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Matthew Bidewell
Matthew Bidewell

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Whats on your desk?

What do you have on your desk that helps you work/think? For example, I have a Frankenstein plush that I used to help debug code (rubber duck debugging style).

Oldest comments (38)

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Valentin Baca

Fidget cube: keeps my hand busy while I read through code. Otherwise I have the awful habit of picking at my face. I only play with the silent parts at work.

Whiteboard marker, sticky notes, and noise cancelling headphones*

  • it's a common misconception that noise cancelling means "voice cancelling" It certainly does not, but by being around-the-ear headphones, they do help to keep talking out. Nothing would beat pure silence though.
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Cadell

The fidget cube is a great idea that I definitely have to try out. I'm constantly picking at my face... I have almost no chin hair(because of the picking) and a full beard lol.. that combo definitely doesn't look good.

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Matthew Bidewell

I would have to try the fidget cube! Sounds like a great idea, as for headphones I'm using a pretty cheap pair, may have to invest in some better ones. Do you have any recommendations?

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Valentin Baca • Edited

I personally have a pair of Bose QC15 smile.amazon.com/dp/B0054JJ0QW which is a older model.

The earpads have worn down after years of use, but they're incredibly comfortable, even with glasses.

I'm a Bose fanboy, so I'm incredibly biased.

Seinhauser are widely considered as having superior sound quality smile.amazon.com/dp/B01JP436TS

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Ben Halpern

The worst thing that sticks around my desk are wires, electronics, random things I am not using, but haven't bothered moving from the desk. I need to clear that stuff more often.

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Matthew Bidewell

I spent my Monday yesterday trying to fully clear up my desk! It's refreshing when there's no junk around.
Maybe our desks our metaphors for our minds. Food for thought.

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Damien Cosset

I have a coin. On one side is written Memento Mori. On the other side is written You could leave life right now

I'm a student of the Stoic philosophy. This coin is always on my desk, where I can see it. When I'm procrastinating or not doing what I'm suppose to do, a look at the coin usually pulls me back. Kind of a 'Come on, get it together now'. Helps me quite a lot.

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Matthew Bidewell

That's really motivating! A sort of work totem.

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Lou (🚀 Open Up The Cloud ☁️)

Man, I really want one but the shipping to the UK is huge. Always good to find a Ryan Holiday fan.

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Vincent Grovestine

Slinky! ...The original workplace toy for fidgeters, mental blocks, and missing semicolon/single-quote/parenthesis frustration.

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Matthew Bidewell

Good old slinky!

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Alexey Voinov

8th ball from 'the interstate 60'. :) It helps me find a solution in complex situations, like whether I want to approve or disapprove the code under review. It's a joke of course, but the ball is still on my table. :)

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Matthew Bidewell

Sometimes I imagine it's not a joke ;)

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Alexey Voinov

Me too :)

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Matt Lancaster

Other than the landscape of unnecessity, I have the following:

Post-It Notes
Earbuds
White Board & Markers
Dead Rising Chainsaw Pole
DIII Treasure Goblin
Pistachios (Healthy Snack)

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Matthew Bidewell

Im curious about the Chainsaw Pole! Do the Chainsaws come included?

Brings a new meaning code refactoring!

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Matt Lancaster

T3h codes will f34r me!

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Subbu Lakshmanan

I have couple of quotes sticked in the wall. One that says,

"You cannot save time, you can either spend it or invest it"

and another is a question to myself.

"What have you done to improve yourself?"

And also I have the "The Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming" posted on my wall to keep reminding myself to be a mature engineer.

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Matthew Bidewell

Very motivating!

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Isaac Lyman • Edited

A Perry the Platypus plushie. He's my rubber duck.

A mouse pad (TeckNet brand) with a wrist rest, because my wrist deserves better than carpal tunnel.

A keyboard on a short platform, again to stave off carpal tunnel.

My computer glasses (Gamma Ray brand), headphones, and a picture of my wife.

Two HD monitors, a box of Kleenex, a Solo cup for snacks, a lotion bottle, and a charging cable for my phone.

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Matthew Bidewell

I really need to get myself a wrist rest. Any suggestions?

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Isaac Lyman

This is the one I've got: amazon.com/gp/product/B013WW0B5G/r...

I've had it since April 2016 and it's lost maybe a centimeter in thickness, but still does a great job keeping my wrist below a 90° angle. Less than $10, too.

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Speedmaster

Wallace and Gromit toy at the moment. But I sometimes have little NASA Apollo models as well.

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Will

A second desk on top of the original desk (my version of a discount standing desk).
Floppy disks (for retro flavor).

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Matthew Bidewell

Desk-ception?!

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Will