“Toto, I don’t think we’re in our @PioneerPress cubicle anymore. #wow.”
That’s what I tweeted in jest last week as I sat in what is possibly the most majestic workspace I’ve ever seen.
It’s CoCo Minneapolis, a downtown coworking space that happens to be in the old Minneapolis Grain Exchange with soaring ceilings, huge windows, ornate moldings and wood everywhere, from the floors to the fine old furniture that is mixed in with modern laptop stations and meeting areas.
I think I had “CoCo newbie” written all over me as I spun around in my typing chair and gazed in awe at my surroundings.
It wasn’t my first time at CoCo Minneapolis, but it was my first visit as someone who made productive use of the space, as do others who rent time at the facility by the day, the week or the month.
This gave me a fresh perspective.
I also spent time at CoCo St. Paul, a cozier coworking space not far from the downtown St. Paul Farmers Market.
Again, it was not my first time in the facility. I had attended conferences there in the past, but it was my first time coworking there — or, anywhere.
Coworking in the Twin Cities is hot, with a variety of communal workspaces springing up.
So to better grasp the trend, I ditched my usual work haunts — Pioneer Press HQ and my home office — to try being productive in new and unusual surroundings.
This worked out better than I expected.
I’m insanely particular about how my workspaces are set up and have found working in coffee shops to be nightmarish. The ergonomics are all wrong, for starters.
The CoCos suited me, though.
They get the little details right.
The adjustable office-style chairs are very comfortable and can be raised enough so that tapping on my laptop doesn’t feel awkward and RSI-inducing.
At CoCo St. Paul, I worked on one of several big wooden tables. In Minneapolis, about a third of the vast CoCo facility is set aside for 50 or so laptop stations at a trio of long, modern tables that bristle with power outlets.
All of this was critical since I wasn’t pretend-working. I was on actual, on-deadline Pioneer Press business.
Last week, in St. Paul, I was monitoring the Apple iPhone 5 unveiling and writing a related article and blog post. The next day, in Minneapolis, I pounded out what you’re reading now — and did so frantically, ahead of a looming, must-attend meeting elsewhere downtown.
I feared the less-than-dead-silent surroundings might be a distraction.
Both CoCos pump music, softly but distinctly, at all times. I got used to this.
I also feared that I might be a distraction. My voice tends to carry and I’ve been hushed at the Pioneer Press on more than one occasion.
This is one reason I love my home office, where I can be as loud as I like.
But I adapted at CoCo St. Paul, using my inside voice while doing interviews on my iPhone 4, and incensing no one.
How I availed myself of CoCo coworking space is interesting in itself. Each time, I used a Web service called Loosecubes, which lists coworking locales around the country and the world and helps those needing workspace to find facilities that agree with them.
Another service, LiquidSpace, works on a similar principle. Both services have phone apps.
Upon arriving at each of the CoCos, I identified myself as a Loosecubes user and was pointed to the work areas.
At CoCo Minneapolis, I was handed a day-pass badge bearing a shot of Hawkeye Pierce of M.A.S.H. fame, along with the words, “Hawkeye likes what you’re working on.”
After trying both CoCos, I’m hard-pressed to pick a favorite.
CoCo St. Paul is just down the street from the Pioneer Press and a short bus ride from my residence. I love its exposed-brick-and-ducts look with its intimate vibe (and the view of Union Depot is killer). A lot of people I know hang out there, which makes for great conversations.
But CoCo Minneapolis is just … amazing.
I once told Don Ball, one of CoCo’s two co-founders and a fellow South American, that I thought working in such jaw-dropping surroundings might freak me out a bit, since I have a hermit-geek disposition and like hemmed-in work surroundings.
When I spent a morning at CoCo Minneapolis, though, I hated to leave. And that is the point of CoCo and other coworking facilities — creating freakin’ awesome surroundings that will energize its denizens into doing their best work.
CoCo certainly did that for me.
