Most of us have been working at home for a year, I am curious what you all have invested in to improve your productivity on a budget.
For example I bought Airpod pros ($199), which made it more convenient to do more meetings walking around outside, which has helped me get more exercise and has helped my focus. I also bought a stack of spiral notebooks for $11.99 so I could easily sketch out ideas. If my budget was $1000 that would leave me ~$775, how should I invest the remaining balance to enhancing my own productivity?
I bought a shelf stereo system and keep it turned on at low volume while I work, and it's nice to randomly hear an old song I like, or a new song I like. Local FM is handy during emergencies here too, and it even seems like about 1/4 of the ads are PSAs or local announcements from NPOs, government agencies with helpful info, etc.
I also bought a scanner radio and enjoy listening to local radio traffic on breaks.
I bought some desk mats that I like, and I prefer looking at them rather than my desktop, which is an old banquet table from 2000 (newer tempered glass desk is too cold in the winter).
Regarding stationery, I picked up some horizontal shelving for pens and pencils, and bought a bunch of fountain pens, watercolor pencils, highlighters, and so on...a lot of fun for doodling on those long calls.
Finally I bought an /r/cheapkeys keyboard, then another...anyway, long story short I learned some basic chord progressions for jamming purposes, and now I have a keyboard collection. It's been a lot of fun. (I learned the keyboard solo from "All of My Love" by Led Zeppelin and I swear it was one of the highlights of 2020, amidst all the darkness)
Anyway I'm a bit weird in that I find that enjoyable interests and values-based living is where productivity goes to recuperate and regroup before reaching higher highs. Good luck to you.
Add some N-acetyl-L-tyrosine for even more focus: https://www.vitacost.com/jarrow-formulas-n-acetyl-tyrosine
Sounds funny but it works like a charm.
1) Nespresso coffee machine. Can get a good one for < $200
2) Autonomous standing desk. Base model $399
3) Trackpad. Nice addition to the mouse. E.g. $129 from Apple.
4) Second monitor. I personally find this convenient. A decent one will cost you under $300.
5) Tablet. Useful for when you are too tired to sit or stand. Good for reading docs or whitepapers, for example. $329 for a base model iPad.
6) Faster internet. A few bucks added to your monthly bill.
A few bucks? Yeah, right.
1. Listen to all of 10 hours of rain and thunder on Youtube whilst working every day. I get into a state of flow much easier listening to that than practically anything else.
2. Text important people in your life to say you're offline until lunch and then turn your phone off and put it in a drawer.
3. Get a water jug so you don't have to keep getting up to fill your glass of water.
4. Create an alternative profile in Chrome or Firefox without your usual social profiles and add a site blocker blocking social media to it.
5. Print 4 rows of 10 boxes on a piece of paper and tick a box for every hour you successfully do work without distractions and put a cross for every hour that you are distracted. If you hit 40 hours without distractions give yourself a prize.
On the water jug I disagree though, I think it's good idea to get up from the chair every now and then even if only to fill the water glass.
If you’re sitting on something crappy, a used high-end chair.
If you’re sitting on something nice, a convertible sit-stand desk.
I also have a cheapo Cherry MX Blues (TVS gold) and a Logitech G402 mouse. Ergonomics and eye sore was killing me.
I sold off that monitor, got a decent 24in 1080p LG monitor with a TN Panel with VESA compatibility, Height extensions and boom all the eye fatigues have basically gone along with the shoulder pain.
Similarly, exercise is great for productivity and spending money so that you enjoy it is worth it. Gym membership, bike, weights, etc gives you months or years of productivity boosts.
I often find myself in a situation where there is a single application that I want to focus on (be it the terminal, a document, etc.) with some reference material (browser, other document, etc.) that I need. The ability to have even these two windows visible, together, without needing to alt-tab between them has been a big win.