Why I stopped paying for a coworking membership I barely used

I signed up expecting to work from the space most weekdays. Then my work changed. I travelled more, worked from client offices and from home, and went to the space less and less. This post is not against memberships. If you use yours most weeks, keep it. This is what I learned after months of paying for a desk I rarely sat at.

The maths behind an unused coworking membership

A monthly membership is priced for someone who comes in most days of the month. I wrote down the days I actually worked from the space, using a notes app. It was only a few days a month, far fewer than I had expected. Paying for the whole month to get those few days did not make sense.

Many people keep a membership out of guilt. You tell yourself you will go more next month. Your access card still works, but you don't go, and you keep paying.

Then I looked at Amsterdam coworking as a list of spaces I could book by the day, instead of one place I had to join. That changed how I felt about cancelling. I was not giving up a routine. I was stopping a payment for a routine I no longer had.

How to check if your membership is worth it

You can do this in one afternoon.

1. Look back at the last eight weeks and count the days you needed a desk outside your home. Do not count days you chose to work from your kitchen, and do not count days you were travelling. 2. Count how many of those days you actually worked from your coworking space. 3. Look at what you paid for those two months, and compare it with the credits you would have used to book the same days on Kopuno. The credits per day are shown on each listing. 4. If booking those days costs less than the membership, switching saves you money. If it does not, keep the membership.

If you went only a few days a month, switching is usually cheaper. If you went almost every weekday, it is not. Repeat the count after a quarter when you travelled a lot, because the answer can change.

When you should keep your membership

Keep your membership if you work from the same building most weekday mornings. Keep it if your employer pays for it and you use it. Keep it if you need something that comes with a fixed place, such as your own locker, a postal address or the same desk every day.

You can also use Kopuno next to a membership. If you work in another city for a week, your membership cannot help you there. Book those days with credits, and keep your membership for the weeks you are home.

If you decide to cancel, check the notice period in your contract first, so you do not pay for an extra month by accident.

What I needed instead

I needed a desk on Tuesday near a client, and a quiet place on Thursday when my home was noisy. On Kopuno I booked those days and paid with credits or by card in the app. Start flexible, upgrade when you're ready. That is the order I followed: first single days, then a credit pack once I knew how many days I really used.

I did miss seeing the same familiar faces. I can still get that by booking the same space again, without a twelve month contract.

What cancelling does and doesn't change

Cancelling a membership does not make you more disciplined or more productive. It only stops you paying for something you aren't using. If you use your membership regularly, this post is not for you. If your access card sits in a drawer, count the days you actually went last month.

Now I browse spaces when I know I need a desk that week. I buy a credit pack once I have booked several single days and know how many I use. I still work in Amsterdam. My costs now match the days I actually work from a space.

Friends asked if I was taking my work less seriously. I wasn't. My work stayed the same. Only the place I did it changed. I still meet people in coworking spaces, on the days I book. That is enough community for me, because I rarely went to the evening events anyway.

If you are thinking about cancelling your coworking membership in Amsterdam, count first. Write down the days you used the space over the last two or three months. Then cancel or pause if your contract allows it. Book your next desk day on Amsterdam coworking and see whether you miss having a locker. I didn't. What I missed was having a daily routine, and I no longer had one.

If your access card is already in a drawer, you probably know the answer: you are paying for days you don't use.