What's your ultimate work set-up?
August 10, 2020 4:57 PM Subscribe
How do you organise and rearrange your stuff in order to have the best working experience possible, one which maximises productivity and makes you work smarter?
I am talking in terms of:
(1) Physical surroundings,
(2) Tech setup (desktop or laptop, printer, scanner, even music speakers, etc.)
(3) Analog (i.e. filing cabinets, folders) vs Digital (hard drives, Dropbox, Google Drive),
(4) Filing system for resources (like maybe design templates, images, articles you've saved),
(5) Filing system for client or project files,
(6) Task management
Other things I'm wondering about:
(7) Is it advisable to move all files to the cloud?
(8) Do you prefer Google Docs to MS Word and the like?
(9) How often do you back-up?
I am talking in terms of:
(1) Physical surroundings,
(2) Tech setup (desktop or laptop, printer, scanner, even music speakers, etc.)
(3) Analog (i.e. filing cabinets, folders) vs Digital (hard drives, Dropbox, Google Drive),
(4) Filing system for resources (like maybe design templates, images, articles you've saved),
(5) Filing system for client or project files,
(6) Task management
Other things I'm wondering about:
(7) Is it advisable to move all files to the cloud?
(8) Do you prefer Google Docs to MS Word and the like?
(9) How often do you back-up?
For productivity, look up Getting Things Done (GTD). Changed my life.
posted by pyro979 at 5:33 PM on August 10, 2020
posted by pyro979 at 5:33 PM on August 10, 2020
I have a large second screen and a separate keyboard and mouse. I'm usually docked there for part of the day and make a point to move elsewhere (couch, balcony) in the afternoon to keep things fresh. I find that being seated at the desk with two screens and a comfortable configuration is suitable to really just getting the work done and banging things out, but switching things up midday prevents me from getting too mentally or physically fatigued.
I don't need any physical documents ever, everything is on a shared drive (hosted by my employer), so I don't need a dedicated filing cabinet or printer. If I do take notes or do work on paper, I'll transfer them to a digital location that I can search later (usually just a Word document or Jira).
For task management, every Monday before I do anything else (even respond to email) I make a To Do list for the week in One Note. I update it when I add a task or complete a task. I save every To Do list as a record of my accomplishments and periodically update another list with these things so I can update my boss occasionally and bring them up at my yearly performance review.
posted by stripesandplaid at 6:00 PM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don't need any physical documents ever, everything is on a shared drive (hosted by my employer), so I don't need a dedicated filing cabinet or printer. If I do take notes or do work on paper, I'll transfer them to a digital location that I can search later (usually just a Word document or Jira).
For task management, every Monday before I do anything else (even respond to email) I make a To Do list for the week in One Note. I update it when I add a task or complete a task. I save every To Do list as a record of my accomplishments and periodically update another list with these things so I can update my boss occasionally and bring them up at my yearly performance review.
posted by stripesandplaid at 6:00 PM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
My setup. Commentary below.
1. My bedroom. I cleaned it up and put a shelf in so that it feels organized. But it’s still a bedroom with a desk.
2. Just a laptop.
3. I have a pad of paper on the desk but I don’t use it unless I’m sharing my screen. For notes I pretty much exclusively use Notepad++.
4. None, really. To the extent that I do, it’s generally through my bookmarks in Chrome.
5. I create a local folder in My Documents for each project, but there mostly notes to self. My company saves all our project documents and files on network drives.
6. Just a Notepad++ file with bullet points. I’m pretty lucky in that my current job doesn’t need any more detailed task management than this. I’ve used Todoist in the past, but I don’t like it. Even before I got this job, I believed that having so many tasks that you need more than a couple bullet points to keep track of them is a sign that your job is overworking you.
