Introduction
My current job is to develop software and I sometimes work at home. In order to become a successful software engineer, it’s important to invest in the right tools and personal setup of monitors, keyboards and chairs and so on. These would quite have a impact on your productivity and job satisfaction. And also as for our health. Due to spending lots of time at our desk, your wrists, neck and lower back strain or pain should occur. Personally I think a more comfortable setup is worth its value.
The picture above is my workstation and I’m using the following tools.
- Monitor: LG monitor 43UD79T-B [here]
- Desk: Garage Fantoni GT [here]
- Chair: Herman Miller Aeron Chair [here]
- Keyboard1:PFU Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro BT [here]
- Keyboard2: Kinesis Freestyle2 Keyboard(+VIP3 Accessory) [here]
Monitor
You would easily notice a large monitor whose size is 42.5 inch! I can’t recommend it enough. Before using this monitor, I used the wide monitor pictured below [here] and had no complaints except for the fact that the features of the monitor aren’t only wide but also “curved”, but it looks almost “flat” 😬. I knew about the existence of extra large size monitors from my manager. So I made an impulse buy and while waiting for the arrival of it, I thought it was going to be too large for me. But it instantly made my life better. I can edit, google and write code while using many references. I glance and there’s no need to switch between desktop spaces because I no longer use multiple desktops. In addition, I can watch movies on Netflix with a large window in the background! But unfortunately, the monitor is higher than my desk light [here], so my light knocks into the monitor 😅.
Desk
I used to use a cheap desk I bought at a big-box store and it was very narrow for me. In addition, it was so frangible and wobbled so much that I placed importance on durableness and wideness when I looked for new one. My current desk is 140 cm wide, 71 cm deep, so I can open books, papers and notebooks while using a extra large monitor and external keyboards. It’s a unique feature that it can be added extension parts. For example, if it’s attached another top plate for the desk, it becomes a wide crank style desk. And also it comes in various colors. I recommend that desk color should be blight color if you’re sensitive because I can’t keep myself from finding dust on the black desk. So I’m using the desk with light plain wood texture.
Chair
It’s safe to say that chair is the most important tool for software engineers. And you would arrive at Herman Miller chairs when looking for ergonomics chairs. I’m using the Aeron models I bought about 7 years ago (I also bought a head rest [here] but I currently almost never use it). I noticed it improved my posture right away as soon as I sat on it. As a result, it reduced my lower back strain. But my chair is currently creaked and I don’t know where I should oil it 😥. In my company, I’ve tried the Embody and Mirra models, now I like the Embody chair much more, which is high-end model of Herman Miller’s. Chairs from Herman Miller are very popular as work chairs but each model is unique and fits a particular body style, which also comes in many sizes. If you consider whether or not to buy them, I strongly recommend you go to a showroom that carries Herman Miller chairs to think which one is the best for you. They must fit the bill perfectly😀.
Keyboard
I think the keyboards that are built into your laptop are okey, but if you want to use external keyboards, I’ll suggest separate keyboards. I’m using two types of keyboard: one is a normal compact keyboard and the other is an ergonomics keyboard. When you use a normal one with a wrist rest [here], it will keep your wrists more comfortable, I recommend that you put a keyboard and a wrist rest on a “reversed” mousepad because you can smoothly move both of them and a keyboard doesn’t move around in itself while typing due to being placed on a high-friction surface. When it comes to ergonomics keyboard, I think fully split designs are better because you can position the halves of the keyboard as close together or as far apart as you want and proper positioning of them solves your shoulder strain and neck tension due to your shoulder blades getting squeezed together. And you can attach accessories so as to tent the keyboard with the wrist rest connected to position your arms at more natural degrees. Actually, I haven’t had a stiff neck and shoulder strain ever since I used this keyboard. But if the way you type is strange, it might take some hours at least to get used to it. When you want to place both of the keyboards, it might be good to use a monitor-riser [here] as shown in a blow image. With this you can switch quickly between a normal one and a separate one. By the way, I know ErgoDox EZ, which is the most adjustable and customizable ergonomic keyboard, would be also famous fully separate keyboard. But it’s not for those who just want to do typing, so you should be careful to buy it.
Looking for better tools is a lot of fun. If you can’t afford to invest in your workstation, I think you should use dual monitors at least in order to improve your productivity. Without these above, displaying your favorite posters or paintings on the wall must make your life greater 😎[original].
