Deskmag talked to 1,500 people in 52 countries to reach its conclusion, working with a web of partner organizations. The verdict was great news for coworking when it comes to the individual benefits of participating:

• 93 percent said their social circle had increased a lot as a result of joining a coworking space
• 86 percent said their business network had grown
• 76 percent reported an increase in productivity
• 88 percent said their isolation had decreased

Respondents were nearly universally enthusiastic (96 percent) about the sense of community at their spaces, with 54 percent trusting fellow members enough to always leave a laptop unattended and 29 percent happy to leave one for a few hours.

While coworking is clearly well-loved by space members, the news was more mixed for space owners, with only 40 percent of coworking spaces reporting making a profit this year. This confirms concerns about finding a profitable model for spaces without sacrificing the ambiance and community that members value so highly, which we have heard previously from owners and managers.

More detailed results from the survey are due out soon.

Do you think much of the coworking movement is built on a shaky business model?

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• The Future of Work Platforms: An Overview
• By The Numbers: Running a Coworking Space
• Flash analysis: Collaborative consumption – a first look at the new web-sharing economy

Dozens of new products and applications launch every day to help with different aspects of social networking, information management, and remote collaboration. We test and bookmark those that seem interesting, but quickly forget why we tried them or even where to find them again. They simply don’t alleviate a problem important enough to keep them on the radar very long.

Some of the “solutions” available offer quick fixes to problems we didn’t even know we had, which got me thinking. What do we really need as web workers these days, and is anyone working to find solutions to those problems?

Technology is changing by the minute, and we expect the tools we use to change and evolve as well, but at the end of all the experimentation with promising new gadgets and gizmos, we still have certain core functions to do each day. What we really need is a single tool to help ease the increasing challenge of managing those tasks, while still keeping us up to speed with the changes in technology.

#1 Need: A Centralized Dashboard

If you’re like me, you jump from one application to the next consuming, creating, and managing every type of media imaginable.

Getting a single task completed can sometimes require five separate platforms (email, online document manager, project manager, content editing apps, etc.), and this problem isn’t limited to work-related tasks, since even commenting online has become increasingly complex.

Whether completing work-related projects or simply networking online, it’s often necessary to log into multiple applications. Even the simplest of tasks have become multi-part processes. Simon wrote about this issue in a GigaOM Pro article, Enterprise 2.0: Web Apps and the Patchwork Quilt Problem (sub. req.).

#2 Need: Aggregated Contacts and Information

“I remember talking with Lynne about that company. She sent me the link to their website, but I’ll have to look it up. I can’t remember if she sent it to me by email or if she posted it somewhere else online.”

How many times do we have these conversations with ourselves? Information is shared just as often via Twitter and Facebook as it is by email, and with varying layers of security and the sheer volume of information being generated at any given point, it’s getting harder to reference a given conversation at a later point.

We need a way to not only archive, but also sync and update information across multiple platforms so that we always have the most current version available to us wherever we are and whatever hardware or software we’re using.

#3 Need: Seamless Hardware Transitions

Just as with disconnected software, hardware that doesn’t seamlessly share and sync information and applications makes it hard to transition from one to another. Although options are available (and they vary depending on the phone, computer, operating system, etc.), they’re not always painless, and if you ever switch to new equipment, you’re often forced to switch syncing options as well.

#4 Need: Security

Last, we need better ways to keep information secure and private. After several experiences with bank and network security breaches, I find myself backing out of applications that require me to share information between applications and sites. It’s just not worth the risk. Although I want to find ways to simplify the way I work online, I know that with every application I use and every piece of information I sync, I’m risking the security of contact data, usernames and passwords.

I’m not sure this was our intention, but we’ve become dispersed as a workforce and created ways to better connect and bridge great distances through the use of social networking, video conferencing, and online collaboration, only to find the information and tools we use to manage all that online interaction disconnected and even counter-productive.

What capabilities do you think are missing from today’s collaboration tools?

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• The Future of Work Platforms: An Overview
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Unlike a holiday, though, I still needed to go about my ordinary activities. This experience revealed to me how much I’ve come to rely on the web, and highlighted some unexpected ways it’s changing my lifestyle.

Information

When I woke up Saturday morning, I wondered what the weather would be like. Along with things like local farmers’ market locations and times, film screenings and daily news, the weather is something that I tend to check frequently online.

But since I wasn’t connected, I realized I’d just have to wait and see. If I wanted to hear the news, I’d have to plan my information consumption around the television or radio schedules. Or (gasp!) buy a newspaper from the nearest shop, six kilometers away.

Yes, the web gives us access to information on demand, but over the weekend, I realized I’ve come to expect this as a given. Losing that access made me seek alternatives where I could, but mostly, I simply went without the information.

In some cases, this actually curtailed my activity: If you can’t remember — or find out — when the local farmers’ market’s on, you’ll probably forget about it, rather than driving an hour or more to discover it’s not actually on this weekend.

Ultimately, not having access to information forced me to take chances, or to forgo activities.

Self-focus

A lot has been written about the self-obsessive tendencies of those who spend time preening online personas rather than interacting with the real world. For me, without external information and entertainment (for which you could read ‘distraction’), the focus seemed to narrow considerably. It narrowed to whatever I was doing at that exact moment.

By losing touch with the world outside, I was able to hone in on the present, and on myself. Instead of reacting to external information obtained online, my own motivations became clearer. They became the driver for my day.

A very simple example: Since I didn’t know what the weather was going to be  like, I planned my weekend solely on the basis of what I wanted to do at any given time. This self-focus and self-motivation extended into other areas as well, and it was different from the norm.

