If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
No blog would be replete without an occasional check-in for the working environment. In the last few months, I've painstakingly re-worked my daily computering setup with an eye towards addressing adult-diagnosed ADHD. It seems to have helped, as I've found much more productivity in what I've settled on as my daily environment.
- GeekDesk frame - I bought a GeekDesk frame back in 2013 when I started at Rackspace. It allows me to sit when I want to sit, and stand when I want to stand. I also have a desk treadmill I can slide under it and walk when I want to walk (I was walking at 2.8 mph while writing the original draft of this post). I only bought the frame, and then went to a recycled building supply store and bought a solid wood door to use as a top. A few months ago, I trimmed 8" off both sides of the door (less horizontal space to collect trinkets/junk), sanded it, stained it black, and then covered it in polyurethane.
- LG 49WQ95C - Yes, that monitor is more than 4' wide. When I first got it, I thought "Oh no. This was a huge mistake." Turns out, it's really great. I've been a single monitor elitist for quite some time, maybe because of the bezel. This is the best of single monitor and dual monitor setups. I use Rectangle to fill the middle half of the monitor with my code editor or Fusion360 or whatever "core" application I'm working in. This is, essentially, what I would have on smaller single monitor setup. I put a browser on the remaining left half, and email/Discord/Slack/random chat applications in the right half.
- Logitech Brio 4k webcam - A webcam is a webcam. I don't know if this one is any better than anything else. I do have an annoying issue where the built-in microphone stops being detected after a macOS wake event occurs. I sometimes have to power cycle the entire USB-C hub in order to get it wiggled loose. Other than that, great webcam.
- Logitech Litra Glow - I am not a fan of overhead lighting and, where possible, I try and work in natural light for my office. When I get on a phone call, however, having this light is super helpful. It's a soft light, so it puts most ring lights to shame, and doesn't reflect off my glasses in a way that makes it distracting.
- Ergotron HX monitor arm - 20 years ago, I had a job where I was mounting 5-20 Ergotron arms a week. I always thought they were overpriced and overkill. Right before writing this post, I realized that my monitor was a little low, and rather than shimming it with a bunch of books or a fancy monitor stand, I just raised it up. The reduced cabling presence is great for my ADHD; there's nothing to distract me now.
- Apple HomePod Mini - I've got two HomePod Minis as my "speaker setup." I'm often working from a work laptop, so having "Radio rockstar" be connected to a laptop is not a workable thing. Instead, I find that I just ask Siri to play me some jazz in the morning and leave it going for the day. I don't remember why I have a stereo setup; it's likely vanity.
- Random Amazon device charger - My recent employer provided an office furnishing budget. Having already re-modeled my office and purchased most the things on this list, I decided that I'd buy a device charger for all my Apple devices. I now leave most of these devices in my office, rather than charging them at my bedside. This is a gamechanger. If you can get away with no screens near bed, do it.
- Blue Yeti Nano, Blue Compass boom, Blue Radius III Shockmount - I have (accidentally) acquired and created a podcast-like setup. This was mostly a fascination, and I only use it in a few niche cases. I do not have a podcast (yet?), so it's probably also vanity. That said, the shock mount and windscreen are a must for a desk of this size–every bump and shift has some effect on the mic otherwise.
- Journal - My journal usually sits on my desk. I received a journal for my 8th birthday and have been more-or-less a journaler since then. I don't use computers for journaling, probably because I use computers all day long. I enjoy the physical writing. I learned the hard way not to use a book with too many pages in it as a journal, as I lost about 15 years of my life when I misplaced my journal in a hotel a year ago. Keep small journals, fill them up, and archive them.
- Book of Mormon - Forgot that was there until looking at the photo. I'm LDS. I usually start my day reading a few pages/chapters.
- 3dconnexion SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse - A spatial mouse is a must when doing CAD, and I do a fair amount of it, whether for 3d printing or for going on to CAM work. It takes a bit of getting used to, but after about a week, you won't know how you could do without it. I got mine wired because I don't need to think about keeping anything else charged. I do have a wireless one that I will take with me when I travel, because that's how important having a spatial mouse is to me now.
- ZSA MoonLander - In 2014, I bought a solder-it-yourself ErgoDox kit, and used that pretty heavily. When I got the Moonlander, I was mostly interested in the tenting. Now I'm not sure how I could live without the tenting. I'm a Dvorak user, so my keyboard setup is slightly different than most, but I also don't use the layers or macros that the keyboard firmware provides. I just type on the keys. For the keyboard nerds, they're Cherry MX Brown keys.
- Kinesis Ergonomics Vertical Mouse 2 - When I first got this mouse, it took some getting used to. Now I don't understand how people use, like, regular mice for any extended period of time. I charge it every four months or so, and I can use it while it's charging, which seems to be a rare thing these days.
- Drop Canvas Desk Mat - I did not realize how noisy my office was until I got this desk mat. Suddenly, all the sound was dampened, and I was painfully aware of how loud the Cherry MX Blue keys of my ErgoDox keyboard were (my MoonLander was on the way). I'm now strongly of the opinion that we should do whatever we can to take the audio peaks out of our environments–if you like clicky keyboards, get something so that you don't turn that into a clicky desk/wall/ceiling/etc. It doesn't have to be quiet (that's bad for me, at least), but it shouldn't cause environment vibration at regular intervals.
- Notepad - I have a scratch pad I keep next to me all the time. Nothing important goes there, but I often write notes there to come back to. When I pull the page off for a fresh one, that one goes in the trash. Anything that didn't get captured elsewhere is gone. Consider it super volatile memory: when you need it, it's nice to have. Just don't depend on it for anything long-term. I also am a big fan of the Sharpie Felt Tip Pens, so I keep two colors next to the notepad.
- Coaster - Use a coaster on your desk, you animal.
I try and keep something akin to the home office version of a "clean desk policy." No, I don't remove all the things every day, but I do spend the last 5-10 minutes of the day cleaning up. Sometimes there are dishes or notes or books I used for reference or random bits and bobs that accumulate on my desk. Those get dealt with at the end of the day, because starting the next day with them there is a recipe for creating that "blindness" where I don't see them, but my brain also devotes a bunch more attention than it should to things it's also actively ignoring.
