Lessons from Working at Home

Last year when I started working at home at the start of the pandemic, I set up shop in my Florida room. I needed space to work with both my work laptop and my personal one. At the time, our VPN was limited to only corporate-owned machines. So I retasked a folding long picnic table as the base for all this equipment and cables to share a monitor. So I lived with this Adhoc setup for quite a while. It was very functional and an aesthetic eyesore. This disorder annoyed me, but hey, it was only a temporary situation!

I had learned over this time that working and using my Florida Room was pretty great as far as having sunlight and a view of the weather. Even during storms, it was much preferable to a cubicle farm. Plus, being able to listen to music and podcasts without headphones is also great. I had started using my guitar FRFR speakers as also computer speakers. So a mixer takes input from my computer, iPad, and guitar effects processor. The downside was all the visible cable and power strips.

During this last week, I decided to remedy the situation and to simplify and set up a more permanent solution. Before the pandemic, I had an iMac and a desk that added a collapsible standing desk. Unfortunately, this went unused since I needed room for two laptops at the time. I moved my main computer table into this location instead. I also traded in my laptop for a Mac Mini – it covered the cost.

So it has been a long week organizing and setting up the new computer. I am somewhat compulsive about setting up new machines. I have documented notes I maintain regarding what I want to install and set it up to my tastes. I rarely restore from a backup. I love that new minty-fresh OS feeling optimized to what I had learned since the last time.

I do like to stand while working because it kind of changes your attitude. It is easy to get comfy in a chair and not move about except to make coffee and to – ah – dispose of processed coffee. I can now unrhythmically prance about while listening to music for one thing. Plus, when I collapse the desk back down to sit for a while, I feel that it is a deserved rest.