I wondered if that feeling of ordinarily being motivated or driven by what I find online applied to other web workers. I wondered if it may contribute to the sense many web workers experience of being at the mercy of technology and information.

Without the web, I had much less outside impetus to do things; everything depended on my mood and internal motivation.

Contact

As you’d expect, lacking access to email and IM meant that all my contact had to be personal. Unless I could fit my communication into a text message, I’d have to call — or visit — someone to communicate with them. Of course, I always use the web to look up phone numbers I don’t know, so it was just as well I didn’t need to contact anyone whose number I hadn’t already saved to my phone.

As someone who values space, the idea of having to call four different people to try to organize a festive season gathering really didn’t appeal, so I put it off until I was back at my computer during the week. As it turns out, I’d rather delay contact than be forced to talk (as I saw it, endlessly) on the phone.

Of course, I received contacts from friends and colleagues online over the weekend, and missed them all. Miscommunication and general confusion ensued — proof that the web worker’s horror of disconnection is probably justified. After all, this was just one weekend.

The instant, always-on nature of the web has made timeliness a priority, and an expectation: People expect to be able to get in touch with us at the last minute. I expect to be able to do the same.

Being disconnected restricted my contact to the immediate — phone or face-to-face communications — and reduced the amount of flexibility I felt I had.

Preoccupation

As my disconnected weekend progressed, I found myself less and less preoccupied with anything — any event, person, or piece of information — that wasn’t within my immediate physical realm.

In short, if it wasn’t hitting me in the face, it didn’t matter.

Without my calendar, I had no idea which social engagements I was supposed to be anticipating. Without email I had no expectation that anyone would contact me without my knowledge. I had nothing to check, nothing to confirm, nothing to concern myself with.

This was a relief. Naturally, being less preoccupied with an external world allowed me to focus more closely on what I was actually doing. Without the thought that I should check my mail, or the inclination to look at the news as I passed my desk, I was free to put my whole mind to the tasks at hand. This was a great thing, even if I had no idea what was happening in the news.

Occasionally I wondered what might be happening elsewhere in the world — including online — but I did enjoy having a clear focus on the here and now.

Planning

Ultimately, being disconnected highlighted how easy the web makes coordinating events with other people, and obtaining information that helps us stay organized.

I realized that to plan a family lunch without the web, I’d have to call a bunch of people, which made it seem like an awful lot of effort. Sending an email to five people takes maybe ten minutes. Calling those same five people would take at least fifteen minutes apiece. Planning social events is much more time-consuming without the web.

Almost all the other tasks for which I’d have used the web that weekend were to search for information that is available in newspapers, on town calendars, and so on. If I had to live without the web, I’d still be able to access the information I need, but it would need to be a much more planned, less spontaneous proposition.

The web reduces our need to plan ahead, and to anticipate potential needs for information.

Profile of a Web Worker

Does this image depict the common web worker?

Someone who:

• doesn’t (or can’t) anticipate needs for information or plan contacts with others
• is happily distracted from their immediate circumstances by the web
• relies, to some degree, on the web for inspiration or motivation
• feels a sense of missing out, preoccupation, or an ongoing curiosity about the online world as a result of these three factors

This description does seem to define, in some part, many of the web workers I know. While I’m not saying this is all we are — not by a long shot — I do think that some time spent completely disconnected from the web probably isn’t a bad idea. I think the aspect that surprised me most was the fresh sense of motivation I felt; I enjoyed relying on my internal motivations for once, rather than seeking information to inspire me to take action.

Do you disconnect completely from the web? Have you found that it changes your expectations or behavior?

Image by stock.xchng user Ayla87.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub. req.):

• Enabling the Web Work Revolution
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• Social Media in the Enterprise

The Flexibility to Be Spontaneous

Most days I try not to work in my pajamas, not only because I feel more put together, but also because part of the appeal of working for myself is flexibility, and for me, flexibility means being able to take advantage of opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have.

At short notice, I like to be able to take advantage of things like joining my sister and nephew for an impromptu visit to the park or going out to a late lunch or early dinner with a friend or family member when they call me up out of the blue. If I’m in my pajamas, I’m not ready to walk out the door at a moment’s notice!

I’m able to do this since, most of the time, I try not to lock myself into overly structured days with tons of appointments in a single day. That way, I can say to friends or family, “Well, I have a call at 3 PM, but I could meet you for coffee after that.” Generally, the rest of my work can be moved around, and although I try to stick fairly closely to a regular schedule for most of my work, I try not to have strict deadlines.

The Flexibility for Give and Take

Not having strict deadlines (and sometimes being willing to work in my pajamas) also allows me to work in a more “give and take” way, with more of an ebb and flow. Today, for instance, I have several phone appointments, writing to do, and a long list of other tasks to complete, so it’s one of those days I’ll buckle down and work in a concentrated way.

Working this way lets me take advantage of days when I have more energy and focus around my projects so that on less-than-productive days, I can give myself a break. If I’m not feeling well or if I’m feeling tired or distracted, I can afford some time away from work to renew my energy and focus.

Yesterday, for instance, I was feeling preoccupied by potentially having to move, and I simply wasn’t able to concentrate on work-related projects. By giving myself some space to figure out a few options for that part of my life, today I came back full force and ready to work. With the give and take that comes with being a web worker, I’m able to maintain some level of balance in life as a whole.

The Flexibility to Live Life

As part of the give and take, there’s also the ability to rearrange things to make more room for living. The holidays are coming up, for instance, and I have a lot of cooking, visiting and traveling planned. I don’t want to feel distracted from all of the festivities because of a business- or work-related project or deadline, so I intentionally work to get more done in the month or so before the holidays so that I can enjoy some time with family and friends in November and December.

