While many of us were old hands at working remotely when Covid hit, some of us are finding it longer term than maybe we did before. I'm curious, what are some things you've done to improve your workspace or work life when working from hom? I'm just trying to get my office decluttered for starters. And a decent desk chair was purchased long ago, along with a second monitor and two-monitor stand.

Hi @Brian, my setup seems to be quite similar to yours. What I added that helped me improve my organization skills were two white boards where I write down projects, next steps, to do lists and any idea I have. Also a large cork board. Then, from the "disconnect" point of view, I have my guitars and a great exercise machine. Things flow

While I did fix up a nice workspace with a big new desk, nice comfy chair, two monitors, and an ergonomic keyboard, I think the more important thing has been maintaining strict and severe boundaries between work and home. There has been consistent reporting since the pandemic started this massive shift showing that many are working harder and even longer hours now that they are remote and can log in whenever they feel compelled. That's not good for employee or employer in the long term obviously.

Yes, I think it's interesting that some administrators are so reluctant to commit to long-term remote work. Like you mentioned, I actually put in slightly more hours and definitely more productivity when I work from home.

100% agree: Most important component is good boundaries, followed by organization gear (users choice), a personal laptop streaming music, and the guitar during disconnect time.

What 60 hours a week is bad?

My going remote coincided with having kids. So I've found myself working a lot less than before -- I actually take a lunch break now. At 5, I'm done, because otherwise the kids will kill each other while we try and make dinner. And then after taking a 3 hour break from work in the evening, I usually can't convince myself to go back to it.

@Tim How dare you be so organised!

I've WfH for years, my newish GF is also a developer who WfH too, quietest office ever!

One thing I purchased last year which I absolutely love is a Jabra Speakerphone. https://www.jabra.com/business/speakerphones/jabra-speak-series I was a headset user for years because of the clarity but honestly, this speaker phone is extremely well build, very clear and so I've been hands free ever since. I bought the cheapest USB version they had (under $100 at the time) and it's awesome. The newer ones are all Bluetooth enabled.

@David Belanger Both of these are going to end up costing me money. lol I've been pondering new speakers for awhile now, so it's probably time. The only problem is, I don't have much space to put them. I'll check out the M-Audio offerings and see what might work. And I hate paper laying around! Plus, I'm the treasurer for the local fire company, so having a scanner like that would solve multiple purposes. Thanks for the info!

If space is an issue and your computer has bluetooth, the latest portable speakers are very nice too. For value I bought the kids JBL Flip4 and for me I bought Marshall's Emberton II (https://www.marshallheadphones.com/ar/en/emberton-ii.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjbyYBhCdARIsAArC6L[…]30uSf7dB7paqFtycr2XM8NCZN4l1gaAl_vEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) Like I said, I take music seriously (and my son's a DJ so it runs in the family!)

these are great https://www.presonus.com/produkte/en/Eris-E35-BT i have these myself https://www.presonus.com/products/Eris-E45

The plus side is, that's portable so you've got great sound anywhere you like!

of course once you start, then u need a proper sound card too

Very true Zack, very true...

I have my Spark (https://ca.positivegrid.com/products/spark) which works as bluetooth speaker and practice amp. I love it!

Wish they made a portable version of my vintage Roland JC-120, those toys sound & look so incredible! So I guess as far as the original topic goes, music is core to proper coding. That and proper window shading.

Love my JBL LSR305 speakers - run them through an old Onyx Blackjack USB audio interface (which works with Linux). And I broke down and bought a new keyboard recently- a Keychron which runs QMK which allows for programming any of the keys.

You bring up a good point. I have a programmable mouse that I was able to use with my work Windows machine and my personal Mac. But the company stopped supporting the Mac, so I really need to find a new mouse. The keyboard is less of an issue.

I used SteerMouse when I had my Mac. http://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/

Since covid, I've been working nearly full time from home in an unfinished basement. It's been less than ideal but my wife and I have been finishing part of it in the evenings/weekends, adding an office, bathroom, and another bedroom and we're only a couple pieces of trim and door install from having a really nice dedicated space (she works from home a few days a week too). Like Zack and his GF, we work well together, our area is usually super quiet unless one of us are in meetings, but that gives us the excuse to take a break or use a laptop on the patio or couch upstairs. I am way more productive WFH than I ever was in the office (too many distractions).

having good sound isolation is important if you do a lot of phone/zoom calls - especially if you have kids or dogs. otherwise you can probably get by with whatever, at least until you have back problems. then i'd suggest an electric standing desk and a treadmill desk - so you can move from place to place. (assuming you can work with just a laptop and don't require all the extra monitors/etc.) i'd also suggest good speakers at each work station. 🙂

Sound : The issue - for me - is my office in the is in the middle of an open-floor-plan house. So If I am on a call / have music playing - everyone gets to join in! So good quality (sound) and most importantly comfortable headphones are a must for me

2nd the sit-stand desk. But spend the money to get a good electric one. I've tried a couple at work and I think they're crap for stability. They rock/shake when loaded with multiple monitors and computer at standing height. Bought Home Depot's Husky adjustable tables for home. They're manual lift/lower out of the box, but nothing a hex bit and cordless drill can't automate. lol