How was your Thanksgiving? Our team was grateful for time with family and the break from a busy season at the office, and now we’re headed straight into the holidays.

Are you ready for the decorations, the music, the shopping, and the family get-togethers? No matter your outlook on the holiday season, you can’t escape it. That’s why it’s important to practice gratitude this season and extend it into the new year.

I’ll be honest, I’m even more thankful for our coworking space during the holiday season. Between the countless UPS deliveries and temptation to stay in your sweats all day, working from home is challenging. Here are 9 reasons why a coworking space might be your solution. If any of these sound familiar, come work out of MAC6 for a day and see if you like it!

1. Focus

At home, your personal to-do list is always top of mind: cleaning, planning holiday parties and get togethers, wrapping presents, and mailing out Christmas cards. Even if you have a separate office space at home, the reminders of all you have to do for the holidays are just steps away.

At an office, your work is top of mind. It’s easy to separate your home to-do list from your work to-do list when they have their own completely separate physical spaces. The focus you find in an away-from-home office is refreshing and more productive, giving you peace of mind at the end of each day.

2. Teamwork

For us professionals with a team: Working face-to-face with colleagues is more effective and productive than working over the phone or email. It builds culture. It builds trust. It executes and streamlines your business plan effectively.

For the solopreneur: Working solo doesn’t mean you have to be alone! Phone and email can be done from a home office, but human interaction stops there. Join a coworking space to surround yourself with other professionals and be a part of a collaborative community.

3. Friends

Having friends at work produces a happier workforce. At home, you’re solo. At the office, you have people to act as a sounding board, lunch-mates, and people to go out with for holiday happy hour. The bottom line: it’s more fun to come to work when you have friends to work with!

4. Motivation

There’s something to be said for getting dressed and getting out of the house every day. Fresh air, face-to-face interactions, and a change of scenery provides the mental stimulation for motivation. Of course, you can meet your goals while working in your sweats, but who will celebrate with you? Motivation comes from accountability, consistency, and sharing your achievement with others.

5. Work/Life balance

Perhaps you’re on the opposite side of ‘motivation’ above – the hardest part of working from home is making yourself stop working and relax.

We hear this all the time: when your home and your work happen at the same place, it can be hard to separate the two. Join a coworking space and leave your work at work. Relax when you’re home. It’s easier to enjoy the holidays when your office isn’t 10 feet away from your Christmas tree.

6. Food

With the holidays comes amazing food, and lots of it. It can be one of the best things about the holiday season. Except, if you work at home, abundance easily becomes overindulgence. Your kitchen is just around the corner and so are those delicious sugar cookies! Even when working from an office, it’s tempting to overindulge. At least when you’re working from an office there are people who will see you taking that fifth brownie. You won’t get that accountability at home!

7. A Gym

Speaking to the last point, it might be nice to build up some endorphins and work off some stress this holiday season (not to mention that fourth brownie). At MAC6, we offer a community gym and on-staff personal trainer to get you through the holiday season fit and healthy.

8. Routine

An office provides a sense of normalcy and routine all year long. Your home will not offer the same, even if you don’t participate in holiday festivities. Home improvement projects, birthdays, and sick family members can regularly change the atmosphere at home. A separate office space and consistent office members will not undergo frequent changes, making work your healthy routine.

9. An Escape

Out-of-town guests during the holidays are welcome to some, and an obligation to others. No matter your perspective, it’s a challenge to get work done with your enthusiastic mother-in-law, nieces, and nephews in the next room. You won’t feel as obligated to play host and answer questions every ten minutes if aren’t at home!

If you’re already drowning in eggnog, we’d love to help you and your team find the perfect office space. Learn about the MAC6 co-working space in Tempe here. Or if you’d like to check out what it’s like to work from a coworking space and solve some of the holiday craziness, come work from our space for any day in December. Sign up here – We can’t wait to hear from you!