Spent a month working from a coworking space in Medellin and my productivity actually dropped

I thought leaving my noisy Airbnb would fix everything, but the constant networking events and free coffee chats ate into my focus time. Ended up getting maybe 4 solid hours of work per day instead of my usual 6. I learned that social environments can be just as distracting as loud ones if you don't set boundaries. Has anyone else found that coworking spaces hurt more than help for deep work?

3 comments

3 Comments

robinp8922h ago

Noise canceling headphones and a strict "do not disturb" sign helped me get 6 hours of focus there.

elliot_roberts17h ago

Coworking spaces are honestly great for deep work if you know how to use them right. I crushed way more focused hours there than at home because the background energy kept me from getting bored and scrolling my phone every 10 minutes. Setting clear boundaries with people and picking a quiet spot solves the distraction problem without losing the motivation boost.

emma_wells8320h ago

You've hit on something real there. I had the same problem at a coworking spot in Austin last year. The constant interruptions from people wanting to network or grab coffee just killed my flow. @robinp89's suggestion about noise canceling headphones is spot on - I ended up doing the same thing and it made a world of difference. Even with the headphones, I still had to start booking a private phone booth for a couple hours each morning to get any real deep work done. It's funny how we assume busy social spaces will motivate us, but for certain kinds of work they're just another distraction.