During the last weeks, creativity has done a lot of work. Being distanced from one another through confinement, people search for ways to connect. They’ve added virtual coffee breaks to their daily routine, plan virtual field trips for the weekend and attend the next virtual happy hour. Or they do like me and include the virtual connection to work on fitness. It’s there to add being together to the workout.

Since experiencing the idea of writing together lately I’ve started to propagate it to other groups. It’s the simple idea of creating an open space co-working environment via Zoom or other tools. It’s mainly a silent space, one where everyone comes together for one hour to do his or her own work. It’s intense and yet calm.

We start with checking in to know what everyone will work on. At the end of the hour, we close with a short wrap up. We may interrupt ourselves at the half-hour to see if it works for everyone. It’s an easy way to add accountability, guidance, and care. A moment where peer pressure is supportive. The somewhat astonishing result is that in this hour participant’s attitude and focus is transformed. It’s an hour of togetherness with an amplified sense of doing one’s work more effectively and getting more done.