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Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

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Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#61

Post by ilaksh »

This is more general but if you end up going outside less then I believe Vitamin D3 helps with sleep and overall health.

More effective air conditioning/heating has been nice. Maybe a box fan to supplement if it's not always effective.

Weirdly my incredibly cheap Chromebook is preferable sometimes to the old laptop which is much better technically, because I don't have to worry about the battery and it doesn't heat up my lap at all and is quite light.

Make sure you are on Discord.

Having a reasonably priced VPS or two available for development is nice.

This is definitely not for everyone and not a purchase, but I don't have a car or drive anymore. It means I never have to stress about traffic and I feel like I save a lot of energy. I order groceries on Instacart. That does waste money but it's much less than people spend on transportation.

The thing that has made the biggest difference is just relocating to less expensive areas. That might not matter so much for highly paid HNers but for a few of us, cost of living is a big deal.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#63

Post by GuB-42 »

presentation wrote: post #18
Someone1234 wrote: post #4

"Real" Chair (Steelcase / Herman Miller) and four-legged standing desk (better stability). Plus a handheld "mouse" (ELECOM Relacon) so when I'm reading I can stand differently or do light movement/exercise. Blowing $2.5K on a desk + chair is a lot, but also not a lot depending on your perspective.

Depends on the person RE the chair, some friends seem to get various pains with Herman Miller chairs, I see practically no difference having used one vs using cheapo ones. But if it works for you then more power to you!

Chairs should probably be bought in brick and mortar stores, where you can try them out before you buy. Better if it has a good return policy if the first impression is deceiving.

Like shoes, mattresses, etc... a chair is a very personal thing and price and general reputation is not always a good indication of how well you will feel.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#64

Post by appplication »

breckenedge wrote: post #37
presentation wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the person RE the chair, some friends seem to get various pains with Herman Miller chairs, I see practically no difference having used one vs using cheapo ones. But if it works for you then more power to you!

Adding to your anecdotes, I bought a HM Aeron chair and cannot sit in it for extended periods due to back pain. Had to go back to a “normal” chair.

FWIW the Aeron is the most uncomfortable chair on earth for me. But the Embody is incredible.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#65

Post by mtlynch »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #47
mtlynch wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I second the recommendation of Steelcase. I bought my Steelcase Leap chair five years ago, and it's still rock solid and has no noticeable wear. My wife recently decided to buy one too, and she got hers refurbished from a company called BTOD. I was impressed with the quality. It was indistinguishable from mine (which I bought new) and cost half the price.

I definitely endorse the idea of getting a Steelcase chair, though my positive experience is with a Leap 2. (Maybe it's the same for you? I'm looking at Steelcase's web site and the Leap 2 is now just called "Leap".)

Hard to say. I can't find any explanation of the differences between v1 and v2. I bought mine in April 2018 from Amazon, and my receipt just says, "Steelcase Leap, Black" with no version.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#67

Post by ivan_gammel »

1. Dell 27“ monitor that supports 90W charging. 2. Wireless Logitech MX keyboard and mouse.

Avoiding clutter and keeping workplace clean was one of the biggest improvements in comfort for me.

I have normal table (just nice looking one) and Ikea office chair and prefer to make breaks for exercise and drinking water.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#68

Post by ivan_gammel »

yeck wrote: post #33
shortrounddev2 wrote: post #9

I found that I never used a standing desk when I had one, and the health benefits are dubious. I bought a decent Microphone (jlab talk pro) and a $200 Webcam (Logitech brio 4k). Since all of my interactions are over Webcam I wanted to have something better than the default laptop Webcam. Also I do my work on a desktop I would also recommend building a PC. I run several docker containers at once and the company issued…

> health benefits are dubious Are they? Certainly if you stand still for hours I'd be skeptical for that, but while you are standing at your desk you are able to do all kinds of movements that you are not while sitting. And you are also not able to slouch (which I personally do like crazy after sitting for only a few minutes). Anecdotally I've been using a standing desk for a couple weeks. For most of this year I've…

1-2 hours of walking every day and regular daily exercise (stretching in breaks + functional training) can solve the problem of pain in the back. You may also need to change your mattress or bed.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#69

Post by rsayers »

Someone1234 wrote: post #4

"Real" Chair (Steelcase / Herman Miller) and four-legged standing desk (better stability). Plus a handheld "mouse" (ELECOM Relacon) so when I'm reading I can stand differently or do light movement/exercise. Blowing $2.5K on a desk + chair is a lot, but also not a lot depending on your perspective.

Absolutely. Before I was WFH full time, I tended to buy whatever chair seemed nice enough, but never spent over $200 USD. About a week after our companies WFH order I realized it was really causing discomfort after long work session. I went with a Secretlab gaming chair. Despite the "gaming" part, it's pretty solid and I've been very happy with it. Several friends and coworkers have purchased them on my recommendation and have been happy with them as well.

Re: Ask HN: Best WFH Purchases?

#70

Post by jq-r »

jacquesm wrote: post #55
jq-r wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a caveat about the monitor arm. Purchase the strongest one you can find. There are few worse things in your working life than a constantly wobbly monitor.

And screw it to a wall, not to your desk!

Good advice if can make it. Probably a bit more difficult to pull off if you have a deep sitting/standing desk.
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