7. No preference.
8. I prefer Word, but I think that’s just familiarity.
9. Gonna decline to answer this one haha.
Overall, I think my setup works well. I feel productive, all the more so because my bed is ten feet away. I would very much like a second monitor - there are aspects of my job that involve comparing two programs, and having to alt-tab constantly is annoying. I’d also like it for the screenshare aspect. With multiple monitors, you can choose which one to share, and then take notes/look stuff up on the other one. I feel very awkward taking notes onscreen while sharing, so I use pen and paper, which I don’t like.
I’m extremely fortunate in that my company thinks like I do. Our network drives are organized pretty much how I would organize them if I were doing it from scratch, and there’s a lot of documentation (relatively). I’m not a huge fan of saving work in progress to public drives that anyone in the department can access, because when I’m writing a first draft of a spec or test plan, I put a lot of half-thoughts and notes to self in and then go back and revise, and I’d rather not have my colleagues see my messy thought process. That’s why I have local folders, but a private cloud folder would be fine too.
I like having my office in my bedroom; it feels like it’s my private space. But that’s a personal issue with my current situation, and if I lived alone, I’d probably separate them. That said, I’m a big fan of not being in the same position all day, so I like being able to sit for part of the day, stand up on calls, and lay down on my bed when I’m reading or researching. If I separated the office and the bedroom, I’d need to invest in a couch or something.
My best productivity tip, as cheesy as it sounds, is to have a job you enjoy. It’s almost comical how much better I work at this company than I did in previous jobs.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:01 PM on August 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
1. My bedroom. I cleaned it up and put a shelf in so that it feels organized. But it’s still a bedroom with a desk.
2. Just a laptop.
3. I have a pad of paper on the desk but I don’t use it unless I’m sharing my screen. For notes I pretty much exclusively use Notepad++.
4. None, really. To the extent that I do, it’s generally through my bookmarks in Chrome.
5. I create a local folder in My Documents for each project, but there mostly notes to self. My company saves all our project documents and files on network drives.
6. Just a Notepad++ file with bullet points. I’m pretty lucky in that my current job doesn’t need any more detailed task management than this. I’ve used Todoist in the past, but I don’t like it. Even before I got this job, I believed that having so many tasks that you need more than a couple bullet points to keep track of them is a sign that your job is overworking you.
7. No preference.
8. I prefer Word, but I think that’s just familiarity.
9. Gonna decline to answer this one haha.
Overall, I think my setup works well. I feel productive, all the more so because my bed is ten feet away. I would very much like a second monitor - there are aspects of my job that involve comparing two programs, and having to alt-tab constantly is annoying. I’d also like it for the screenshare aspect. With multiple monitors, you can choose which one to share, and then take notes/look stuff up on the other one. I feel very awkward taking notes onscreen while sharing, so I use pen and paper, which I don’t like.
I’m extremely fortunate in that my company thinks like I do. Our network drives are organized pretty much how I would organize them if I were doing it from scratch, and there’s a lot of documentation (relatively). I’m not a huge fan of saving work in progress to public drives that anyone in the department can access, because when I’m writing a first draft of a spec or test plan, I put a lot of half-thoughts and notes to self in and then go back and revise, and I’d rather not have my colleagues see my messy thought process. That’s why I have local folders, but a private cloud folder would be fine too.
I like having my office in my bedroom; it feels like it’s my private space. But that’s a personal issue with my current situation, and if I lived alone, I’d probably separate them. That said, I’m a big fan of not being in the same position all day, so I like being able to sit for part of the day, stand up on calls, and lay down on my bed when I’m reading or researching. If I separated the office and the bedroom, I’d need to invest in a couch or something.
My best productivity tip, as cheesy as it sounds, is to have a job you enjoy. It’s almost comical how much better I work at this company than I did in previous jobs.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:01 PM on August 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I will mainly address physical surroundings: I basically made myself a cozy living room cubicle for WFH. My current game-changing addition was stacking up four Ikea Alex add-on units on top of my desk. Each is about four inches high, with a drawer on each side and a gap in the middle, so I now have 8 drawers for hiding things and four shallow cubby holes. I basically use one cubby hold for each of my current projects, as I generally like to work with physical paper a lot. I also squeeze in some small things, like a box of pens, a box with scissors/stapler/tape, etc.
