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Comment by lordnacho | Hacker News Reader

But a laptop still gives you the option to go work in a park or a café. Anything taxing can be done on a remote server anyway so raw power hardly matters.

Personally I don't think I'll ever get a desktop setup.

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I don't see the appeal of working in a café. It's like a noisy office, except you need to keep paying for your coffee. Might as well commute to the office where the coffee is part of the deal in my opinion.

If you only consider noisy cafés with bad drinks and loud people, sure, better not go there.

Bit some cafés are very quiet, have delicious drinks and food, good music and are (IMO) perfect for some light to mild-focused tasks.

How the hell are people able to work on a laptop for a long time? Laptops are incredibly non-ergonomic, you are bound to develop neck or back pain.

Get up and move around. Don't sit hunched over a laptop for hours.

For years I only used a laptop and I didn't really experience any of the issues you describe, I was very young though so that may have alleviated some potential issues.

I learned from experience that spending years at the same chair and desk can do even more damage. As part of my rehab, I switched to a laptop so I could move from couch to chair to table to standing desk easily. I also highly recommend using a motorized adjustable desk, now that goods ones are easily available and affordable. A perfectly customized height for sitting or standing is just a button push away, and I can use multiple monitors again.

There are manual height adjustable desks that can be set for near zero resistance moving up and down. They have a brake and an adjustable tension spring. I think those are the best ones. The only advantage (some) motorized ones have is the ability to remember presets.

The difference (for me) with a cafe is that it enables body doubling[0] without the threat of interruption.

So, for me, with my ADHD addled brain, I can be quite productive.

[0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/06/01/virtual-b...

As someone who also does this, I'm glad that there's a name for this phenomenon. :)

TIL

I do this and could never explain how I was more productive. I’ve always suspected I had ADHD and now I really want to get tested

I don’t know about other people, but the cacophony and background activity actually helps me focus. A lot of that is probably due to my attention deficit of course, but I’ve been this way as long as I can remember. In college I loved going to the floor of the library that had the most chatter and group projects happening (as you went towards the basement the rule was be quiet). It just helps crowd out the noise and distractions in its own way.

Without gaming I don’t think I would ever use a desktop or windows again.

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