Live data from Hacker News

Things I've quit doing at my desk

justinjackson.ca

51–60 of 97 posts

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#51

Sitting: for the past 18 months I’ve been using a standing desk. I’ve realized that the best part isn’t that I’m standing all day; it’s that I’m not sitting. I actually got a GeekDesk a while ago, and I think it's a better solution: I wouldn't want to sit or stand all the time.

Yup, I'm the same way. I use a barstool for sitting and leaning. I probably stand 50%-75% of my day. I also try to get away from my desk more often.

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#52

I knew before I clicked that there was going to be something about a standing desk. I feel a subtle smugness coming from the standing desk crew that irks me a little. But, as far as procrastinating I have definitely been slipping lately and need to lay off facebook, reddit, and (gulp) HN as well. Wait... what am I still doing here..!

Ha ha. I only mention it because it's really worked for me. There are other strategies that could work well: one is to sit for only 30 minutes at a time, and then get up and go for a quick walk. The challenge for developers is that they often need 2 hours of uninterrupted time to focus.

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#53
post #37

I wrote an article very similar to this a few months ago. I make a similar argument: we need defined workspaces, and when we're there we shouldn't do anything but work. http://burakkanber.com/blog/staying-productive-while-working...

Loved your post! I especially identify with "not actually working from your home while you’re working from home." I too found that working from a coffee shop on my remote working days was way better than being in the basement at my house. The coffee shop was nice, because it still allowed me to work outside of the office (without the distractions of the office).

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could always keep healthy snacks are your desk. Right now I'm munching on some plain, unsalted almonds that I keep right next to me, along with some fruit and other healthy things. Let's me keep going without thinking about being hungry.

It doesn't fix your punctuation, though. http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/lets.html

Get over yourself.

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#55
post #34

You don't use a mouse?

Are you referring to the photo on my post? The photo is a little bit of a lie: I'd just moved into this office, and my desk is not normally that minimalist. ;)

I do use a mouse. And normally my laptop is elevated on a box, with a keyboard in front. I also have a external monitor that's normally beside it.

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I built one (from Ikea parts, inspired by a posting on ikeahackers) very recently. I use it far too short a time (2 weeks now) to say whether it really helps, but it's definitely a change that makes me happy _so far_. I feel more awake (no 'slumping'). I move a lot, walk in circles and just move away from the machine, when I feel I need to think about something. Will I keep using it from now on? Only time will tell..…

Is typing comfortable with a standing desk? Every time I've used a computer at standing height, it's been a little uncomfortable, but they certainly weren't tailored to my height.

Typing at a standing desk is comfortable if you get the height correct for your body. And for me it is important to have a riser at the front of the keyboard, like this [1]. My arms are angled close to 90 degrees, but pointed slightly downward, a keyboard flat on the desk would put far too much stress on my wrists.

[1] http://cdn.asia.cnet.com/i/r/2008/pp/43776845/sc003.jpg

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#57
post #6

Has anyone else switched to a standing desk setup? Do you like it?

I tried at home for a few month and couldn't adapt to it. It hurts my legs too much after a few hours. I'm really not athletic so that's part of the issue. What annoyed me also was that I couldn't do creatives things while standing, only simple repetive tasks were ok. So I stopped.

Did you consider a standing-mat?

"Standing on a hard floor for prolonged periods without anti-fatigue matting can cause pain and discomfort in the lower legs, feet and back." - some website selling them.

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#58
post #42

I would add "Eating" to the list. I eat at my desk all the time, and I really need to stop. When I eat at my desk, I'm generally eating things that aren't that healthy to begin with, snacking unnecessarily, and/or eating too quickly, and doing it in some misguided notion that I'm able to work and eat at the same time. I'm not actually productive at times like that, it just lets me deal with some illogical guilt I fee…

To me this is an important step to help get rid of mindless eating. That kind of eating, where a hand goes reaching into a bag of fried shit to grab one more piece of something you never wanted to eat in the first place. I'm not great at it yet, but I try to stop myself before every bite and ask "Am I hungry?" in my head. I stop way earlier in meals, I eat more frequently with much smaller amounts, and I honestly hav…

I have this problem and will mindlessly eat anything in arm's reach while working. I used to buy mints for anyone passing by to have, but would eat them myself... and they would go fast. I put on about 10kg before I realised that it was because I was essentially eating a bag of sugar every day...

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#59
post #7

Ad procrastinating: I remember someone (Paul Graham?) reporting that he configured a separate machine for procrastination-inducing activities so as to avoid the "just quickly check my feed while this is compiling" syndrome.

It was Paul Graham. He later noted that it didn't really work.

Where did he say it didnt work? It seems like a great idea.

Re: Things I've quit doing at my desk

#60
post #6

Has anyone else switched to a standing desk setup? Do you like it?

I made the switch by having two computers: a sit down desk where I disabled most websites, and a stand up desk where I could freely browse the web. After a week or two, I was fine standing up and made the full transition.

You will definitely want to relax from time to time though.

Post reply on HN