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My two-part desk setup (2025)

arslan.io

41–50 of 229 posts

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#41
post #13

A basic principle of ancient Chinese Feng Shui is that you should not sit with your back to a space. In other words, you need to have your back against a wall, not your face facing a wall. I believe there is a reason for this. When there is a space behind you, human instinct forces you to pay a subconscious attention on that space (we are very alert to danger from behind), making it harder to concentrate on what is i…

What about having a window on the wall you're facing, so you can look out it?

This principle emphasizes that there should be no space behind you. It has nothing to do with the wall or window in front of you. Those are just examples I used to explain according to the original post.

If you're concerned about the window's position, ancient Feng Shui advised the window should be located to your side, specifically on the side of the hand you don't use for writing. I think their reasoning was: this way, your head and the hand you use for writing won't cast shadows on the area where you're writing.

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#42
post #9

Adding another desk isn't "rethinking the desk". It's adding another desk with a slightly different purpose to the first desk. It's maximalism under the guise of insight.

He didn't add another desk. Did you read the linked article?

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#43
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He’s a software engineer with taste. I know taste is subjective but I happen to like he’s taste.

Ehh, I find it difficult to distinguish between "taste" and "money". The shelving alone is a "contact us for pricing" situation. Premium items coupled with a too-clean-to-be-used work environment and natural light can do a significant lift in the "taste" department.

On the contrary, there's lots of expensive stuff that's horrifyingly terrible taste. There might be some connection, but they're separate

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#44

I do the same thing but with two physical desks, not just partitioning one desk into two logical desks. Aside from the obvious advantage of more space it really helps put your mind in a different context when you are at a different location. In his example just moving over slightly would do nothing for me with the computer just arms length away and still in full view.

Yep, even more-so with a corner desk (L-shaped). Although there are times my work involves both papers and computer, and the quick swivel of a corner desk is great.

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#46
It "looks" amazing. But you know, the real hard work is always done by the rag-looking, worn-out dirty, dented, scratched, faded-out, weak tools and work-benches. Not the shiny or rugged ones. Just like some notebooks that were used a 1000 times, with corners rounded by usage, not by design.

I would love a table that has uneven solid wood surface, with cracks and scratchers, burn marks, broken corners, worn-out edges, ink-marks everywhere, shaped out by the usage, not by design.

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#47
I have a similar setup, but separate desks:

- A sitting desk for coding

- A standing desk for thinking and working on paper

There is something magical about standing while working on paper.

I’ve also found that this separation became more important to follow since the arrival of LLMs.

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#49
post #27

Very aesthetic, the author must be a photographer, these photos could fit very well on r/malelivingspace.

He’s a software engineer with taste. I know taste is subjective but I happen to like he’s taste.

He is a software engineer with taste and the financial means.

Re: My two-part desk setup (2025)

#50
post #19
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you have two monitors, is your head always turned to one side? That always hurts my neck, so I wind up with the second monitor relegated to the side, where I never actually look at it.

This is why ultrawides are very comfortable, you can focus on the center region where 2x monitors likely have their edges meeting.

I repurposed a 43” 4K TV as a monitor. The thing I’m working on goes roughly in the middle, everything else is sprawled out wherever.
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