trinity of WiFi, coffee, and camaraderie.” On a serious note, coworking allows three major workplace trends to shine, which are the independent workforce, startup culture, and the third being corporate organizations looking for creatives in out-of-the-box ways. 

People who work in coworking spaces feel as if their work has more meaning. People feel they can bring their “whole self” to work, which is eliminated by the lack of office competition or politics. Working amongst people who have their own goals will in turn strengthen your personal ones. Members vibe off of each other, allowing each person to grow. 

Here at Ment Cowork, we feel honored to be creating this serendipitous atmosphere here in Bowling Green for our members and love that we get to be a part of their lives. We love that we can help them grow and achieve their professional goals. Ment offers a work environment that allows people to become the best version of themselves. And we feel pretty lucky to have those opportunities. 

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Are You a Lorax or a Once-ler?

Contributing Author: Ashley Brown

A big Ment hello to all of you and thanks for checking in! First off, I would like to introduce another one of our talented interns, Ashley Brown who is a contributing author on this next post. Her job consists of all things Public Relations and as her first time on the blog, she gets to help me introduce our new monthly theme of “Going Green.”

Since it’s the month of St. Patty’s day and all things green, we figured why not make our monthly theme green! Embracing sustainable and green principles is not just a trend, but a lifestyle that is, rightfully, taking over. Let’s take a quick look at where this urge to be environmentally aware began. According to The American Center History of the Modern Environmental Movement in America,

The rise of the modern environmental movement in America can be traced to several widely publicized events in the 1960s and the 1970s. These events included concern over hydrogen bomb testing on Bikini Atoll, oil spills off of the coast of California, and the use of insecticides and other chemicals. In the 1960s, the pollution of the Great Lakes became a rallying point for environmentalism in the United States. The pollution of Lake Erie and its nearby waterways was so great that debris on the Cuyahoga River caught fire and created thousands of dollars of property damage. The so-called Lake Erie Fire became a media sensation and helped push environmentalism into the public consciousness. The idea of a waterway so polluted that it caught fire inspired the Randy Newman song “Burn On.” Lake Erie was so symbolic of environmental destruction that Dr. Seuss mentioned it by name in his environmental awareness book The Lorax.Image result for the lorax

Whether you are on the side of believing global warming is a thing or not, there’s no denying the effects our waste has on the natural world or in this case, the Lorax. (Cue the Dawn commercial with the cute little penguins or the video of the turtle getting a plastic straw pulled out of his nose). With all of this in mind, we did a little digging. Coffee is always on the brain here at Ment and a lot of waste is involved in our consumption. Did you know that 16 billion disposable coffee cups are used each year? We didn’t! So with that, we have invited our members to live the mug life and we challenge you to do the same. You will be surprised at how many coffee shops will fill up your favorite ban.do “But First Coffee” on-the-go mug if you just ask. 

Sustainable coworking has become a popular trend in the more recent years and if a coworking space is not green, it is considered outdated. Why? Well because it is first off it is economically viable. Going green saves the green in your pocket, but more importantly, it is another way to unite the conscious individuals who collaborate in your space to reduce their carbon footprint and network while doing so. Large companies, or the Once-lers as referred to in Dr. Seuss’ book, are now looking at their awareness of this trend as a corporate social responsibility to show that they give back to the community. Past that, the people working in a green workspace tend to have better health and wellbeing.

If you or your company are looking to join us Loraxes, consider these few ways to incorporate eco-friendly initiatives in your office:

  • Recycle: Studies show recycling participation increases if stations are more easily accessible, so distribute recycling bins throughout the workspace. We also use Land Shark shredding for our members to have the peace of mind knowing not only that they are recycling, but they are also depositing their confidential information into a safe bin to be disposed of properly. 
  • Reduce: Cut back on your paper consumption by scanning and emailing papers out. Your desk will thank you later. Along with this, try to reduce energy consumption by replacing standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and turn the lights off when you leave a room. 
  • Share helpful reminders: Whether it’s placing a note by the light switch to remind people to turn them off or emailing out instructions on how to print double-sided, educate your office and make it easy for them to make greener choices.

As the Lorax once said to the Once-ler, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

 

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