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

I have your solution.

[c.r.o.c.o]

I don't work in a cubicle, since I'm still a student. I do work however in an overcrowded computer lab at school, with no privacy, and the closes person at arm's length from me. But I do have a perfect way to get away from all the disturbances. Something tells my it might not work for you though...

I bring my mp3 player along, and I put my headphones on. Make sure you have head phones, not ear phones. The ear phones are too small, and being much closer to your ear, they produce far more damage than head phones. And I turn the mp3 player on. Not very loud, since the place is not too noisy, but still, loud enough so that it drowns everything around.

Now the choice of music is entirely up to you. In my case, Rage Against the Machine (and the likes) does the trick. Something tells me you're going to go for something completely different.

The reason it might not work, is that many workplaces (my dad's for instance) do not allow music to be played. It has to do with not being able to hear the fire alarm. Then again, he works in a nuclear power plant, so I can see why they have those rules. In your case it might be different.

Re:My suggestions:

[Antipop]

Just to further elaborate on the music aspect...

At my highschool I have a teacher who plays classical stuff while we take tests or do classwork. She says that studies show your work improves if you listen to classical music, preferably something with strings, at around 60bpm. For all you non-musicians that means slow violin music. I personally like Bach chorales (my mind just went blank on how to spell that..) because they're so beautiful. Ask a friend if you don't know anything about classical music for suggestions.

noise-cancelling headphones

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and they're magic. They make all the whirring and whining of vents, servers, copiers, conversations two cubes over, other people typing, etc. disappear so I can concentrate. Also makes it so you can hear the music better. I definitely recommend them, they're worth the money.

Another idea, if you really hate the blandness of your cube/wall color, get some cheap fabric and tape/pin it up to the walls in your immediate work area. It's like wallpaper, but easier.

Stand-up work area. Really!

[Bob_Robertson]

Along with all the other calls for "taking control of your audio input with headphones" and such, I must suggest one of the most effective things I ever tried: Stand up.

Most if not all cubicle desks are latched into the vertical. Put them at 44 inches, or whatever is comfortable for you, and get a bar-stool style chair. Adjust the so you can comfortably work standing up, and sitting down, or with your butt half on the chair, whatever is most comfortable at that moment.

The human spine evolved for movement, walking, not sitting for long periods of time. This setup allows you to adjust your position constantly, exercising your lower back, legs, etc.

Of course, being in a Japanese company means that I don't get to have a cubicle to work with for the forseeable future myself, and I can really feel the difference.

So try the most ergonomic position of all. Stand up for yourself!

Bob-

Telecommute

[Snafoo]

I'm sure you've thought of this before, but telecommuting is the ultimate answer for your all your crappy-work-environment needs.

I myself prefer telecommuting from a cafe. Cafes, I find, are ideal for working because:

(1) Nice persons bring hot tasty caffinated things right to you.

(2) No one cares if you get up and go for a half-hour walk.

(3) No one asks you annoying questions about how to "program" cells in Excel. (sigh)

(4) I live in Montreal in a Francophone neighbourhood, so (and this is utterly fantastic) I have *no* *idea* what people around me are nattering about! It's all the advantages of being around peeps enjoying themselves (which for some reason *always* relaxes me; it must be tribal psychological throwback) minus the drawback that you have to listen to fifteen-year-old girls psychoanalyzing each other and making grave pronouncements about each other's mental health or dateability or some such. At any rate, I imagine non-Quebequois can get a similar experience via a walkman.

<offtopic>The really weird thing is that I do, in fact, speak French, and not too badly at that; however, it's a second language learned after the childhood 'window'. For whatever reason, the consensus among myself and my friends with similar experiences is that comprehension for such languages is purely voluntary, whereas with your mother tongue eavesdropping is sometimes an uncontrollable fact of life. </offtopic>