This flexibility comes in handy when there are birthday parties, illnesses, summer breaks, emergencies, and a slew of other (anticipated and unanticipated) events that occur throughout the year. I can work when I can work, take off when I need to take off, and somehow, it all works out so that I can have a business and still have a life outside of it.

At the end of the day, being a web worker allows me to do work I enjoy, while aiming for the overall picture to be good, even great most of the time, if not always (or even nearly) perfect. I can be flexible and accommodating to my life, my business, and even my own needs most of the time, like days when I work in my pajamas and (thankfully) meet with business contacts via Skype!

How does being a web worker add flexibility to your life and business?

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Thumbnail photo by Flickr user emdot, licensed under CC 2.0

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub. req.):

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1. Control your phone time. Web workers tend to have  an”open door” phone policy. For example, when a relative calls, my husband takes the call only to fall into the trap of the person going on and on. I suggested he find a nice way to end the call. Some fear sounding rude in cutting a call short, but you can do it politely. Pick a couple of friendly phrases to use to end a call when it has served its purpose. Try: “I hate to cut this short, but I need to prepare for a meeting. It was great catching up with you.”
2. Use the Internet with purpose. I’m guilty of surfing aimlessly on the Internet or not making the most of social media time. With practice and mindfulness, I’ve cut this wasteful time — not completely, but good enough. Accept that it’s OK to skip social media when you’re too busy, and read Celine’s methods to end compulsive Internet fiddling.
3. Manage your after-hours time. Stay in control of your schedule by being proactive with your after-hours time. There are some ideas in “How to Stop Clients from Invading Your After-Hours Time.”
4. Change direction when procrastinating or distracted. We all have moments when we can’t complete tasks because we just can’t get into it. The reason could be tiredness, distractions or something else. Rather than dwell on the task, go do something else. Here are tips for fending off procrastination.
5. Review your meetings. Have you been attending the same weekly meetings for months or even years? Are these meetings really needed? Regularly scheduled meetings can lose value. Ask for an agenda when people request your attendance. This gently reminds them to create an agenda, if they don’t have one. If they still don’t provide one, explain that you need to prepare yourself for the meeting and an agenda helps. Check out Imran’s tips on running effective meetings.
6. Hold conversations at a better time. Having a conversations that’s going in a circle with no new information? That’s the time to put the brakes on the conversation and follow up later.
7. Save time in your calendar. If you need to work on a project uninterrupted, put it in your calendar. This way you can easily say, “I’ve already got something scheduled at that time.” It makes it easier to say no. If you need to spend time with the family, add that, too.
8. Outsource or delegate. Can you delegate some of your work? Outsource personal chores and errands? Amber provides delegation tips.
9. End commitments. I used to join Twitter chats three nights a week on a regular basis, but stopped when my eyes ached. I also switched from being a regular player in time-consuming tennis matches away from home to substituting. Maybe it’s time to step down from a nonprofit board position, or to ditch some bad clients.
10. Be mindful about television time. Like surfing the Internet, it’s easy to waste away time flipping through channels during work breaks and after-hours. For years, I’ve recorded select TV programs and watched them at a convenient time such as while folding laundry, exercising and on a lunch break. Also, when a show bores me for too many episodes, I quit watching it.
11. Carry a book with you. I always have a book in my car or bag to prepare for unexpected idle time. Having a book with me at all times ensures I don’t waste free time by grabbing some reading time.
12. Manage in-person interruptions. This might not be so much or a problem for some web workers. However, those working in coworking centers, and those working from offices in family homes, might find their time invaded by people desiring a friendly chat. Have some phrases ready to rescue you from unexpected visitors. Try: “I hate to cut our visit short, but I am about to enter an online webinar. Thanks for stopping by.” Home office workers’ interruptions might include significant others, children and others living in their home. Check out my tips for meeting deadlines while keeping your kids happy.

How can you find more time in your day for things that matter?

Photo by stock.xchng user Kristian Stokholm

The best time to deal with this situation is at the start of a relationship. “I treat my consultant/contractor work like a regular job, and set expectations when I first speak with a prospective client. I explain what my work hours are and that I’m not available in the evenings or weekends,” says Deborah Edwards-Onoro.

Like most web workers, you may be flexible and accept occasional out-of-hours work. Still, it could snowball into a regular thing. “Frankly, if you don’t set the parameters ahead of time, you’re setting yourself up for expectations that aren’t going to be acceptable,” says Michele Wilcox.

What if you have multiple clients and they all decide to call on you at the same time, or you bite off more than you can chew? Draw a line under your time by being proactive with these tips.

• Discuss work hours at the start of a relationship. Specify your hours of availability and your flexibility. Set guidelines for special projects and emergencies that require out-of-hours work. These guidelines could include number of days or hours of advance notice for after hours work, list higher rates and how to handle emergencies. Get all of this down in a simple contract template that you can re-use.
• Keep separate phone lines. Web workers should have separate phone numbers for home and business. It’s not professional to use one line for both, especially as there are plenty of telephony options available that can make it possible without a big expense.
• Find a voicemail tool with features you need. Some voicemail providers offer features that give you more control over how the service handles your calls.
• Let calls go to voicemail. Your client may be calling to share a thought without expecting you to answer. Let voicemail take the message and then check to see what the client has to say. Answering every time gives the impression you’re “always on.”
• Turn off the phone. The phone should be there for your convenience. Despite this, some people struggle to ignore a ringing phone.
• Set email guidelines. Tell your clients when they can expect an email response. You can set a rule that you reply within two hours during working hours and then a different rule for after hours and weekends.
• Post your business hours. List your hours on your web site and in your voice mail, or indicate the best time to reach you. Prospective clients will respect your hours if they see your schedule before hiring you.
• Turn off instant messaging, Facebook chat and similar tools. If clients contact you by instant messaging (IM) or on other platforms such as Skype, remember to switch your status to “away” as needed — or turn off the service.
• Be proactive and present. Some clients don’t think to ask if you’re available for after-hours work. Rather than waiting for it to happen, tell the client that you’re flexible and would appreciate advance notice if something comes up. “If a client feels taken care of, he or she may hesitate before picking up the phone on weekends or after hours,” says Michelle I. Zavala.

