

Ask HN: What kind of office do you have? - kahseng

So... long story short, I'm finally getting my own office.  That's kind of sweet, I know, but want some ideas on how I should pimp it before I move in.<p>What kind of office do you have?  Are you facing the door or away from it?  Do you stand?  Dim lighting or bright?  Couch or none?  Music?  Plants, aquarium?  NC or NO doors?  What rocks your boat?<p>Thanks for the advice!<p>P.S. I've been in a cube, and also doubled up before. Of course, I hope next up is a home office :)
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Tangurena
I'm facing the door (normally open), and not facing the window (which
overlooks the Rockies). When I faced the window, I found I didn't look at the
monitor, so facing away at least lets me get work done. I have 2 bookcases,
one full, the other one getting there. I leave the shades open until about 1pm
when I close them because the direct sunlight makes everything unreadable.
There are 3 chairs, a whiteboard and another desk (which is unoccupied, and
with a hiring freeze is very unlikely to ever get occupied).

Because of a bad experience getting laid off at a previous job (if I hadn't
tailgated someone else in, I never would have been able to get my personal
books and stuff), I normally don't keep more posessions at the office than I
can carry out by myself (meaning no aquarium, or other bulky stuffs), and just
books.

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cperciva
Interesting comment about not facing the window -- I don't have an office, but
I've heard many people say that having their computer in front of a window is
good because looking back and forth between their computer and whatever is
outside the window helps to prevent eye strain.

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jwilliams
_helps to prevent eye strain._

I couldn't back this up without looking into it more... But I think the
exercise also helps prevent/reduce/stall/mitigate short-sightedness.

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jwilliams
From what I've seen people like facing the door...

I remember I once got the choice window desk in a large office (very large -
was actually a trading floor of sorts).

Whenever I came in on weekends I'd sit with my back to a massive, empty open
space. It didn't feel like an issue when there were people around during the
week - but when it was just me it really creeped me out. Eventually I swapped
with a location that didn't have it's back to the open space.

~~~
kahseng
Yeah, I thought about completely facing the door, but mainly because I don't
like people staring at my screen when they walk past. However, I can also
imagine getting extremely distracted by people walking past all the time.
There are people who sit at a 45 degree angle from facing the door, but I feel
that with that I would be both distracted and have my screen looked at by
passerbys.

