Poll: Where do you work (physically)? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#21

Post by Swizec » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:02 AM UTC

cfinke wrote: post #16

I just finished four months of do-it-yourself carpentry in order to turn a sitting room at my home into a home office: Before: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/House-Vi... After: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_5086... Some more "after" pictures, which might be of interest to anyone else that enjoys woodworking as an "away-from-computer" hobby: Drawers: http://family.efinke.…

That is some solid carpentry! Awesome bookshelves.

Kudos to you mister, the rest of us mere mortals can but bow before your presence.

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#22

Post by raheemm » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:02 AM UTC

cfinke wrote: post #16

I just finished four months of do-it-yourself carpentry in order to turn a sitting room at my home into a home office: Before: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/House-Vi... After: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_5086... Some more "after" pictures, which might be of interest to anyone else that enjoys woodworking as an "away-from-computer" hobby: Drawers: http://family.efinke.…

That is very nice work! How long have you been doing carpentry? How long did it take to learn?

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#23

Post by Swizec » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:05 AM UTC

statictype wrote: post #19

For people who work in a coffee shop: a) Does the noise bother you? b) Do you ever get sick of being in the same place everyday? c) Does the owner ever get sick of you being there everyday?

When I was still an aspiring writer (might return to that one day, right now I'm an aspiring startup dude) I used to do all my writing in coffee shops.

I find that the only way I can do anything creative is with a lot of noise around me, the randomer the better. Helps me focus and get into the flow for some reason.

Honestly, if there isn't enough noise I will often play three different pieces of music at once to create it.

As for b) and c) I never stayed at one place for more than a few hours.

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#24

Post by pg » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:06 AM UTC

Believe it or not I do much of my work walking along the street. When I'm doing office hours at YC (and the weather's good and we don't need to look at screens) I usually suggest going for a walk.

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#25

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:07 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#26

Post by gonzo » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:07 AM UTC

A home office. A large room over the garage, that looks into the bowl of Diamond Head from 1100' up on the hill.

Expansive ocean views... kinda distracting.

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#27

Post by cfinke » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:11 AM UTC

raheemm wrote: post #22

cfinke wrote: post #16

I just finished four months of do-it-yourself carpentry in order to turn a sitting room at my home into a home office: Before: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/House-Vi... After: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_5086... Some more "after" pictures, which might be of interest to anyone else that enjoys woodworking as an "away-from-computer" hobby: Drawers: http://family.efinke.…

That is very nice work! How long have you been doing carpentry? How long did it take to learn?

Thanks! This was my first serious carpentry project apart from just fixing things around the house, but I've been watching shows like The New Yankee Workshop and This Old House for years, as well as reading every Wood/Handyman/American Woodworker magazine I can get a subscription to.

I think I learned more though throughout the course of this project than I have in the past 10 years of just reading about how to do it. A typical day would end with my wife asking "How is it going out there?" (in the garage), and I would answer, "Well, I'm learning a lot about how not to do things."

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#28

Post by cfinke » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:12 AM UTC

Swizec wrote: post #21

cfinke wrote: post #16

I just finished four months of do-it-yourself carpentry in order to turn a sitting room at my home into a home office: Before: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/House-Vi... After: http://family.efinke.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/IMG_5086... Some more "after" pictures, which might be of interest to anyone else that enjoys woodworking as an "away-from-computer" hobby: Drawers: http://family.efinke.…

That is some solid carpentry! Awesome bookshelves. Kudos to you mister, the rest of us mere mortals can but bow before your presence.

Thanks! The shelving turned out better than even I expected, mostly due to my wife's design and direction.

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#29

Post by Skroob » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:14 AM UTC

pg wrote: post #24

Believe it or not I do much of my work walking along the street. When I'm doing office hours at YC (and the weather's good and we don't need to look at screens) I usually suggest going for a walk.

I suppose the MacBook Air is light enough that one could do "look at screen" work like this.

Watch out for traffic though.

Re: Poll: Where do you work (physically)?

#30

Post by cfinke » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 2:15 AM UTC

onwardly wrote: post #12

daleharvey wrote: post #11

I just started making an office for myself, http://dropup.net/7mwid4-2w45cb.jpg.html still a bit bare, suggestions welcome

Get a giant white board. Its an excellent semi-temporary brainstorming & task-tracking tool.

If you get a whiteboard, I would suggest putting it far enough away from your desk that you need to stand up (or roll over to it) in order to use it. I've found that kind of physical separation very helpful in creating a mental separation between "designing mode" and "implementing mode."