The place where I started working was my first experience of the real adult world, and while I do have a few irks about the outdated place, it’s still close to my heart. But I’ve always been fascinated with startups, especially those who have no offices to call their own yet. That’s why one fine Friday morning, I decided to book a desk in one of the newest co-working spaces in BGC, SquareOne.

Location is key

I love how  convenient Square One is. I told my Uber driver to just drop me off near Bonifacio Technology Center so that I could look at the stores and restos nearby. I felt delighted knowing that should I need to grab a bite, I could step out and there were a number of options to eat. Also, I spotted places where if I need to meet someone, I could just tell them the name of Starbucks and it’s a date! No need to hail a cab to look for a decent place to meet with a client.

Amenities

It’s really clean and cozy. Upon entering, I saw that I was the first worker for today and it felt like I had the place to myself, except for the polite and helpful receptionist and some staff of course. The ambiance was really casual and creative, not too intimidating and the noise was set to a minimum. There’s music playing but not loud enough to distract me from the pile of emails waiting. Wi-fi was quick and easy to access and surprisingly really fast. Coffee and tea are readily available. Colorful couches are scattered around the room for anyone who wants to work comfortably and meeting rooms and private areas are also provided for teams who need privacy. Outlets for plugs were aplenty on walls. Basically, my only qualm was the common restroom. One has to go out of SquareOne to use the restroom.

How my day went down

I really found the place interesting since everything was new to me. The helpful lady at the receiving area points out the areas that I could use and explained how everything works.

I sat down in a blue-colored chair with a table, and immediately started working, I don’t know if it’s the change in the environment or the fast internet helped. Almost 30 minutes into working silently on my own, the regular workers of the area trickled in one by one. I was worried that they will notice the new blood and try to talk to me (after all, I’m used to working full-time in an office where I’ve been employed for three years, so I am bound to greet and make small talk every 15 minutes) but they carried on with what they were supposed to do in their own area.

After a long time slouching on my laptop, I felt uncomfortable with the seat and table. The design of the furniture forced me to type higher than what I’m used to and the back of the chair is too short for my back to lean on. Unlike office chairs, designed to take on stressed people leaning back from time to time, the furniture at SquareOne are designed to be aesthetic and give off creative vibes. Maybe that’s why there were couches scattered everywhere, but I passed on using them, I felt sleepy everytime I took a glance at them, so I stuck to my uncomfortable position. After sometime, I just decide to put my computer on my lap and leaned back to a much more comfortable position.

For someone used to having an area of her own, it felt new and adventurous to work in the SquareOne environment. I didn’t get to talk to anyone as they were all busy working, but it felt like new ideas were coming into my head. I don’t know if it’s the new environment of if the idea of working at co-working spaces really broadens your horizon, with you really thinking right out of the box.