We had to find new ways of working and being productive at home when the COVID lockdowns began nearly two years ago. The way we communicated with clients and colleagues immediately changed when offices and other public workspaces were quickly closed in an unprecedented manner.

Remote work was a complete change. There were no meetings, brainstorming sessions, water cooler conversations, client lunches, office banter, or after-work happy hour. Many of us found that working in sweatpants was more enjoyable than a normal day at work. We could zoom call from our laptops and do the same thing every day.

Remote work might have seemed like an appealing option at first. You could call it a "stay-cation". For many, however, the isolation at home and lack of organization and structure, as well as the absence of coworkers, didn't make for a positive change.

The Feeling of Working in-Person

It can be very productive to work in an office with other people, and have breaks to socialize. Creativity can be fuelled by human connection. Cache Bunny, a Los Angeles visual effects artist and video director, came up with a solution when COVID removed it.

She started streaming her editing on Twitch. Streaming for up to eight hours a day was not sustainable. She quickly joined Zoom and started a call. This turned into a never-ending social and coworking community.

The Never-Ending Zoom Call

Cache Bunny launched a Zoom call titled Edit.Party in the spring 2020. —free for anyone to join —with the idea of it being a “virtual WeWork” spot. The goal was to provide the social element of an office to remote workers who spend most of their day alone, staring at a screen.

"I realized that I didn't want to show my work. I don't want any talk. Insider spoke with Cache Bunny, who stated that she wants to be there for people and keep them focused. "So that's how I came up with the format."

She stated that people started joining the call within one hour of posting. She was immediately aware that everyone was "cool" and shared similar creative goals.

Members can log in at any hour of the day or night and feel less lonely while working because someone is always available.

An average of 50 people participate in the call at any one time. It never ends. It has continued for over 20 months, and it doesn't seem to be ending soon.

How it works

Edit.Party will appear just like any other Zoom conference. Grid mode allows you to see all the participants, along with their names and social profiles. However, they are not from any particular company. Call hosts users from 72 different countries.

People from a variety of professional backgrounds--musicians, coders, analysts, video editors, writers--are working while on the call and everyone has their mics silenced. Mixing EDM, Lo-Fi and indie tracks is used to minimize distractions.

You can communicate with other callers by joining the chat on the sidebar. This chat box is full of people sharing information about themselves and their work.

Jacob Rodier, a video content creator, told Insider that it was so refreshing to be able "to come into a 24/7 open workspace full of amazing creators" and have people to chat with or edit with. "We even had an informal meetup where I got to know some of them in person."

The Edit.Party Culture

Over the last few months, the call has developed and established its own workplace culture. You can use "Focused Sprint" sessions to completely silence your computer and focus on a particular project for a set amount of time.

These exercises, according to users, help them hold themselves accountable for how much time they spend on work. You can also enlist the help of others doing the same thing.

Users will be able to see their roommates doing anything from cooking lunch to taking care of their pets, to talking with them about the day. But most importantly, everyone is there for their work.

Cache Bunny stated, "I have all of my friends with me, and they're also being very productive." "So it turns what was once the most social activity in the world into a fully social activity.

You are easily distracted when you work —or don’t like the idea of a webcam capturing the inside of your home for hours every day —Edit.Party might not be the remote work option for you.

If you feel stuck at home and want to socialize with others, Edit.Party could be the job for you. You can still wear sweatpants.

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By: Perry Carpenter
Title: Some Workers Are Turning To A Never-Ending Zoom Call With Strangers To Stay Productive While Working From Home
Sourced From: www.suggest.com/never-ending-zoom-call-work-from-home/2611106/
Published Date: Fri, 07 Jan 2022 23:45:00 +0000

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