Some shelves to the side and behind me hold books, paper pads, my printer, basically everything else I might need for work. I have lighting I like, I've got all the power cables under control, and there are some happy pieces around, like favorite mugs, photos, rainbow masking tape for labeling miscellaneous power cords before I forget what they go to.
Key points:
This setup puts all my materials right at hand, but it's trivially easy to clear my desk and focus on one thing at a time. Also, I got a real desk chair, set up a a good height for me. (I expect to be working from home at least through December.) My system made it easy to maintain an organized space, even through several months of working quite a bit of overtime.
posted by ktkt at 6:21 PM on August 10, 2020
Some shelves to the side and behind me hold books, paper pads, my printer, basically everything else I might need for work. I have lighting I like, I've got all the power cables under control, and there are some happy pieces around, like favorite mugs, photos, rainbow masking tape for labeling miscellaneous power cords before I forget what they go to.
Key points:
This setup puts all my materials right at hand, but it's trivially easy to clear my desk and focus on one thing at a time. Also, I got a real desk chair, set up a a good height for me. (I expect to be working from home at least through December.) My system made it easy to maintain an organized space, even through several months of working quite a bit of overtime.
posted by ktkt at 6:21 PM on August 10, 2020
One Very Large Screen so that I don't have to strain my neck, with a window manager to easy organize/move/tile windows (I use BetterSnapTool but Magnet is also popular). Learn the keyboard shortcuts or make your own. Master being able to have two documents/browsers side by side.
I use the free version of Evernote for all my notes, with bookmarked notes for all my weekly/biweekly meetings. I've been using it for 12 years and never had to use the paid version.
Cloud all the way for docs (I use GSuite but I'll use just about anything except Sharepoint)
I make sure to never write notes on paper (I can barely read my own writing) but I do keep a notebook to jot things down if someone comes to my office (recording things to show that I was listening and will follow up). I use a Behance Action Book Mini which has a nice way to manage information and organize actionable items. They are gorgeous and make me look smart even when I'm not doing anything. Real notes go into Evernote, I bring my laptop to all meetings but keep it closed unless needed.
I don't know how to manage browsers and tabs, I probably have anywhere between 4 browsers and 50-80 tabs open at any given moment, but two extensions that help me are Merge All Windows and Tab Organizer (which only does one thing: sort tabs automatically).
I try not to use any paper, you can scan or send photos of things into Evernote (it even makes the text searchable!). I'll keep a small pile of anything I get in a week and by end of week I make it disappear from my desk (I sorta use the GTD methodology).
My Drafts folder in Outlook is my todo list. I try to keep it tidy (< 10 drafts at any point in time) and make sure those drafts get out by end of day. I use the scheduled send feature to never send an email past 5:30pm or before 8:05am because people deserve to not get email in off hours. I stopped managing my inbox ages ago, I put a flag on anything actionable and try to follow up when I can.
posted by furtive at 9:10 PM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
I use the free version of Evernote for all my notes, with bookmarked notes for all my weekly/biweekly meetings. I've been using it for 12 years and never had to use the paid version.
Cloud all the way for docs (I use GSuite but I'll use just about anything except Sharepoint)
I make sure to never write notes on paper (I can barely read my own writing) but I do keep a notebook to jot things down if someone comes to my office (recording things to show that I was listening and will follow up). I use a Behance Action Book Mini which has a nice way to manage information and organize actionable items. They are gorgeous and make me look smart even when I'm not doing anything. Real notes go into Evernote, I bring my laptop to all meetings but keep it closed unless needed.