Some people believe “always on” is the way to stay ahead of competitors, but it can harm your health and work quality. “How can you give your best to a client if they’re calling you, say, in the middle of the night and you’re asleep?” asks Teresa Nolan Barensfeld. “Another point is that your clients won’t see you as a professional if you don’t set any boundaries about your availability.”

Some freelancers say they compromise with after-hours work by taking time off during the day. You may run into clients who need 24/7 support. Steer away from such a set-up by asking questions and understanding their expectations. “Not everyone needs to set these boundaries for themselves and not every business model allows them. However, I have found that I am far more productive if I have a clear distinction between my office hours and the time I spend with my family,” says Laura Sultan.

How do you manage after-hours work?

Photo by stock.xchng user Hans Thoursie.

As of now, the Kindle — although I find it professionally beneficial in the sense that I find myself reading more — doesn’t have a direct and measurable impact on my work life. I can think of a few ways apps could change that situation and make the Kindle a valuable tool in my web working toolbox. After all, the Kindle has always-on 3G connectivity and extremely good battery life, both very desirable things in a mobile platform.

A Twitter App

It’s an obvious pick. Basically any device that can have Twitter on it almost inevitably will have Twitter on it, eventually. But Twitter on a Kindle would be a good fit because it requires very little in the way of resources and processor power. It’s basically text, and if there’s one thing the Kindle does well, it’s text.

Sure, there are lots of images, videos and web links on Twitter, too, and some might feel that that was the most important aspect of the service. For my purposes on the road, though, I’m less concerned with deep engagement and more concerned with basic access. As long as I can read my stream, and, more importantly, post updates from my Kindle, I’ll be more than satisfied.

A Gmail App

Another mostly text web-based tech that would work on a Kindle is Gmail. The ability to browse your text-only email with a simple, light interface via the Kindle would actually be preferable to reading it on a computer, in my opinion, since it would make it that much easier to actually concentrate on the content of your messages.

It shouldn’t be that hard to include a simple composition component, too, since the Kindle has a full keyboard. The key to making this app really useful will be keeping it simple, so let’s hope all parties involved keep that in mind. For instance, just because the Kindle can now read PDFs natively, doesn’t mean a Gmail app needs to be able to display PDF attachments. Basic email is all I’m looking for.

A Word Processing App

I want to use my iPhone to write things on the road from time to time. I don’t want to have to get my laptop out just to jot down a basic idea, but I can’t, in all honesty, use the iPhone’s virtual keyboard for anything longer than a text message or a very brief email or tweet. It’s functional, but nothing more.

Despite the small size of the keys, I definitely prefer the hardware keyboard the Kindle makes use of. I use it all the time to make notes in the books I’m reading (a favorite Kindle feature of mine), and after an initial adjustment period, I now find it quite comfortable. A basic app that allows me to create even basic text files that I can then transfer to my PC for further editing and use in other documents is exactly what I need from a Kindle word processing app.

A To-do App

I know the iPhone (and other smartphones) sort of has this covered, but since my to-do needs are very basic, I think I’d actually prefer to do this sort of thing on the Kindle with its basic, paper-like e-ink display. It might not be as easy to navigate without a touchscreen display, but I might actually be more inclined to use something attached to my reading platform than to my phone.

No iPhone, But Not Without Merit

The Kindle isn’t an iPhone; it’s designed to be a single-purpose device. I don’t think Amazon ever foresaw a future in which it would begin offering apps for the platform when it conceived of the Kindle, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be useful. As a mobile device, the Kindle has a lot of advantages over media players and other platforms, and with the right kind of effort in the right directions by developers, it could be a very handy little web working tool.

What kind of apps would you like to see on the Kindle?

Related GigaOM Pro Research: Evolution of the e-Book Market

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If the advances of the past couple of decades have told us anything, it’s that we probably can’t accurately predict the future, especially when it comes to technology. But that doesn’t mean we can’t prognosticate about general trends that might help us prepare for what’s to come.

Google Wave, but Better

Some would argue that Google Wave was the biggest online tech disappointment of the last year. It received a fair amount of hype prior to its launch, and at first just getting into the initial beta made people feel a sense of privilege and entitlement. That sense of entitlement quickly turned sour, at least in my experience and the experience of the vast majority I’ve talked to about Wave.

Google Wave itself may be a disappointment, but that doesn’t mean the hearts and minds of the team behind it weren’t in the right place. Thinking about the next step beyond email is a natural enough progression, and it’s likely that that next step will be more interactive, both between people and across media, which Google Wave most definitely is. People who think Internet communication reached its zenith with email are the same type of person who preferred the fax machine and the telegraph to their successors.

I imagine the future of the web to be built around context-based nodal communication, sort of like what’s starting to happen with Twitter and Facebook integration in blog commenting systems. I’ve no idea what the final shape of this kind of communication will look like, but it should benefit working only by emphasizing relevance and relationships over other concerns, like etiquette and immediacy.

Distributed Becomes De Facto

It’s already starting among call centers and other similar businesses operating in North America, at least, and pretty soon other employers will catch on to the fact that running a distributed operation instead of maintaining a physical office saves time and money.

