Workathon

[Kilian (Kilian M. Schmelmer)]

A 90-minute+ coworking framework designed to boost creativity and productivity for you and your team!

Workathon helps remote teams tackle challenges together while maintaining individual focus. Here's how it benefits our CoCreators:

Fun and engaging: Workathon brings a sense of community and camaraderie, making task completion more enjoyable in virtual work environments.

Reflect and collaborate: The framework provides opportunities for CoCreators to share ideas and receive valuable input from others, fostering collaboration in remote settings.

Focused work: Many of us find it difficult to fit highly focused tasks into our busy schedules. Workathon offers a dedicated format to help tackle these tasks more efficiently, while fostering a sense of belonging and social connection that makes the experience enjoyable and productive.

Join the Workathon revolution and let’s create amazing things together at CoCreation.World!

Check-in: 5 MIN
Start every Workathon with a check-in to get settled in the meeting.

Collect To-dos: 5 MIN
Each participant gathers tasks they want to complete during the Workathon. Briefly introduce your tasks to others.

Set Intervals: 3 MIN
Choose work intervals (e.g., 25 + 5 mins). Adjust based on tasks that require more focus or longer time to get into.

First Cycle: 25 MIN (example)
Begin the first focused work phase. Participants stay in the call but turn off video and mute. Share the return time.

Break: 5 MIN
Reconnect and discuss how your journey went.

Second Cycle: 25 MIN
Start the next sprint and continue until the meeting time is over.

…

Check-out: 5 MIN
Celebrate your progress!

Testimonials

Cocreating in a Workathon makes me so productive! Joining forces with other people working on their projects, by briefly describing our goals, then setting a timer and diving into my own work is like going into turbo mode - knowing I will be debriefing afterward pushes me to work hard but it’s really fun at the same time. It’s a better way to create.

• Nick M. (Software Developer)

I find the Workathon very good for concentrated work! In addition, the tool helps a lot to exchange ideas with others again and again. It is more difficult when one person has, for example, three 10-minute tasks to complete and another person has larger, longer to-dos.
- Janina (Organisational developer)

I am thrilled how quickly you get to work and how productively I worked with this fixed time limit. When I work alone, I often get lost in the variety or depth of topics - in the workathon I got to the point much faster.
- Marion K. (Consultant and coach)

I first used the tool only for myself, to organise myself. That worked well and helped me to focus. When I took part in the Neue (…) It was interesting to see how well it works to work in a group in the workathon without even knowing the other participants and their tasks. The Workathon convinced me with regard to the concentrated work on work packages.
- Steffi P. (Supply Chain Management)

We tried out the Workathon today as a team and thought it was a great format. It is best suited for teams with very diverse tasks, against home office procrastination and in situations where everyone has a lot to do but you still want to have a small team event. I would recommend setting aside at least two hours, or even a whole morning/afternoon. It’s sure to feel really productive and you can still include a team component.
- Desiree B. (Business Development Lead)

Specials

in the Creation Space. There is focus wanted. There will be two kinds of creation places, Single seats with single Private Spaces, and Group seats for groups between 2,4 and 6

Workathon Tutorial

Introduction

The Workathon is a 90+ minute coworking framework designed to boost creativity and productivity for remote teams. The framework provides a structure for focused work, while also fostering a sense of belonging and social connection that makes the experience enjoyable and productive.

In this tutorial, we will cover how to get started with the Workathon, how to execute it, and how to facilitate a Workathon alone or in a group. We will also provide suggestions on how to design a room in the real world according to the Workathon concept.

Getting Started

Before you begin the Workathon, it’s important to gather your tasks and goals. During the Workathon, you’ll have focused periods of work interspersed with brief breaks to chat and reflect.

Executing

1. Check-in: Start every Workathon with a check-in to get settled in the meeting.
2. Collect To-dos: Each participant gathers tasks they want to complete during the Workathon. Briefly introduce your tasks to others.
3. Set Intervals: Choose work intervals (e.g., 25 + 5 mins). Adjust based on tasks that require more focus or longer time to get into.
4. First Cycle: Begin the first focused work phase. Participants stay in the call but turn off video and mute. Share the return time.
5. Break: Reconnect and discuss how it went or chat about favorite food or Goethe’s Italian Journey .
6. Second Cycle: Start the next sprint and continue until the meeting time is over.
7. Check-out: Celebrate your progress!

Facilitating

If you’re facilitating a Workathon for a group, it’s important to keep the following tips in mind:

• Allow for breaks: Make sure to include brief breaks between work sprints to allow participants to decompress and recharge.
• Encourage communication: Encourage participants to communicate with one another during the Workathon, whether it’s to ask for help or to offer support.
• Be flexible: Be prepared to adjust the Workathon structure based on the needs of your participants.

Conclusion

The Workathon is a powerful tool for remote teams looking to boost their productivity and collaboration. By following these tips, you can ensure that your Workathon is enjoyable and productive for everyone involved.

• Consider including icebreakers or team-building activities during breaks to help participants get to know one another and build camaraderie.

“Create an image that depicts a group of remote workers participating in a Workathon, which is a 90+ minute coworking framework designed to boost creativity and productivity. The image should show individuals working on their own tasks, with periodic breaks for socializing and collaboration. It should also convey a sense of community and camaraderie, and highlight the benefits of focused work.”

For the Workathon, many different methods of time stopping can be used, including the position of the sun, sandglasses, classical timers, Alexa commands, and more. However, we recommend using https://cuckoo.team/ because it embeds nicely as an iframe and is easy to use.