I don't know how to manage browsers and tabs, I probably have anywhere between 4 browsers and 50-80 tabs open at any given moment, but two extensions that help me are Merge All Windows and Tab Organizer (which only does one thing: sort tabs automatically).
I try not to use any paper, you can scan or send photos of things into Evernote (it even makes the text searchable!). I'll keep a small pile of anything I get in a week and by end of week I make it disappear from my desk (I sorta use the GTD methodology).
My Drafts folder in Outlook is my todo list. I try to keep it tidy (< 10 drafts at any point in time) and make sure those drafts get out by end of day. I use the scheduled send feature to never send an email past 5:30pm or before 8:05am because people deserve to not get email in off hours. I stopped managing my inbox ages ago, I put a flag on anything actionable and try to follow up when I can.
posted by furtive at 9:10 PM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
I also work from my bedroom with just a laptop and the two biggest productivity boosters were a 4k monitor and a really good mouse. I'm doing mostly data science projects when working from home, and it's really great to be able to have 4 Windows open: My coding environment (1/2 Screen), Browser (1/4), Excel/ Terminal/ Notepad++/OneNote (1/4), and whatever is not that important on the Laptop.
I got the MX Master 3 from Logitech and the ability to program its buttons really helps.
For example in my coding environment I assigned mouse buttons for:
- comment/uncomment line
- run selected code
- undo/redo
- switch between script tabs
- Show desktop
And I take a 1 or 2 hour break about 14:00 because if I have been staring at my monitor since 8:00 I get a big slump in effectivity by then and need to do something else. It has happened to often that I spent 3 hours at the end of the day on a problem that I solved in 15 minutes the next day with a fresh brain.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 12:04 AM on August 11, 2020
I got the MX Master 3 from Logitech and the ability to program its buttons really helps.
For example in my coding environment I assigned mouse buttons for:
- comment/uncomment line
- run selected code
- undo/redo
- switch between script tabs
- Show desktop
And I take a 1 or 2 hour break about 14:00 because if I have been staring at my monitor since 8:00 I get a big slump in effectivity by then and need to do something else. It has happened to often that I spent 3 hours at the end of the day on a problem that I solved in 15 minutes the next day with a fresh brain.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 12:04 AM on August 11, 2020
I prefer Microsoft products to Google, and MS desktop apps to their online offerings. The MS online apps are fine if you just need to quick open something to look at, but to do any serious work, I have to open in the desktop app because it's full featured, supports track changes a lot better, handles bigger files better, etc. I do admit there is likely some user bias because I've been using since Office 3.1. I find Google Sheets especially lacking.
I am in a much better position than my coworkers, because I have a large monitor and external mouse/keyboard while they are just working from a laptop.
Since WFH became a thing, I have really embraced MS teams (desktop) and planner (desktop and online) and i don't see myself going back, thought I haven't drug my colleagues along with me.
My work files are all on onedrive/sharepoint or on our network folders via vpn. nothing locally on my computer, which i think is the way to go for work stuff.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:18 AM on August 11, 2020
I am in a much better position than my coworkers, because I have a large monitor and external mouse/keyboard while they are just working from a laptop.
Since WFH became a thing, I have really embraced MS teams (desktop) and planner (desktop and online) and i don't see myself going back, thought I haven't drug my colleagues along with me.
My work files are all on onedrive/sharepoint or on our network folders via vpn. nothing locally on my computer, which i think is the way to go for work stuff.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:18 AM on August 11, 2020
1) I do field-based work, so my offices are currently work-office, home-office, and work-truck. I try to keep visible distractions to a minimum at my desks - limited and simple personal things in view, if I want to leave things out so I remember them, that needs to be behind me when I'm sitting at the desk.
2) I currently use a work laptop and a work desktop. The work desktop has a soundbar, which is nice. I use external keyboard and mouse if I'm at a desk. I can print things at work from home, which is handy but slightly unreliable. I scan multi-page large documents at work and photograph lots of stuff using my phone.