That means we’ll see a lot more remote workers in the near future, culminating in a workplace that is completely home and coworking space-based by the end of the decade. It may seem hard to believe at this point, but think about how far we’ve come in this regard to date, and what people would’ve thought about it ten or twenty years ago.

Death of the Desktop

Well, not the surface itself, but the desktop computer, for all but extremely specialized usages. I realize the irony of predicting this while typing on my iMac, which I absolutely love and much prefer to my notebook computers. The fact is, though, that external monitors can now pretty much replicate all the convenience features that result in my iMac preference. I would much rather spend as much money as I can on one computer and have it suit all my needs, than spread it around to multiple, less ideal machines.

If anything, people will move more and more towards a notebook/netbook or notebook/tablet working configuration. The slate is the hottest new form factor in computing today, and though we haven’t yet had a chance to see how consumers will respond to the new, super portable touch-screen devices, I predict they will catch on quite quickly.

Greater portability will mean that business and public spaces will cater more to mobile workers, and we should be able to find a place fairly easily to plug in and reap the advantages of being able to work from wherever we are without diminished capacity. Picture a Starbucks with secondary monitors built-in to the walls and surfaces.

No Flying Cars

These predictions may seem bold, but I’m not suggesting we’ll be zipping around on sky highways here. There’s already precedents for each of the things mentioned above, and all I’m really doing is following the current trajectory of a few trends to their natural endpoint.

Where do you see web working ten years from now?

Image Credit: Lugi Novi

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Time is our most precious resource, and how we spend it ultimately determines how successful we are in life and business.

There are many things that we can do in a day’s time — check our email relentlessly, scour the news and blog feeds, surf the Internet, browse the latest Twitter updates. Most of the things we do eat away at our time in small increments, almost undetectably. We begin doing one task, and before we realize it, an hour (or three) has passed.

We must find ways to firewall our time and, at all times, guard our attention. But how?

First Line of Defense: Two-hour Full Guard

I like a tip from Julie Morgenstern’s book, “Never Check E-Mail in the Morning,” which is to “earn your paycheck by 10 AM.” At least for the first hour or two of the day, completely guard your time (100 percent, no interruptions). Close your browser, do not open your email, and do not visit the social networks. Turn off all alerts, as well as your phones. For just one or two hours a day, you’re on attention lockdown.

Next, write down the most important three tasks that you absolutely must, at a minimum, accomplish today. Then, within this guarded block of time, try to get through those tasks as completely as possible.

Now, if the rest of the day is a wash, at least you’ve had some really focused time and, hopefully, checked a few things off the to-do list (ideally, the things that pay the bills).

Second Line of Defense: Email Guard

When you come out of lockdown, ideally, you shouldn’t immediately jump full force into the major distractions (email, social networks, feeds), but you may need to respond to a few important emails, so you can make an exception here (a quick exception, say 15 minutes). Check your email, but only open those that truly need your attention (quote requests, customer inquiries, important emails from clients/assistants, etc.). Leave everything else to be read later. Shut your email program again. It’s time for another focused work session.

Third Line of Defense: Protect the Mothership

If there’s one thing we all tend to neglect, it’s our blogs. The content we put on our own sites is what helps search engines find us and what new visitors explore when they’re first deciding whether or not to follow us (or give us their precious time and attention). It’s important to add high-quality content to our sites on a very regular basis if we hope to move up in the Internet world.

For the next hour of your day, focus on writing something timely and relevant that will help your target audience. If nothing else goes right today, at least you’ve posted one good article to your blog. (If you do that every working day, assuming you work five days a week and 48 weeks a year, and you’ll post 240 new articles to your site over the coming year.)

Final Line of Defense: Set a Wrap-Up Alarm

This is another tip from Julie Morgenstern, and I’ve found it to be especially helpful for maintaining balance between my personal and professional lives. Set an alarm (on your computer or cell phone) to go off an hour before you want to be out of the office. When it goes off, it’s time to start shutting it down. Respond to any last-minute important emails, write your upcoming to-do list, check your calendar, clear your desk and do any other quick tasks that will set you up to succeed tomorrow.

That’s it! The rest of your day can be used however you’d like, and no matter how you spend your remaining time, you can feel good knowing that you’ve made some progress toward your goals.

What lines of defense do you have in place to safeguard your time? In a time when our attention is being pulled in a thousand different directions, how do you make sure the important things get done?

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I shouldn’t have been surprised — I’d told her earlier in the week that we might become more productive if we work near each other. At that time it was merely a suggestion. I didn’t think that one day I would just wake up and find it a reality.

“Oh well, there’s nothing wrong with that,” I thought to myself. It’s not like we didn’t discuss it. What’s the worst that could happen? In fact, I believed we were going to be more motivated and productive.

A few days later, I realized that every benefit of coworking with my partner came paired with a disadvantage.

Inspiration vs. Distraction

As Darrell suggested in a previous post, you should pick a coworking partner that you respect and admire. I knew I could learn from my partner’s work ethic and her ability to make connections. I find her inspiring, but having her around is distracting too. Every time she moved or made a sound, I would shoot involuntary glances to her side of the room. To be fair, she told me that although she’s motivated by my passion for work she got annoyed at how loud I type.

This meant that we needed some physical barriers so that we could block out distracting movements and sounds. At the same time, we didn’t want to completely separate our workspaces. Our solution was to keep our desks six feet apart, rather than side-by-side, and place a small shelf of books in between. From where I’m sitting I can see her monitor, keyboard and hands without being distracted with the other movements she makes. Also, she can barely hear me type.

