How might we...
- How might we support collaboration practitioners?
Hypothesis
Hosting standing coworking days in my home will combat isolation and build connections without requiring a lot of extra work.
Design
Initial pilot:
- Two days of coworking (September 26-27, 2019 — last Thurday and Friday of the month, a potential standing time) at my home in San Francisco. Only come if you can make both days. No Doodles; whomever can make it makes it.
- Use those days to work on whatever you need to work on. You can request help or other sessions from other participants, but you have no obligation to do so. We’ll organize via Open Space.
- The only scheduled together time will be lunch, with an optional Land’s End walk. (Gotta take advantage of the beauty of this area.)
- Accommodate 3-8 people.
This is based on the two-day colearning strategy and visioning retreats I’ve been a part of for the past three years. The main difference is that there’s no explicit strategy and visioning focus — work on whatever you want to work on. It’s especially inspired by the third iteration of the experiment, where I realized how much I enjoy hosting people (as opposed to finding a retreat space somewhere).
Metrics
How many people participate? Only need two others (not including me) to make it work.
How many people want to participate, but can’t make the days?
How many participants want to participate again?
Learnings
No participants. Ended up canceling.
Didn’t advertise widely. At least one person thought two days was too much to ask.
Decisions
Maybe try offering one day coworking at some point. Not motivated to do this right now.
Questions
Comments
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A few other observations / explanations:
I’ve found that, with one-day sessions, people tend to prioritize doing stuff with others rather than getting their own work done. Two days seems to provide enough space for people to feel like they can do both. Ideally, people would be spending 60-80% of their time on their own work (which could involve other participants).
There’s an interesting geography challenge with my place in San Francisco. I live on the western side of the city, where public transportation isn’t great, so most people will likely want to drive / carpool, and it will be especially hard for people in Oakland or the Peninsula. However, it’s also quiet and beautiful, so I think there will be a nice retreat-like vibe about it for most people.
The real test is to see the impact of a standing time. I want to provide a space for Bay Area practitioners to get to know each other without making it “networking” time. Frequent, regular contact in a beautiful space will be key. But, let’s start with this first pilot before I worry about “frequent” part.