3) I keep limited paper files for recent projects because I have the space - these are all also scanned, but sometimes it's easier to work from a hard copy. I also have a 1.5" binder for stuff I need in the field and in impromptu meetings, which is most of my meetings. Maps, documenting things I said I'd do and when they happened, data, troubleshooting, notes. Organized by project. Work uses Box, so I try to keep everything in there. Another program bought out part of my time this summer, and they use Slack, which I'm actually starting to appreciate, although I keep my own set of the files from that on Box since I don't think they're paying to archive Slack. I use GDrive for personal files out of habit.
4) I use Zotero for managing journal articles and a folder for forms at the appropriate level in my file structure. I have an unshared Box folder for stuff like CVs, expense reports, training documentation, etc. I have a notes file on my phone for stuff like employee number, index codes for billing, gate codes... and browser bookmarks for websites I update, vendors, and other things that I mostly just need the link.
5) Client/project files are the same as 3) for me
6) I use trello organized by context (do today, @computer, @work, waiting) and also do paper to do lists for the day to keep in front of me constantly and write notes on (phone numbers, measurements, prices, etc.) I use todoist for personal task tracking.
7) I basically have to have stuff in the cloud because I work in multiple locations on different computers. I'm also generally committed to making sure my coworkers have access to everything they need should I be unavailable. This also means that I never have to back up. I'm not working with information where there are security concerns about this.
8) I use desktop MS Office because that's what my work uses and we use track changes intensively. I hate browser-based word processing and spreadsheets, it's always losing changes, part of your screen gets eaten by browser bars/tabs, too many distractions.
posted by momus_window at 10:33 AM on August 11, 2020
2) I currently use a work laptop and a work desktop. The work desktop has a soundbar, which is nice. I use external keyboard and mouse if I'm at a desk. I can print things at work from home, which is handy but slightly unreliable. I scan multi-page large documents at work and photograph lots of stuff using my phone.
3) I keep limited paper files for recent projects because I have the space - these are all also scanned, but sometimes it's easier to work from a hard copy. I also have a 1.5" binder for stuff I need in the field and in impromptu meetings, which is most of my meetings. Maps, documenting things I said I'd do and when they happened, data, troubleshooting, notes. Organized by project. Work uses Box, so I try to keep everything in there. Another program bought out part of my time this summer, and they use Slack, which I'm actually starting to appreciate, although I keep my own set of the files from that on Box since I don't think they're paying to archive Slack. I use GDrive for personal files out of habit.
4) I use Zotero for managing journal articles and a folder for forms at the appropriate level in my file structure. I have an unshared Box folder for stuff like CVs, expense reports, training documentation, etc. I have a notes file on my phone for stuff like employee number, index codes for billing, gate codes... and browser bookmarks for websites I update, vendors, and other things that I mostly just need the link.
5) Client/project files are the same as 3) for me
6) I use trello organized by context (do today, @computer, @work, waiting) and also do paper to do lists for the day to keep in front of me constantly and write notes on (phone numbers, measurements, prices, etc.) I use todoist for personal task tracking.
7) I basically have to have stuff in the cloud because I work in multiple locations on different computers. I'm also generally committed to making sure my coworkers have access to everything they need should I be unavailable. This also means that I never have to back up. I'm not working with information where there are security concerns about this.
8) I use desktop MS Office because that's what my work uses and we use track changes intensively. I hate browser-based word processing and spreadsheets, it's always losing changes, part of your screen gets eaten by browser bars/tabs, too many distractions.
posted by momus_window at 10:33 AM on August 11, 2020
I spend a lot of time caring about this kind of thing, and even some time doing something about it. Like many in this era of history I work 100% from home, although I had been doing that for a couple of years before the stuff to gesture broadly at. Here's what I've got going that works for me:
I use the same desk for my remunerated work and my personal activities (some of which are play, and some are just "personal work"). Because of this, I need the ability to shift the configuration around a bit. There are often multiple different computers in play at any given time, so I'm careful about layout. At the back of the desk are two monitors: to the left is one inexpensive 1080p monitor sitting on a couple of old Perl books to raise it, and on the right a much larger 4k monitor that is pretty much only used for gaming because it doesn't have enough DisplayPort plugs to make it convenient.