Common Ground vs. Conflicts

Having similar goals and habits can work for you, but there will always be  conflict no matter how compatible you think you are. For example, we agree on the color of the walls (orange), the position of the furniture and having a small garden behind the sliding door. Things we disagree on: everything else.

The workaround to this issue is to know your priorities as a team and as individuals. Do you need a completely silent work environment or can you adjust to soft ambient music? Is your need for a large shelf as important as her need for more leg room? There will always be compromises. Knowing your priorities can identify the compromises that will least affect you.

If you must argue, pick your battles well. An argument over who makes the coffee is not as important as a constructive discussion on how the other person’s habits interfere with your work.

Collaboration vs. Independence

It’s hard to create privacy when you’re working in one room. This can be a good thing, since you can help each other out of time sinks as well as share ideas. Too much collaboration, on the other hand, can be suffocating.

Facilitating collaboration was easy. The whiteboard in the office allowed us to write our to-do lists for the day and the rest of the week. If I need help with something, I just write it on the box labeled “Requests.” She then responds in a way that was most convenient for both of us whether it’s through email, a conversation, or Twitter.

Even then, we’d often think of a question that needed a quick reply. Asking out loud worked at first, but during peak productive moments we’d rather work uninterrupted. How would she know if it was okay to disturb me (and vice versa)?

Here’s the solution we came up with: a simple “DND” under my name in the whiteboard shows that I can’t be bothered until the “DND” has come off. The same goes for her. Now, it’s almost a reflex to look at the whiteboard and check for the “DND” before I speak.

Coworking with my partner was much harder than I expected. The good news is that with continued effort, we’re slowly getting to the point where the arrangement is making us stronger — both as a couple and as teleworkers.

Have you ever tried sharing a home office with your spouse or partner? What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

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But how do you know if your clients are abusing you? Here are a few telltale signs and tips for how to fix and avoid these situations.

The work keeps creeping in. Scope creep is the bane of many freelancers’ lives. You start with one description of what is to be done and end up doing something entirely different, or something that’s way more involved than the original task.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Have a contract and a clear and agreed-upon scope and schedule for each and every phase or project. Outline exactly what is to be done and when it’s due.

The client expects immediate responses or complete availability. Occasionally, you’ll come across clients who want 100 percent undivided attention. They expect emails to be responded to within an hour and work to be completed at an unrealistic pace.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Set expectations from the start. Explain when you’re available to clients, how quickly you tend to reply to communications, and how you prefer to communicate. You may also wish to explain how you work. For example, do you generally devote a set amount of time to each project or client per day? If so, explain this to clients up front so that they know what to expect.

The client expects to be able to chat with you frequently. Some clients prefer to communicate by phone, others expect to chitchat at the start of each call, and occasionally, you’ll even find those who expect to have multiple calls per day. In any case, these clients can be a serious drain on your time, making it next to impossible to stay on schedule with your work.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Make it part of your policy to limit phone communications altogether. It may seem harsh, but phone calls and excessive meetings are actually counterproductive. Keep all phone calls to 15 minutes or less and require all calls to be scheduled in advance. Finally, let clients know your preferred communication methods so that they know what to expect.

The client frequently goes back and forth over decisions or nitpicks with minor changes. When a client is indecisive, it can make working with him a nightmare. He wants things one way one minute, the complete opposite the next. Round and round you go, until you are completely confused and way outside of the original scope.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Clearly specify the number of revisions that are included in the project, as well as the deadlines for each set of revisions. Then communicate frequently about pending deadlines so that clients understand that they must turn in all changes by that point and that any subsequent changes will fall within the next set of revisions or will require additional revisions (at a predetermined and contracted rate).

The client expects free consulting and advice. Many times, this type of client has “friends” working on things for him or her for free, so if you hear this hint early on, you might want to consider this a red flag and run the other way. Unfortunately, it’s quite common to come across bargain hunters, so you’ll have to be firm and stick to your guns if you don’t want your bottom line to suffer.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Again, the contract and scope can be a real lifesaver here. If you clearly outline what’s included in a project or job (including the number of phone calls), it will be much harder for clients to negotiate freebies.

By preparing for these common situations in advance, you can often avoid them altogether, saving yourself time, profit and sanity. Put your policies in place and then stick to them without fail so that your clients know exactly what to expect.

How do you handle difficult clients? What techniques do you use to stay on track?

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Recently, it’s been much easier to work from a place of desperation, taking every opportunity that comes our way and doing every marketing tactic imaginable to maintain a contracting sales pipeline. Suddenly, the “fight or flight” reaction becomes almost routine, an up and down roller coaster ride that started as an attempt to keep our businesses afloat during these tough times.

The Fight Response

When times get tough, we take a “no holds barred” approach to marketing and promoting our businesses. The goal is finding ways to stay open and survive when it’s getting harder and harder to secure new business. We create elaborate and ambitious marketing plans with the intention of doing all that we can to keep things going. We get up early. We stay up late. We work at a furious pace trying to keep up with it all until…

The Flight Response

…we burn out. All the running and pushing and fighting has caught up with us. We’re tired. More than tired, we’re exhausted and spent. We’re frustrated with the lackluster results from what seemed (at the time) like very promising plans and the best of intentions. At this point, we just need a break. It takes every bit of effort to muster up enough energy to complete the bare minimum of “must be done” tasks, let alone keep up with the ambitious marketing plan.

We take a few days to rest, and then we decide to regroup. Where do you think we go? Back to the fight response, and the whole thing starts over.

How do we end the cycle of this instinctive response? We have to recognize it and stop it before it starts. Here’s how.

Step 1 — Acknowledge that you’ve been running the “fight or flight” circle.

