Adjusting Your Work Environment to Work for You?

Darvin Pope asks: "I have a rather disconcerting problem at work: the environment is uncomfortable. Its not your standard, 'I hate my job' type of uncomfortable, its more of a general physical and mental issue than that. The entire place is done in earthtones, its dark and it can be noisy. My cube is situated across the room from most others, but still, its hard to acquire a peaceful, zenlike state of mind, neccesary for me to write my best code, with all the disturbances around. I was wondering if any of the slashdot folks had any hints - ranging from a change of seating posture to color schemes, desk clutter, music/white noise, herbal suppliments, dietary changes, lighting, and so on. What works best for the rest of you?"

Comments

My suggestions:

[theantix]

I definately know what you mean, I work in a similar environment and have gone through what you are talking about. I work for a concrete company with trucks roaring past constantly. Plus, in Canada the daylight hours are shrinking rapidly and I don't have a window office, so I barely see the sun. That being said, I have a few suggestions that you might find helpful.

Exercise. At work, try to walk around at least every few hours. Sitting in one spot is bad for the psyche, and your general health! Outside of work, do some cardio exercise (walking, running, biking, hiking, swimming, etc). Back off the caffeine. Don't drink pints of coffee and pop pengiun pills all day. It stimulates the nervous system and makes you more alert, but more stressed at the same time. It's similar to a constant adrenaline rush, which is helpful for a few minutes but very poisonous for a long period of time. Get human contact. Duh! In your spare time, chat up the cute secretary, or ask your co-workers how their weekends were. Even if you are an introvert you need human contact that can't be fufilled through /. Eat Right. Back off the fatty foods, try eating carbohydrate-rich breakfasts and lunches. Don't skip either. Drink lots of water. Try drinking a little bit of caffeinated beverages in the morning (don't overdo it). Play right. In your off-work time, don't spend all of your time playing video games and watching television. At least once a day call a friend on the telephone, or even better visit one in person. Get a LCD. Of course, this might be beyond your budgetary constrainsts, but if you are staring at a screen all day it might as well be one that doesn't strain your eyeballs! A flat-screen monitor or a laptop might be what the doctor ordered. And if you are running on a windows platform, consider upgrading to WinXP which has ClearType support, which really does improve the clarity and readability of LCD screens. For me, that alone was worth the price of the upgrade (please don't flame). Listen to "wordless" music while working. It really helps, you'd be surprised! I'm suggesting classical or electronic music, whatever your preferences. Of course, not everyone can do this, but listening to Ludwin Van can really help you concentrate.

Hope it helps, it did for me.

One more vote for ...

[Karma 50]

a) Music. I have headphones on most of the time. Infra-red ones, so I don't get tangled. Just make sure people aren't scared of interrupting you - my colleagues know that I'm not blocking them out and am willing to talk to them.

b) Walking. I wander around and chat with friends.

Here are a few of my personal favourites...

[Bake]

Whenever possible turn off fluorescent lighting.
Try and use a desk lamp with a plain old light bulb or a halogen bulb if you can.
Also dim the place a bit down if you can; my eyes get very tired if I'm exposed to much lighting for extended periods of time.
As long as you're not working as a graphics designer try and eliminate the colour white from your colour scheme, try reversing it for a change, white to black and vice versa, personally I don't code unless the editor I'm using has a black background with white letters. If you think about it staring at a monitor all day long with the colour white as a default background colour on most applications isn't all that different from staring at a brightly lit white cloth or white wall, your eyes _will_ get tired and that leads discomfort.

As for music, use headphones as much as you can, and don't be cheap when it comes to headphones. Make sure they're comfortable and cover your ear in a way that they sit _around_ your ear and not _on_ it, you'll be thankful later. As for what sort of music, to each his own I'm afraid. In my case it mostly depends on what I'm doing, if I'm in a "zone" I try to keep it uptempo, but most of the time just something in harmony with my inner rhythm (we all have it, it's just a matter of finding/noticing it).

There is just one rule I have about food, and that is "not too much". Don't eat so that you get a full stomach, that way you'll only get bloated which registered as a discomfort last time I checked :-).
Also try and avoid sweets if you can, although it's perfectly alright to treat oneself to a biscuit or pastery every now and then. Try and avoid fatty foods if you can but overall try and keep a nice varied and balanced diet.

Postures are hard to find, but my best posture is when I sit so that almost every muscle in my body is relaxed and aren't dangling. I have a tendency to lie back in my chair with me feet on whatever I can find that lifts them from the floor.

But these are just a few of my suggestions, try these and pick the ones you find comfortable :)

Cube Sweet Cube

[sclatter]

First and foremost, I swear by my Bose noise-cancelling headphones. Yeah, they are spendy, but they are perfect for drowning out CPU noise and random cube-farm chatter. They are also extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They tend to be a mild deterrent for random interruptions, which I find to be a bonus. Be warned that people will be forced to extreme measures to get your attention when you are wearing them. ;-)

Second, drink water. Get a nice big container and fill it from the local water cooler. Sip from it constantly. When it is empty, you will probably have to go to the restroom. On your way back fill the container again. Rinse and repeat. You will stay hydrated and your bladder will enforce an occasional stroll. Never underestimate the importance of hydration!

Other folks have mentioned forcibly removing fluorescent lights. I actually don't like it to be too dark, but my eyes get really irritated if I have to stare right into a fluorescent fixture. In the past I have solved this by using mosquito netting to create a screen. It was quite functional and looked ok. The netting diffused the light and softened it.

I like to create my own space by having lots of colorful stuff in my cube. Pictures, of course, and always toys. I favor yo-yos. Yo-yoing is a great break and helps to lubricate thinking. You have to stand up, stretch, move around. Learn some tricks. It's a great conversation starter, and you come back to the problem at hand more relaxed and focused.