When I'm focused completely on my paying job, I put my work laptop on a stand in front of the big monitor, and plug the left monitor into it so I can dual screen with the laptop screen and the small (but larger than a laptop) monitor. In front of this setup I arrange a wireless keyboard and mouse that are used only with my work laptop. Because of security-related concerns, I do almost no personal work on this machine.
If I'm mixing business and personal work -- a common arrangement for me lately -- I also either unfold my personal laptop in the space in front of the (currently in use, but elevated) monitor or just throw an iPad into that left side open space. If I'm doing that while writing, I will also, to the right side of this array of devices, place my ancient Tandy Model 102. I do most of my journaling and non-web writing on this 1980s device because I adore the keyboard and the simple text entry interface. The right side of the desk is used for this for a couple of reasons having to do with cabling and access to the household's storage pool: the old Tandy needs a serial cable to the server to talk to it and save or load my work to and from more permanent storage.
At any time any of these devices can be quickly unmoored simply by yanking a cord or two, and I can take them elsewhere to work, write, or play. In my office I have the option of sitting at my desk in a Herman-Miller Aeron or in the more study-like end of the room where I have a big comfortable chair I paid too much for. Or I can drag a computer elsewhere in the house, or even outside. I've arranged the WiFi such that the entire property is covered with an adequate signal. Lately I've been mostly sitting at my desk to do the work that pays bills. I put a pair of Sonos Ones on the desk -- part of the broader Sonos system in the house -- and can play music at volume when I'm in my office.
If I'm sitting down to a session of gaming I clear the desk of work and work-adjacent computers and put my knock-off buckling spring keyboard there. There's a counter to my left where I can stash things easily when I'm not using them. Then I can fire up the gaming computer which will light up both monitors. The gaming computer is used for no other tasks, mostly because I don't enjoy hanging around in a Windows environment if I can avoid it.
The moral of the story here is that I value flexibility in my space, so my workspace arrangement reflects that: I can use my workspace to work, write, relax, fuck around with computers, or just stare emptily into an iPad. Having a dedicated room for all these activities is useful for the privacy, quiet, or loud music. I also like being able to use the right tool for each job so there are more computers than are necessary to do what I do. I haven't even mentioned my other desk where I keep the Amiga and Commodore 64 at the ready.
I have some workflows that take advantage of this multi-device world. For example, each houshold member's (including mine) home directory on the server is exported via CIFS so it's accessible anywhere on the network. The workspace that the ancient Tandy uses as a non-volatile store for my writing is in my home directory, too. I use a Unison cron job to sync that to my personal laptop, giving me a semi-live copy of whatever I'm writing on any of the devices I might be using to interact with it.
The server itself is just a Debian box running ZFS-on-Linux from backports. I use ZFS to store anything I care about for a variety of reasons I won't get into here, but it's at the heart of all my data, documents, and files. Data is snapshotted every 15 minutes and snapshots are retained for a year. Every week or so I send a replica of the zpool to an array of external disks that I keep in a cabinet.
I can work locally and offline on anything I care to do, and commit it to the zpool when I'm back on my network. I can go back and find anything I did in the past by fetching it from the zpool. If I pick up my work laptop I can work. If I pick up my personal laptop or my iPad, I can do any personal stuff. If I grab by writing "laptop", well, that's about the only thing it can do to begin with. Once everything's on the network, it's connected to my authoritative data storage.
posted by majick at 12:11 PM on August 11, 2020
I use the same desk for my remunerated work and my personal activities (some of which are play, and some are just "personal work"). Because of this, I need the ability to shift the configuration around a bit. There are often multiple different computers in play at any given time, so I'm careful about layout. At the back of the desk are two monitors: to the left is one inexpensive 1080p monitor sitting on a couple of old Perl books to raise it, and on the right a much larger 4k monitor that is pretty much only used for gaming because it doesn't have enough DisplayPort plugs to make it convenient.
