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

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

#81

Post by deltasquare4 » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 6:12 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.…

Great work, sir. You inspired me to try that for my own office :)

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

#82

Post by cldev » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 6:12 AM UTC

I've been working from home for 8 years now. Plenty of time to go through a few cycles of low productivity -> high productivity and back. And plenty of time to try to find the right style of workspace. I've tried working outside in the park and could never stay focused for very long. I feel like a dog sometimes, give me some fresh air and a view, and I want to run around and play. I cannot sit still when I am outdoors. Coffee shops are too noisy. And too many people to look at. I finally fixed up my basement and made a comfortable workspace. Set up a stereo system. Put some effort into the lighting. No windows, no street noise, just a fat monitor on my desk. Feels sort of like a cave but I like it.

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

#83

Post by mfukar » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 6:38 AM UTC

derrida wrote: post #72

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 am a runner. I run 60 minutes to 120 minutes / day. I understand this. But at some point, you do have to click buttons in some divine ordered pattern, right? Or are you saying you don't even do this?

Dictation is a nice alternative.

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

#84

Post by code_duck » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:02 AM UTC

I guess 'in bed' counts as 'without a distinct office', right?

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

#85

Post by cperciva » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:04 AM UTC

code_duck wrote: post #84

I guess 'in bed' counts as 'without a distinct office', right?

Unless you're a prostitute and you have a separate bed for entertaining clients, yes.

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

#86

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:04 AM UTC

code_duck wrote: post #84

I guess 'in bed' counts as 'without a distinct office', right?

[deleted]

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

#87

Post by koenigdavidmj » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:05 AM UTC

cperciva wrote: post #64

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.

When I was working on my thesis I did much of the same thing -- the majority of my "thinking" time was spent walking in a loop around the college gardens, and I would only go inside to type out a few paragraphs once I had composed them mentally. I got quite annoyed when the college closed the gardens between midnight and 4 AM...

Maybe a CS student walking alone outside at 2am is not the best of ideas.

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

#88

Post by kellishaver » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:12 AM UTC

I used to work at a desk shoved into the corner of the guest bedroom. We recently moved the bed out and now it's a dedicated home office. I find it much easier to focus and be productive.

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

#89

Post by robryan » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:16 AM UTC

koenigdavidmj wrote: post #87

cperciva wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was working on my thesis I did much of the same thing -- the majority of my "thinking" time was spent walking in a loop around the college gardens, and I would only go inside to type out a few paragraphs once I had composed them mentally. I got quite annoyed when the college closed the gardens between midnight and 4 AM...

Maybe a CS student walking alone outside at 2am is not the best of ideas.

Don't know where you live but I never had a problem or saw anyone else have a problem late at night over my 4 years of uni.

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

#90

Post by robryan » Thu, Jan 27, 2011, 7:20 AM UTC

GrandMasterBirt wrote: post #80

I think some of the most amazing 10-20 liners of code I've written, I wrote in my dreams. Made a major effort to memorize them, and then implemented once I got to a computer.

Related to this, it's amazing when your away from the computer and not really engaged in anything you can think back to a piece of code that was giving you trouble and come up with a fix you couldn't think of while working at a screen.