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.