It may take a while to even realize that you’re doing this to yourself. After all, for many of us, this is perhaps the first time we’ve ever had to try this hard to keep our businesses afloat, so this is all very new to us.

Step 2 — Find a good accountability partner to help you keep things in check.

Let your accountability partner know what you’re trying to accomplish and agree on ways that he or she can keep you on track. Have monthly (at a minimum) phone calls or in-person meetings to discuss your progress and setbacks, as well as ways to improve your efforts going forward. With each call, agree on next actions/steps to move you forward in some way.

Step 3 — Be realistic.

When you’re not stressed or thinking about the problems you are facing, sit down and formulate a realistic plan for keeping your business afloat. Determine the goals you want to reach for your business in the coming months, as well as the marketing tactics you will use to help you achieve them. Your plans should include small but consistent steps that you can take on a daily basis to achieve your goals. Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Plan accordingly.

Step 4 — Plan for time off.

This is probably going to be the toughest part, but you must regularly take time away from your business to do things that restore your energy and enthusiasm. Rest is just as important for your success as the work itself. It’s important to plan for it, and (if necessary) force yourself to do it, and don’t just stay at home watching television. Get out. Get outside. Be with other people. This is especially important for web workers.

The fight or flight response is only natural. We’re finding ourselves under increasing levels of stress, and our instincts are telling us to protect ourselves. We can, but not exactly the way Mother Nature intended. By recognizing that we’re falling into this trap, we can learn to avoid it and improve our results going forward.

Have you noticed the “fight or flight” response affecting your actions in recent months? How are you learning to cope with the increased levels of stress, while still keeping your business afloat?

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nim·ble : quick and light in motion;

Being a web worker has its advantages, and one of the biggest is that you can build a very adaptable and nimble business. Here are a few of the ways we stay flexible.

Web workers hear about developments and opportunities immediately.

The good thing about working online all day is that you have access to information as soon as it becomes available, making it easy to keep a finger on your competitors’ and customers’ pulses and adjust your services and business offerings accordingly.

Tip: To make your business a bit more nimble when it comes to staying in the loop, participate in social-networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Your competitors, clients and potential customers are there posting updates and issues they’re facing 24/7.

Web workers can jump on opportunities quickly.

Even better than just hearing about opportunities, web workers are in the unique position to take advantage of them quickly, amazing customers with their service, even before a working relationship begins.

Tip: eLance and other job posting sites are perfect places to find out about new business opportunities. As soon as customers submit their needs, you can be there to respond and provide a solution. The same is true of sites like Twitter. Using the service’s search functionality, as well as Twitter applications like TweetDeck, you can immediately see when someone is looking for your type of service or expertise and be the first in line with assistance.

Web workers can quickly adapt.

The landscape of the web is constantly changing. Businesses, applications and sites that exist today may not be around three months from now. Fortunately for the “in-the-know, always-connected” web worker, it’s relatively easy to adjust course and compensate for the changes in scenery.

If a favorite web app is no longer available, a quick Twitter query or Google search for an alternative is only a few key strokes away.

Tip: To stay agile in the ever-changing web world, be sure to always backup your files, keep your computers and applications synced, and stay knowledgeable of alternatives for all of your commonly used web applications.

If you take advantage of the tools and resources available to you online, it’s easy to build an adaptable web-based business, one that can even get a jump on the competition.

How do you keep your business agile and quick to adapt? Share your tips and experiences of the nimble web business.

Definition from Merriam-Webster
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You don’t need a fancy set-up. You can get by with a few basic necessities (in most cases, a computer, an Internet connection, a web site and maybe some business cards).

You don’t need to quit your day job. You can keep working at your current job until your web work picks up enough to support you.

You can work around your current obligations. You can work at night, on weekends, in the mornings after you take the kids to school, or use any time you have available. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment. Web working is a lot more flexible than most jobs, and you can get a lot done in just a couple of hours a day.

You don’t have to sell the farm. You can work where you are, without making any major lifestyle changes to compensate for the new venture. If you were starting a traditional “bricks and mortar” business, you might have to find a way to fund the business, which might include selling assets, moving to a smaller place, etc.

So, what are you waiting for? To start, you’ll need a few things:

Set up a legal entity for your business as soon as possible. This is good for tax and liability purposes, as well as maintaining personal privacy.  Be sure to speak with your accountant or tax adviser about the most appropriate entity for your business and needs.

Set up a business account as soon as you get your first check (or sooner). If you set up a PayPal or Google Checkout account that isn’t used for personal purchases, then it could serve as your “business account.”  Of course, you should always consult an accountant for assistance and advice surrounding your business finances.

A web site. Even if you just have a small site to start with, you need a face for your business online. You also need a place to post regular and frequent updates (a blog, a newsletter, or a podcast are a few examples). This will help you to start establishing your site with search engines and with building traffic. The earlier you start posting regular (and relevant) content to your site, the better off you will be. You need a way to build a list of followers who want to stay updated about you and your products and services. Aside from these few basic “must haves,” you can forgo the fancy design until you can afford it.

Create (and maintain) a consistent lead generation plan. This might consist of a lot of writing and posting online, or a cold-calling or advertising campaign.

Build a portfolio and testimonials. Do free work for family, friends, former business colleagues and nonprofit organizations. Do whatever you can do to create a respectable portfolio and authentic testimonials regarding the quality of your work.

Here are a couple of things you don’t need just yet.

A logo or “identity.” Your name or business name will do, along with a specific description of the services/products you provide and the ideal target customer you serve.

A fancy web site. While you do need a web site, you don’t have to drop the big bucks on it to start with.

