A fair degree of social anxiety is completely normal and this is supposed to be helpful as well. There is always a fear of negative judgment or rejection which is evolutionary. Social anxiety is an issue which is very intense and prevents the concerned people from enjoying the social settings or attending social gatherings. If this is the case with you, then the habit of working from a coworking space can help you in doing away with this issue.

The people who are introvert by nature suffer from anxiety when they opt to work in the company of several people. The momentary uncomfortable experience may retard you big time from attaining success. The following tips can be very helpful in overcoming anxiety while working from a coworking space.

Sending a message to the host–

This is highly recommended for every introvert to contact the host of the coworking space before joining the place. This is a great chance to have a chit-chat about the culture that prevails in that particular coworking space. By doing so, you would be able to make a connection with the host and you would already have one friend even before joining the coworking space. By meeting the host of the coworking space beforehand, you would prove yourself to be a responsible professional. Also, there being a known factor, the host would help you in getting settled.

Setting up realistic and achievable expectations for a day in coworking space–

For all the well-organized and successful professionals, they are their own critics. Thus, there is high probability of getting into trouble when you plan your expectations to be very high. After all, we all are humans. Operating from a coworking space can be a big deal for you if you are socially anxious. You need to ensure that your coworking experience should be successful. But how?

You should make it a point to assign yourself tasks for the day which are completely achievable. Also, you should deal with one item on your to-do list at a time. You should also make it a point to introduce yourself to at least one person in the coworking space every day during the initial days of your joining the coworking space. You should necessarily set specific goals for yourself for every day and manage to achieve them in order to feel accomplished and successful. This would eventually lead to some positive experiences while you work from the coworking space. This would further make this easier for you to take a fresh leap again to optimize your coworking experience.

Practising and preparing–

Anxiety is undoubtedly negatively correlated with confidence. Which according to you is the most significant independent variable- exposure, practice or mastery? The more you talk, the more of confidence comes in you and also you become lesser anxious. Anxiety is born out of uncertainty and confidence is born out of familiarity. So, you should always make efforts to find certainty. You should look for certainty wherever you can. All you need to do is to scope out the venue whenever you are looking for a coworking space. Ideally, you should bring a friend alongside while finalizing a coworking space. Your friend’s observations and views can be of great utility to you.

You should also think about all the probable things that may go wrong. Visualizing everything to be perfect is nothing but blind optimism. It is necessary to remember that we all are human beings and we should be prepared for the worst always. If we end up visualizing everything to be perfect, then that is nothing but blind optimism. All you need to do is to always stay prepared for the worst. There are chances that you may fumble or stutter over what you are trying to say. Your face can turn red or you may spill a glass of red wine accidentally on a bride’s special white attire. These all are part and parcel of life and at one point or another, we all encounter these. All we need to do is to feel equipped with the plans for tackling all the worst case scenarios. This way you increase your certainty and this would lead you to decreased anxiety.

Setting yourself and aligning yourself for success–

This is not possible that you would get rid of anxiety completely ever in your life. Here are some of the tips to keep your anxiety under control:

• You should always try to put on a smile on your face. Nervousness and anxiety tend to bring in an uninviting look on your face. A smile can cover up that look and make you look pleasant even during the time of nervousness.
• In case you are struggling to communicate with your clients, you should ask for a business card and then opt to follow up by means of a coherent email later on time. This would relieve your anxiety to a certain extent.
• You should keep a watch on your coffee intake. Too frequent consumption of coffee would increase your heart rate as it is a stimulant and it would increase your feelings of anxiety.
• You should also have a strict watch on your alcohol intake. There are several individuals who indulge in over-drinking in order to quell the anxiety but eventually end up sloshed. In case you plan to drink, you should necessarily commit to a feasible number of pegs that you can resist easily and then stick to the same.

Congratulating yourself for all the efforts to manage anxiety–

The very last step but not the least is to acknowledge all the guts and courage that you have gathered to take yourself out of your comfort zone to manage your anxiety level. Once you feel that sense of accomplishment, you would be able to repeat all the efforts much easier with a lot of encouragement and spirit.

Following the above steps would surely help you considerably to cope the social anxiety in a coworking space and also when you are working in a team. However, if your anxiety level is too high for you to handle, you should ideally start working with a therapist or coach for better results.