Sit-standing, 6 months later

Luca Scala — Sun, 20 Dec 2020 18:52:18 +0000

Originally posted on devthat.rocks

I'm working from home since December 2019, even before the spread of the virus. At that time I was working on a project that needed more commitment, so I decided to take some days from the Christmas holidays while staying at home.

The initial setup was not so cool: an old desk with a red chair, just an easy starting point. After a few months I started to look around for something that could potentially improve my efficiency. I spent a lot of time in defining a target and after assigning a budget, I finally moved to a sit-standing approach.

I decided to go for a manual-crank desk with support, both white-painted coming from IKEA. I usually start the day sitting, but then I stand up until lunch. After that, I'll be back on the seat but just for one hour. It's not a time-boxed activity: I try to alternate the two positions, it's a continuous movement. That's the beauty of this approach.

Let me report some findings from these six months.

I found that doing PR reviews is better while standing. Maybe because it's something I'm used to do before leaving for lunch or at the end of the day.
I move often during meetings, especially for longer ones (backlog refinements on the top!).
While coding, it's good to have a 5 minutes break to switch the position (see Pomodoro Technique). This gives the chance to have a quick-stretching session.

Productivity is directly linked to ergonomics, and after six months I feel more productive. Nothing more to say.
When you feel comfortable with the tools and the environment you brought up, even working is easier.
In the end, it has been one of the best choices of the year!

How do you present a PR?

Luca Scala — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 15:57:52 +0000

So your changes works as expected, it seems that the user story it's really close to the end. Tests are passing, UI looks stunning. It's time to publish a PR for these changes...

Describing a PR in terms of code-changes and user flow can be tricky. What I found in my experience is that,

a good description works better that a short list of changes.
commenting key-decisions before someone will raise a question works better that arranging meetings to discuss.
presenting a GIF of the entire user flow shows that it's working (at least in your setup!) and describe the expected behavior.

Of course this is not needed for tiny PRs.
And you, what's your approach about that?

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

DEV Community: Luca Scala

Sit-standing, 6 months later

How do you present a PR?