Home Office
A side-effect of telecommuting is that co-workers don’t get to see the working environment of the other voices on the phone. Here’s mine, with commentary on the things I choose to keep on my desk.
- The view, the winning feature
- Good ergonomics call for periodically giving eyes a rest by focusing on a distant object. Done!
- They also recommend not putting a computer in front of a window, since the intensity of outside light relative to screens causes eye fatigue. Thanks, I’ll take the view. It’s also a good way to avoid all glare.
- I’ve seen deer, bald eagles, and foxes. (The bears are on the other side of the house)
- MacBook Pro, my workhorse.
- 17″ is the only size that can display a full resolution portrait version of the iPad simulator, useful for doing iOS development when away from home
- I actually have 2, one for work, and one for personal, and I swap them out depending on the time of day.
- 2nd monitor
- Rotated to portrait mode, I get 1600 pixels high, which is awesome reading and code comprehension
- The alternate orientation mode also tricks the mind to not getting distracted by the different DPI of the two screens (windows get bigger on the big screen)
- Phone
- The phone is a replacement for sitting in conference rooms. In the 534 days I’ve had this phone, I’ve accumulated 56.8 days of talk time (10% of my life!)
- Must have a bluetooth earpiece. This is the Jawbone ERA, and I’m very happy with it. My earpieces last 12-15 months before they break or get lost, so I’ve had several.
- iPad
- I do a lot of work on this device, including outlining and task management.
- The stand is a Griffin Loop, great for pulling it close to and typing
- It’s a great device for watching screencast conference calls (webex, etc), since it essentially becomes a 3rd monitor.
- Keyboard, wireless
- Without the extra keys, my right arm has a short distance to travel to the pointing device
- I used to swear by the big Microsoft Natural keyboards, but with the low travel keys, I don’t miss it.
- Trackpad – much more comfortable than the mouse. Keep in sync with the motor memory of gestures
- Coffee mug. Since I’m known to spill things, the wide-base format has saved me.
- External hard drives. With Time Machine (standard Mac feature), there’s no reason to not stay current on backups.
- Triangle laptop stand.
- This allows the laptop to cantilever over the desk where my keyboard goes. I type with my forearms fully on the desk, so the keyboard sits very far forward.
- It also keeps the computer safe from spilled drinks (see #8)
- Chair. In my experience, chairs are about $100/year (A $200 chair will last 2 years). This one was ~$500 and it’s coming in cheaper than that. I’ve tried a BOSU ball, but it didn’t offer enough variety for positions. I sometimes like to twist and put my feet on the desk…
What’s not seen:
- Paper, pen/pencil. I do use scratch paper for jotting ideas, but it gets tossed quickly. I found my notes to be indecipherable after a short time, and archival was inconsistent, so I’ve given up pretending that my paper is worth keeping.
- Cruft. I admit, I picked up a bit for the picture, but I try to keep other junk off my desk.
- Paper inbox. Located off camera to the left. Not as empty as I’d like, often holds said cruft.
- Toys. I usually have something on the desk to keep my hands busy when I’m on the phone, but I don’t keep them on display. Samples include magnetic bucky balls, Lego (3-10 pieces), and twist ties.
- VPN fob. The magic thing that enables remote work. (It’s actually visible under the 2nd monitor)
- Music
- More and more, I’m working in silence. Music just ends up being another distraction, and I don’t need it as a blocker for other ambient noise.
- I have a radio to the right of the desk, locked into Classical MPR. Unless there’s a pledge drive.
- Speakers are actually behind the monitor.
- Dogs – two Great Danes and a mutt keep me company
[...] desk accessories are most mostly unchanged from my previous post. Part of this transition though is a continued drive to minimize clutter on the desktop, so I [...]