The key is to start small, think sustainable, and focus on lead generation and building a following. If you have a product or service that people are ready and willing to buy, you can worry about the more complicated tasks involved in starting a business a little later on. For now, just jump!

Do you have a business success story that resulted after taking a leap of faith?  Tell us about it, and share the steps you took to get it off the ground.

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In interviewing people in web working careers, one fact is clear: Many of us share similar specs beyond motivation and organization. I asked some web working colleagues what it takes to make a successful web worker. Do you have the right components to become a fine-tuned web worker machine?

Containing the Right Specs

Thursday Bram: Web workers must be self-starters — it’s too easy to procrastinate if you can work anywhere or at any time.

Stephen P. Smith: Creativity — as in finding creative ways to connect and serve your clients/customers — is very important, as well as flexibility in scheduling and work locations.

Jen Slayden: Web workers must have inner support — things they do to motivate themselves.

Monica Valentinelli: The ability to adapt to change.

Lisa Tener: The ability to synthesize the information out there. What information is going to be important or optional, how much you need to know yourself and how much you can outsource.

Lorrie Thomas: Must be “can doers.” Web workers don’t have the luxury of spinning their work chair around and asking for help. The secret to web workers working anywhere and succeeding comes from a can-do attitude and a desire to solve problems independently.

Having More Than Tech Support

Jen Slayden: Outer support: Networking with people in the same boat, for example.

Mary Shaw: Must be comfortable with isolation during the workday. They also need to get offline and out on a regular basis.

Dawn Martinello: Having your family onboard. When your family knows you are right on the other side of the door, it’s easy to pop in and ask for help because it will take “a quick second.”

Mrinal Desai: Ability to stretch and sustain relationships through offline touch points — email, phone and then, if possible, meeting at conferences, coffee, etc.

Chris Burbridge: Emotional intelligence. For example, a person who gets too into the technology side of things can geek out and forget about keeping the client satisfied beyond tech needs.

Venturing Out of the Computer Box

Katherine Lynch: I think you need to get out in the world. I’ve created a wine club to go along with my blog, and it’s done wonders for getting my name out.

Reza Tehranian: Stay on top of trends and the market.

Martin Amm: Participate in social media conversations without an agenda. It builds trust and credibility.

Kathleen DesMaisons: Having the ability to see the people rather than the computer screen.

Brandon Muth: Pith, humor and the real life people skills to turn off their computer, stop tweeting and actually have face-to-face interaction with humans on a daily basis. Without these qualities you can quickly turn into an insulated, isolated weirdo who doesn’t offer much benefit to society, other than the ability to inundate us with more tweets than we could ever digest and bore us to tears about your latest late night experiment with some lame new plugin.

Working like a Fine Machine

Yaron Sinai: The ability to easily understand new tools or applications without a lot of explanation. A software developer, for example, will need to be able to quickly master new development tools and procedures without hand holding from co-workers or superiors.

Reza Tehranian: Be at the top of your industry and game.

Communicating Without Geek Speak

Stewart Mader: A strong ability to communicate about what you’re doing. If you work for a company, you need to be good at using the intranet, enterprise wiki or other social computing tools to keep others up to date on what you’re doing, ask for their feedback and make sure they know you’re available to help them too.

Amy Hoy: Ability to cultivate a generous interpretation of emails, to-do’s, meetings and the other mishaps that inevitably happen when we’re not there in person.

Cindy Alvarez: The ability to identify assumptions. I managed a team of product managers and interaction designers in India, and the single trait that the most successful ones shared was the ability to identify assumptions — the assumptions they were working under as well as the assumptions that they perceived that their teammates were working under.

Have the Right Accessories

Aaron Price: A shower and toothbrush. You may not realize it, but the first thing you do everyday should be to shower and brush your teeth.  You’ll feel more professional and you’ll get more done.

Hank Stroll: Set up your workstation with ergonomics in mind or else your office will be a pain in the rear.

Aaron Price: A good chair.  If you’re working on the web, chances are you’ll be sitting in front of the computer all day. You can actually develop a problem in your spine — a real pain in the butt — called coccydynia.

Undoubtedly, many have managed to succeed as web workers despite missing key specs. They work their “processors” harder to overcome something that doesn’t come as part of their package. This can create one short-circuited web worker, but for some, the sacrifice is worth it.

What other specs do you need to be a lean, mean web working machine?

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This is what a day in my hectic life looks like — a never-ending game of Tetris (in which colored blocks are work and black are non-work). It’s probably a lot like yours, but with different labels:

The Millennials, for better or for worse, have grown up living like this, and apparently it comes pretty naturally to them. But what if you are from an earlier generation, or if you had crunchy granola parents who had a “Kill Your TV” bumper sticker on their old car and whose most sophisticated piece of electronic equipment was the toaster?

I think there are certain personality traits that many of us share that can help us to capitalize on the principles outlined in the Agile Manifesto. And they might not be what you expect:

1. You have to be lazy. Yes, lazy. Because lazy people find the most efficient solutions to problems in order to get the job done. (From the Agile Manifesto: “Simplicity — the art of maximizing the amount of work not done — is essential.”)
2. You have to be easily bored. Because then you’re exhilarated and stimulated by the constant turmoil rather than overwhelmed by it. (From the Agile Manifesto: “Welcome changing requirements.”)
3. You have to be curious. Because then you’ll always be increasing the breadth and depth of your knowledge, which will give you more/better marketable skills and enable you to diversify when the opportunity arises. (From the Agile Manifesto: “Continuous attention to technical excellence…enhances agility.”)

These are only a few of the principles behind the Agile Manifesto. I encourage you to read them all and envision how you can integrate these principles into your business practices.

What other characteristics do you think we need to deal with life and work in our constantly changing world?

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