getting sick of my desk
I’ve been outgrowing my apartment and its location, but also its furniture and size in general. For some reason, it’s becoming really hard for me to have the same space for everything.
I have an L-shaped desk in a corner that has another table on the other side, making the whole constellation U-shaped. That is because nowhere else fits other desks in my apartment.
So that is where I work from home on the days I don’t have to show up in the office, but it’s also where I journal and draw, it’s where I watch videos and chat, it’s where I make pixel art, it’s where I blog and read my RSS feed, it’s where I study for my degree and do my volunteer work, it’s where I sew, and it’s where I eat. Aside from my work, which happens on a separate work laptop, it all happens on the same machine and/or the same spot on the desk. I can spend 10+ hours sitting there seeing the same interface but doing different things. It’s technically very convenient, but I am sick of it now. And just one meter away is where I do all my fitness stuff at home.
In the past, I’ve assigned different activities to different parts of the desk, but that relief was shortlived. I also delegated some things to my other old laptop (like pixel art) and sitting somewhere else, like the sofa or bed. This sort of works, but I also enjoy having the sofa and bed as spaces where I am not working on something (unless I am really sick again or something).
I’ve also had different virtual desktops or user accounts and spaces for different activities, but that helps more with clutter and organization than a truly physical separation. I know a sort of ritual to log in to a study-only environment on the machine helps some people, but not me, at least not long term.
So if virtual separation doesn’t work, I cannot fit another space in my apartment and can’t rearrange it nor use my sofa and bed as places to offload, what’s left? Cafés, libraries, coworking spaces and the like.
That’s not working so well for me either. In general, these spaces are further away from me, cost additional money, and are often full and noisy. Especially in cafés and university libraries, it can be hard to get a spot to sit. So many cafés now opt for hostile design, with no power outlets, shitty wifi and very uncomfortable seats. More exposure to public spaces also increases my infection risk. Also, I have remote work days because 2h of commuting for the office per day is rough on me, so it’d be extra silly to also have some commute to another place on my remote days.
How I wish I had a home with 1-2 more rooms, at least. Maybe even a duplex apartment. Or a nice attic or basement, a shed in a garden to retreat to.
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