Along with many other benefits, co-working spaces can help create better habits, which lead to better results. Recently, I have been reading and studying various podcasts and blogs around the best-selling book, Atomic Habits by author James Clear. I initially enjoyed the content and the systems he designed, simply because I felt that there was some room for improvement in my own habits. I often find myself setting myself goals and objectives, and then simply not achieving these. At some point during my research, I started to see how these principles could be applied to co-working spaces and how the co-working environment can really assist in forming better habits, helping people achieve more in their work life and their careers.

In a YouTube video, James Clear outlines 4 Stages for Habit Formation. In this blog, I am going to apply these to how they can be associated with co-working as a means to creating an improved work life, and certainly increase the chances of success.

Co-Working and Habit Formation

The 4 Stages of Habit Formation are as follows:

1. Notice
2. Want
3. Doing
4. Liking

Stage 1: Notice

Getting up in the morning without a real plan to get projects or work done, makes it a lot easier to simply not do the task at hand. In his video, James Clear mentions that simply saying you going to do something when you “feel” like doing the task lowers the chance that the task will be done. In my mind, this is often what happens if you don’t have a destination to go to, in order to perform a specific task. I am far more likely to have a good work routine if I state to myself that I will be up in the morning at 6 am, shower, dress, drop kids off at school, and be sitting at an office space by 8 am. It forces me to then get work done and plan my work schedule. I may work until noon, then have the afternoon off.

It is far more likely that I am more productive in these hours, as opposed to working from home. At home, I might feel like working for an hour, then catching up on a Netflix series, and then if I feel like working again from 11 am, I start working again. Having a plan and a structure is a commitment to yourself and your habit – to perform a specific task, at a specific time until it becomes a habit. For this reason, co-working is ideal for facilitating better habits.

Stage 2: Wanting

People want things simply because of the environment that they are in at the time. If you are in an inspiring environment, surrounded by other people that are productive and working, it solidifies the habit.

Shared workspace environments will eliminate the internal dialogue on whether you should be working or doing something else because the environment is conducive to being productive. What also helps is seeing other people also being productive and maybe even creative. This motivates you to move towards your goals and objectives, one day at a time.

Stage 3: Doing

Doing is extremely important. Repetition builds habits over time. Think about how difficult it was when you first started tying your shoelaces. Now you can do it with your eyes closed. The same can be said for forming a habit when working. If you are constantly getting up and going to a destination, sitting down and concentrating on the task at hand, without distractions, you are going to get more things done. James Clear calls it “compounded progress” – you just need to get 1% better each day. After a year, you will be 37% better than you were 12 months ago.

Stage 4: Liking

Bad habits often have quick rewards, with longer-term ramifications. Eating a doughnut is awesome. Eat one daily, however, and you will gain weight. Going to the gym is hard. Do it regularly, and you are healthier in the long run. It is the same with work. If you sit at home to do work, it is easier and you can work when you feel like working. But in the long run, you could lose direction and purpose. You may even suffer from extreme loneliness and be less productive. Getting up and going to a shared workspace takes some effort, so the short-term gain is difficult. When you start meeting interesting people and being more productive, finishing tasks that make you money or get you a promotion, in the long-term the gain far outweighs the short term pain.

One way to get through the short term pain is to meet new people, make it exciting to hear other people’s stories or find a place with a really nice café so you get awesome coffee, which takes your mind off the task by association to another task.

In Conclusion…

To wrap up, creating spaces specifically for creativity, collaboration and working will improve your chances of creating better habits. Focusing on the process and the system you use and improving on each task daily, will give you a much better chance of achieving your work and career goals. So if you are getting frustrated by setting goals and then not achieving these, look at your habits and then make the adjustment. If they are work-related and you are working from home or a café, it might be time to consider a co-working space like Co-Unity, which has everything you need to get to work, from on-site coffee to uncapped WiFi, generators, multiple workspace options and more.