When I'm focused completely on my paying job, I put my work laptop on a stand in front of the big monitor, and plug the left monitor into it so I can dual screen with the laptop screen and the small (but larger than a laptop) monitor. In front of this setup I arrange a wireless keyboard and mouse that are used only with my work laptop. Because of security-related concerns, I do almost no personal work on this machine.
If I'm mixing business and personal work -- a common arrangement for me lately -- I also either unfold my personal laptop in the space in front of the (currently in use, but elevated) monitor or just throw an iPad into that left side open space. If I'm doing that while writing, I will also, to the right side of this array of devices, place my ancient Tandy Model 102. I do most of my journaling and non-web writing on this 1980s device because I adore the keyboard and the simple text entry interface. The right side of the desk is used for this for a couple of reasons having to do with cabling and access to the household's storage pool: the old Tandy needs a serial cable to the server to talk to it and save or load my work to and from more permanent storage.
At any time any of these devices can be quickly unmoored simply by yanking a cord or two, and I can take them elsewhere to work, write, or play. In my office I have the option of sitting at my desk in a Herman-Miller Aeron or in the more study-like end of the room where I have a big comfortable chair I paid too much for. Or I can drag a computer elsewhere in the house, or even outside. I've arranged the WiFi such that the entire property is covered with an adequate signal. Lately I've been mostly sitting at my desk to do the work that pays bills. I put a pair of Sonos Ones on the desk -- part of the broader Sonos system in the house -- and can play music at volume when I'm in my office.
If I'm sitting down to a session of gaming I clear the desk of work and work-adjacent computers and put my knock-off buckling spring keyboard there. There's a counter to my left where I can stash things easily when I'm not using them. Then I can fire up the gaming computer which will light up both monitors. The gaming computer is used for no other tasks, mostly because I don't enjoy hanging around in a Windows environment if I can avoid it.
The moral of the story here is that I value flexibility in my space, so my workspace arrangement reflects that: I can use my workspace to work, write, relax, fuck around with computers, or just stare emptily into an iPad. Having a dedicated room for all these activities is useful for the privacy, quiet, or loud music. I also like being able to use the right tool for each job so there are more computers than are necessary to do what I do. I haven't even mentioned my other desk where I keep the Amiga and Commodore 64 at the ready.
I have some workflows that take advantage of this multi-device world. For example, each houshold member's (including mine) home directory on the server is exported via CIFS so it's accessible anywhere on the network. The workspace that the ancient Tandy uses as a non-volatile store for my writing is in my home directory, too. I use a Unison cron job to sync that to my personal laptop, giving me a semi-live copy of whatever I'm writing on any of the devices I might be using to interact with it.
The server itself is just a Debian box running ZFS-on-Linux from backports. I use ZFS to store anything I care about for a variety of reasons I won't get into here, but it's at the heart of all my data, documents, and files. Data is snapshotted every 15 minutes and snapshots are retained for a year. Every week or so I send a replica of the zpool to an array of external disks that I keep in a cabinet.
I can work locally and offline on anything I care to do, and commit it to the zpool when I'm back on my network. I can go back and find anything I did in the past by fetching it from the zpool. If I pick up my work laptop I can work. If I pick up my personal laptop or my iPad, I can do any personal stuff. If I grab by writing "laptop", well, that's about the only thing it can do to begin with. Once everything's on the network, it's connected to my authoritative data storage.
posted by majick at 12:11 PM on August 11, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
I back up my work project daily to a Google drive.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:22 PM on August 10, 2020