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38% of remote workers work from bed

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271–280 of 396 posts

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#271

I've been working remote for about 10 years. I've had "real" offices. I've worked in open-plan offices. I've had a home office. I've worked from bed. There are tons of good ways to do it. Lately I swap between a kitchen table and a chair on my porch. I no longer use multiple screens, I've just gotten really fast at swapping windows on my 15" laptop; I've gotten good at figuring out how wide my terminal window breaks…

Bringing up an anecdotal edge case, a couple years ago I have attended a viewing in a coworking space (Bricklane, London) where members had to sit on old recycled school chairs because that was the "design". Apparently you need to get a sciatica to look like a hipster coder. Having the right setup is not only about making your brain more productive - it's about keeping your spine pain free. While my home office is se…

I think working from bed for a short time is a good way to keep varying your posture.

The headline is misleading because I would have answered that I work from bed sometimes, but I also work from every chair or position around the house. I have a laptop and I move around.

Working from bed is when I am trying to finish something that's not particularly challenging while also kind of watching the baseball game on TV.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#272
post #140
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's work from home brilliantly summarized, very true. However, I have my doubts about productivity in smaller teams and startups. Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Sometimes it is important to have an environment where information is exchanged dynami…

> Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Who's going to write the fine-detail code if they whole day is a meeting? It may change from case to case, but for some small teams the biggest challenge is to produce something so good that it out-competes the produc…

> Who's going to write the fine-detail code if they whole day is a meeting?

You do it in the meeting, while others discuss things that aren't your concern. If it's something hard you really need to focus on, you tell the others to either shut up for a bit, or lend their eyeballs for a while.

Also, the boring stuff gets done just fine in a group everyone getting their last month's pay depends on it.

Been there, on both counts. The only thing I miss about it is how much you get done, compared to being a €€€ consultant tied to a spot with red tape.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#273
post #125

I've been working remote for about 10 years. I've had "real" offices. I've worked in open-plan offices. I've had a home office. I've worked from bed. There are tons of good ways to do it. Lately I swap between a kitchen table and a chair on my porch. I no longer use multiple screens, I've just gotten really fast at swapping windows on my 15" laptop; I've gotten good at figuring out how wide my terminal window breaks…

That's work from home brilliantly summarized, very true. However, I have my doubts about productivity in smaller teams and startups. Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Sometimes it is important to have an environment where information is exchanged dynami…

> Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously.

I do not understand how people can get work done in an environment like this. I've had similar experiences and "the whole day is a meeting" only served me for unnecessary interruptions, useless workplace banter and unsatisfactory results.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#274
post #148
post #40

For the past 2 weeks, I've been working from a treadmill. It has been incredible. I got a small under-the-desk treadmill for my standing desk and I walk at about 2.5km/hour and get around 20,000 steps in per day. It has improved my mood, my clarity, and also has improved my sleep (because I'm tired of walking). I also find it easier to focus on tasks for some reason. If you can make a setup like this work for you, I…

After 2 whole weeks, I don't think you should be offering "in the long run" advice about things.

I'm not intending to give health advice but the health benefits of walking are pretty well established and commonly accepted by doctors. I encourage you to do the research if you are skeptical or talk to your doctor.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#275
post #260

Personally, I’m going a bit batty with work from home. I get my stuff done - but it feels like pulling teeth against my procrastination and desire to relax in the spaces I’ve used for relaxation. After a year and a half I’ve run out of rooms that aren’t already spoiled for productivity. This used to happen in the office but I’d simply migrate desks or work from the kitchen for a few weeks. If I was single wfh would b…

I feel you man.

I mean, I like working from home, I like the extra time in the morning for sports, and in the evening to cook. But I also experience disadvantages from it... I really like being amongst others, which isn't the same via Slack.

Also, I dislike having my house as both my chill place and my work place. I feel it doesn't really work. I already have a different room to work in, but I still feel 'locked up' at my house somehow.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#276
post #125

I've been working remote for about 10 years. I've had "real" offices. I've worked in open-plan offices. I've had a home office. I've worked from bed. There are tons of good ways to do it. Lately I swap between a kitchen table and a chair on my porch. I no longer use multiple screens, I've just gotten really fast at swapping windows on my 15" laptop; I've gotten good at figuring out how wide my terminal window breaks…

That's work from home brilliantly summarized, very true. However, I have my doubts about productivity in smaller teams and startups. Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Sometimes it is important to have an environment where information is exchanged dynami…

In my experience, reasons like "spontaneity" and "dynamism" are used to cast lack of vision, poor planning and management, and amateurish execution in a positive light. YMMV.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#277
Just my personal take. The real challenge for me has been keeping the primary stakeholder for small remote projects engaged and communicating routinely.

I have been getting jobs where I am the only programmer for years, and one person is funding the project out of their pocket. Which means my income is limited, but also is low-stress and affords me a lot of freedom in terms of things like technical decisions.

One issue is that the sponsor usually realizes within a few weeks that I don't really need new feature ideas every few days to keep busy. So they tend to be busy with their own jobs or life and migrate towards checking in once or twice a week.

Which is usually fine, but I do find myself wishing sometimes that they would just glance at the Discord every two days. When they get busy, that can sometimes coincide with times that I have done a deployment for them to check out or have a lot to discuss. Then I am sending them an email asking them to look at the Discord.

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#278

The way it's written it looks like the bed (and the couch etc) are used for work because alot of remote workers don't have a real office to work in. I have a dedicated office in my home to work from with a real office chair and standing desk and that's where I do my work. A colleague of mine even has an under desk treadmill. This does bring up a valid point that not everyone can afford these things, but employers sho…

Even in their own offices most employers don't even provide a height-adjustable desk, or a good quality mouse and keyboard. They're not going to pay for a treadmill at home…

Re: 38% of remote workers work from bed

#280
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's work from home brilliantly summarized, very true. However, I have my doubts about productivity in smaller teams and startups. Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. Sometimes it is important to have an environment where information is exchanged dynami…

> Being in the same space physically I think speeds up a lot of things. In small teams and esp. at early stage startups your whole day is a meeting where things are discussed and resolved spontaneously. I do not understand how people can get work done in an environment like this. I've had similar experiences and "the whole day is a meeting" only served me for unnecessary interruptions, useless workplace banter and un…

I do think some work circumstances can benefit from periods of nearness.

Programming is not one of them. ;)

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