In many ways, hot desking couldn’t be simpler. Turn up whenever you need to, grab an available desk, and get to work! However, if you want to make sure that you’re getting as much as possible out of your experience while also contributing to the community aspect of coworking that keeps these shared workspaces alive, read on as Circle Hub rounds up the top mistakes to avoid making when using a hot desk.
Not Making the Most of the Flexibility You Have
People turn to hot desking (known as Hot Spots at Circle Hub) for various reasons, with one of the most common being the flexibility it offers. No matter when you need to work, there’ll be a desk ready and waiting for you. In fact, there will more than likely be several available desks for you to choose from, each one giving you a slightly different environment…and this is the beauty of the flexibility offered by hot desking.
If you’re used to sitting at the same desk day in and day out, it’s easy to fall back into those same habits once you make the move to a coworking space. However, this would be to your detriment. If you want to gain as much as possible from your coworking experience, make the most of the flexibility that’s on offer. When you have a busy day that requires you to knuckle down, block out all distractions, and fully focus, pick a desk in a quiet corner. On the other hand, when you need to soak up some inspiration and be your most creative self, a desk in a more vibrant part of the workspace will fill you with new ideas.
Keeping Yourself Isolated at All Times
Hot desking comes with a significant social aspect. It’s one of the biggest perks of using a hot desk – you’ll be surrounded by other professionals, which helps to combat the loneliness that modern-day workers often feel. While this may not seem like a big deal, it has a far-reaching impact. Research shows that not only does this affect productivity, but workplace loneliness can also be hugely detrimental to a person’s well-being.
This is why the social side of hot desking should be taken advantage of as much as possible. Make the most of the common areas at your coworking space – they’re great for socializing. Even if you’re more of an introvert, the relaxed ambiance in these spaces makes it easy to strike up new connections with people. Better yet, it won’t just be social connections that you’ll be making. Socializing at a coworking space quickly leads to networking, enabling you to expand your professional network in an incredibly useful way, without having to put much effort in!
Interrupting People Who Are Concentrating
Speaking of socializing while you’re hot desking…
There’s nothing wrong with doing this in the common areas of your coworking space. In fact, it’s highly encouraged! Coworking spaces strive to achieve a community-like feel.
However, there’s a time and place for everything, including socializing. Once you’re actually sitting at your hot desk, surrounded by people who are hard at work, socializing should be put on hold for a while. The last thing that you should be doing at a coworking space is interrupting people who are concentrating.
If someone speaks to you as you’re settling down at your desk, there’s nothing wrong with exchanging brief niceties and introducing yourself. However, this is where it should end. Even if the two of you are happy to chat further, this will only serve as a disruption for everyone else in that space. Save those deeper conversations for when you’re in a more appropriate area.
Forgetting to Reserve Your Favorite Desk When Needed
As we discussed earlier, the flexibility to choose your own desk is a much-loved part of hot desking. It enables you to match your desk with your work tasks for the day, which will help with focus and productivity.
However, some coworking spaces also give members the opportunity to reserve a specific desk in advance. At Circle Hub, this is known as our Designated Desk service. Once you get to know the hot desking space, you’ll likely end up with a few favorite desks. With this service, you can ensure that the desk is available for you whenever you need it. No one else will be able to work there during the hours you’ve reserved it for, which can be particularly useful during peak times.
Not Taking Enough Breaks
It’s understandable that people want to get as much work done as possible when they’re hot desking. The surge in productivity that hot desking provides encourages this, meaning that many people often remain at their desks for hours at a time.
This, however, is a common mistake to make. Sure, you may think that the more time you spend at your desk, the better. However, all work with no breaks can quickly take a toll. Those long, uninterrupted stretches of work will soon lead to a decline in both productivity and creativity. You’ll find yourself making more mistakes, and burnout is also much more likely to occur.
The best way to go about things is to force yourself to take regular breaks throughout your workday. Ideally, you should be taking a micro-break every hour. Spend just a few minutes focused on something else to refresh your brain. Then, every couple of hours, take a slightly longer break.
A good coworking space, like Circle Hub, offers plenty of ways to spend your break times. You could fix yourself a snack in our kitchen, lounge on a sofa in one of our common areas, work up a sweat in our on-site gym, or bring out your competitive side in our gaming room. Either way, by the time you get back to work, you’ll have given your mind and body the rest that it needs to function to its full potential.
Not Being Mindful of Your Noise Levels
We’ve already spoken about how important it is not to hold a full-blown conversation with someone else while you’re in a hot desking workspace. It’s common coworking etiquette – after all, everyone who is there needs to work with minimal distractions.
However, it’s not just conversations that can cause those distractions. Other activities can be noisy too, making it vital that you’re mindful of these.
Taking a phone call, for example, should never be done in a shared workspace. The same can be said of video calls. If you have a long phone or video conference to attend, book yourself a private space, such as a conference room, for the hour or so that your call will last. This not only ensures that you don’t disturb anyone else, but it will also allow you to keep your work confidential.
Spilling Over Onto the Next Desk
Another important piece of coworking etiquette that everyone should be aware of is being mindful of how much space you’re using. When you’re hot desking, you have the right to use the desk that you’re at…and only that desk.
This may seem like common sense. However, some people still make the mistake of spilling over onto the desks around them. This is problematic for a few reasons. Firstly, it makes the area seem cluttered. While this may not bother you, it can be an issue for others. It can distract them to the point of affecting their productivity. It can also put other members off from using the desks next to you. This means that the workspace won’t be fully utilized in the way that it should.
If you need a lot of ‘stuff’ to get your work done for the day and are struggling to squeeze it all onto one desk, consider booking a private office space for the day, or however long you need it. This will give you more space to sprawl out in without having to worry about interrupting anyone else’s workflow.
Leaving a Mess Behind
When you turn up at a coworking space for a day of work, you expect the available desks to be clean and tidy. This is helped by the fact that coworking spaces are professionally cleaned. However, it’s important to note that most spaces don’t employ cleaners who stick around 24/7. This means that some of the responsibility for keeping a desk neat and clean will fall on the people who use that space.
Most coworking spaces have rules in place regarding this. You’ll need to make sure that you leave your desk as you found it. If you’ve made any sort of mess, this needs to be tidied away before you leave for the day, so that the next person using your desk can get straight to work without having to clean up first.
Turning Up When You’re Feeling Unwell
Nobody wants to work when they’re feeling unwell. Unfortunately, this can sometimes seem unavoidable. Whether you have a heavy workload or a big deadline coming up, you may try to ignore the cold or flu that you’re suffering from and force yourself to head into your coworking space anyway.
However, this is something that you should never do. As you’ll be aware, germs spread easily, especially in an enclosed space shared by several people. After the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more coworking spaces factored this into their layouts. However, this still won’t be enough to prevent you from spreading something contagious to other members.
If you aren’t feeling great but need to work, stick to working from home for a while, at least until you’ve fully recovered.
Summary
Hot desking is such a convenient way to work…so long as you do it correctly! Follow our tips above to ensure that you aren’t making any of those common hot desking mistakes so that you can make the most of your time spent in that shared workspace.
Want to know more about hot desking at Circle Hub? Click here to book a tour of our workspaces today!