Ask YC: How important is comfort to your productivity?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=234422

by brandon272 • 18 years ago

9 16 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hey YC'ers,

I find that me being comfortable (always having a good cup of coffee, good chair, good lighting, clean work surface, good smell in the air) is paramount to how productive I am.

Am I just being a prissy and demanding developer, or do you just have to have that cup of Starbucks (or Tim Horton's!) before you feel that you can be truly productive?

noodle• 18 years ago

its more based on personality, in my experience. you sound like you know your personality and know what you need to be productive. congrats; not everyone does.

jmtame• 18 years ago

I would say that if it makes you productive, then keep doing it. When I code, it can sometimes be very stressful, so I'll go to lengths to try and balance out the stress by creating as positive of a workspace as possible. But don't fixate on it too much, otherwise you're losing productivity ;)

silentbicycle• 18 years ago

You may want to take a look at DeMarco and Lister's _Peopleware_ for several studies along these lines. There's a lot of focus on how having a comfortable and quiet (i.e., not distracting) environment relates to productivity.

Some people could code in a wind tunnel, most people probably can't.

I personally focus better with a comfy chair, a good keyboard, two monitors, tea, headphones (or earplugs), a whiteboard, and enough desk space to lay out notes. Oh, and absolutely good lighting.

cmos• 18 years ago

A purring cat on my lap chills me out. A second cat on my desk helps me debug + does all my proofreading.

The perfect playlist keeps us all in rhythm.

I play the same playlist every day. I find this helpful to make it more 'background', and I always pick songs that recall a particular 'happy' time.

When the cat's get bored and want to go outside, that's always a sign I should take a walk. When they start to get hungry later in the day it is time to feed them and to check my voice mail. And when I hear my chillout song, "Everloving" by Moby, it's time to close my eyes and just relax until it's over.

Listen to the environment around you.

edw519• 18 years ago

A purring cat on my lap chills me out. A second cat on my desk helps me debug + does all my proofreading.

I have 3 cats, but they have decided that there's only room for 2 of them with me. I never know which 2 I'm going to get on any given day. I have considered renting professional office space, but I've reached the point where I have trouble working without them.

They are magical and mystical beyond anything I've ever written. If I continue to pay attention to them, maybe someday I'll learn something.

jamesbritt• 18 years ago

Nice.

Can I do a "git clone" of your cats?

jrockway2• 18 years ago

My cat annoys me while I'm trying to work. She wants to tip over my mug of coffee or walk on the keys. When I put her on my lap she wants to crawl up on the desk and play with my headphone cord.

I try to do most of my work while the cat is asleep ;)

bjclark• 18 years ago

It's everything.

Sometimes I try to work from coffee shops or sitting in a bad chair (one of those folding ikea chairs) and it's awful. Can't get ANYTHING done.

In fact, I think my single best purchase for my business was a Herman Miller Mirra chair. Keeps my butt and back happy.

If you're thinking about anything other than your work (like you're cold, hungry, or uncomfortable), then for sure, it's going to impact your productivity.

bdotdub• 18 years ago

Personally, I don't think I NEED to be comfortable, as long as I like what I'm doing.

But sitting in a cafe with good music never hurts :)

(I do wish I had cmos' debugging cat.)

davidw• 18 years ago

At times, I think it's inversely proportional. Quiet is good, but sometimes being in an environment that's a bit rough around the edges is helpful to staying on task, rather than relaxing.

eyudkowsky• 18 years ago

I can't do creative work without air conditioning. Sad but true.

jrockway2• 18 years ago

That's not sad.

vaksel• 18 years ago

All I need is a good computer that doesn't freeze, good chair, good music and some junk food/water bottles and I'm all set.

froo• 18 years ago

I find that one of the biggest things towards determining my level of productivity is really related towards the time of day that I'm working.

That is I find that my most product times during the day are mid mornings and late at evening when trying to write code.

So I try to ensure that this time is free for doing the nitty gritty stuff, and I ensure that I make meetings and whatnot for the afternoon.

Thats just for me personally though, the best way for you to ensure you're productive is just to try different things and figure out what works for you - and then capitalise on it.

wlievens• 18 years ago

My back hurts no matter what chair I use. It's quite limiting to my productivity.

saurabh• 18 years ago

Doesn't increasing the comfort levels in the workplace to very high levels make people sleepy?

Ask YC: How important is comfort to your productivity?

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