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About away.center
away.center is a wellness-forward coworking space, which is our way of saying we built this place to actually feel good to work from. Natural materials, plants, warm light, brick instead of the usual glass and grey carpet formula. Every design choice started from one question: what helps a nervous system settle?
Edition 01 was about stillness, the work you do alone, in the gap between things. This one is about the opposite half, and it took us a while to admit it: almost nobody does their best work alone + On spirituality: nobody gets there alone
One of the most quietly radical exchanges in the Pali canon (the foundational collection of sacred scriptures in Theravada Buddhism) is about four lines long.
Ananda comes to the Buddha, pleased with himself, and offers what he thinks is a generous observation: that good friendship and good companionship are half of the spiritual life. It’s a warm thing to say. It’s also the kind of thing you say when you think the real work happens privately and the company is a nice bonus. The Buddha corrects him immediately. Don’t say that, Ananda. Don’t say that. Admirable friendship is not half. It is the whole of the holy life.
That’s the part people skip. We’ve inherited a picture of the seeker as a solitary figure, the cave, the mountain, the retreat. But look at what the traditions actually built. Satsang in Sanskrit is literally the company of truth: sat, truth, plus sanga, company. Sikhism has the Sangat. The Sufis sit in a Halqa, a circle. Zen practitioners give up two weeks of their lives to Sesshin, which is mostly silence, and yet is done shoulder to shoulder with thirty other people who have also given up two weeks.
Every tradition that takes inner work seriously builds a room for it, and then insists you show up to the room.
The reason isn’t sentimental. It’s mechanical. Attention is not a purely private resource. You borrow the tempo of whoever you’re sitting near. In a room of people scrolling, you will scroll. In a room of people who are actually working, something in you settles into the same rhythm without being asked to. This is the thing we all know from libraries and quietly refuse to design our lives around.
“Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life.” - the Buddha to Ananda, Upaddha Sutta (SN 45.2)
On deep work: the room is supposed to do half the work
Robert Zajonc published a paper in Science in 1965 with a finding that has been argued over ever since but never quite gone away: the mere presence of other people changes how you perform. On tasks you already know how to do, it tends to sharpen you. On tasks you’re still fumbling through, it tends to make you worse. The effect is modest, and it cuts both ways, which is exactly why it’s useful rather than magical. It means the room is a variable you get to set. Company is not a productivity hack. It’s an ingredient, and like any ingredient it belongs in some dishes and not others.
So the practical version is less “work around people” and more: match the room to the task. The rote, dreaded, already understood work, like invoices, follow-up emails and the deck you've built forty times, goes best in company. Put it in a busy part of the floor. Let the ambient pressure of other people working do the thing that willpower was failing to do.
The genuinely new work, the thing you don’t yet know how to do, the first draft of an argument, the problem you haven’t quite figured out- that’s the work for a corner, or the quieter end of the room.
Most people have this exactly backwards. They hide to do their admin and then try to think hard in the middle of a room.
Try this week: one 50-minute block, seated next to someone who is also working, with no conversation and no agreement to talk after. Just proximity. Pick a task you already know how to do. Notice how much less negotiation with yourself it takes to start.
Spiritual angle: There’s a reason so many traditions place importance on being in the company of others. Satsang literally means “the company of truth”, the idea that who you sit with, listen to and learn from can shape the way you see things.
Science angle: Zajonc’s work on social facilitation helps explain why body-doubling has quietly become one of the most copied focus techniques of the last decade. It started as a support strategy in ADHD coaching and has since been adapted for everyone else, often as an app.
Perhaps that’s the real value of a room. Coworking began as a way to make work more flexible, but the room itself turned out to matter too. The people around us shape our attention, our pace, and sometimes even what we imagine is possible. Maybe the best space is simply one that gives you what you need and when you need it.
Past month at away: away From Desk, vol. 2
On August 7, we hosted the second edition of away From Desk, our small, seated live music series. Tabitha Kagoo and Jeremiah de Rozario each played a 45-minute set, with a 15-minute break in between.
away From Desk, vol. 1 with Papa Bear and Nataku is also now live on YouTube
From the space: Internet-Naytives
On September 5, we hosted Internet-Naytives: Bangalore Edition, presented by Naytive and hosted by Rishabh Gupta. The evening brought founders together to unpack the real-world decisions behind setting up a company in India, the US, Singapore or Dubai, followed by a group discussion.
Trivia with Kaly & PP : Vol. 8
On September 12th, we hosted a fast-paced afternoon of trivia, with quirky prize swaps, team play, and a mixed bag of questions that kept everyone guessing. Another fun round of Kaly & PP’s trivia at away.
From the floor
Meet the people building from away.
Meet Elton. He is from Mangalore and spent his early childhood growing up in Dubai. Before joining away, he was working at Blume Ventures with the VP of Marketing, where his role was focused on content before that he also spent 2+ years in Goa working at build3 an impact accelerator.
He currently works at Profound AI, founded by Anuj Rathi and Prashant Parashar, as a founding marketer. Profound is giving AI reps to top professionals that surfaces opportunities and connections worth their time.
Outside work, Elton loves reading, specifically historical fiction, historical narratives, Russian literature and books on the economy. He also loves playing basketball and strumming a guitar. His favourite thing about away is the little things that have gone into the space -the incense, the bread at the café and the wellness focused snacks and artisanal coffee. Something he wants to do before he turns 30 : walk along the Narmada River from its origin to its endpoint.
One thing to read for work
The Last Economy by Emad Mostaque
A must-read for anyone building, growing, or thinking about what comes next. The Last Economy explores how AI is changing the way we work, create value and build businesses, offering a fresh perspective on the shifts already underway. Its a particularly interesting read if you’re trying to understand not just where work is headed, but what we should be building for that future.
One thing to read for self
Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master by Sri M
Born into a Muslim family in Kerala, Sri M’s early curiosity about spirituality eventually led him to leave home and journey towards the Himalayas, where he found a path of yoga and self-discovery. Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master follows this journey through encounters with teachers, solitude, discipline and transformation. At its heart, it is a book about looking inward, questioning what we know, and discovering a different way of understanding ourselves and the world around us.
Coming up at away Register for upcoming events at away
away from desk - edition 3 | 25 September | 7:00 PM
Step away from the usual and join us at away for an intimate evening with Hulo and Anagha. Expect live music, good conversations, and a room full of people you’d probably want to meet anyway.
away to laugh | 26th September | 8:00 PM
A night of live comedy featuring Aamer, Prathyusha, Sejal Bhat, Garima Raonta, Harman Preet Singh at away.
Take the long way back to your desk.
- team away
