Hello, Habr! Today's article is entirely about Selectel Workplaces and Hobbies. It was always interesting to read similar posts from other companies, including Habr itself. And we decided to share our story. If you have any questions, ask in the comments, we will answer. By the way, if you want, show off in the comments about your jobs, hobbies or DIY projects.
Nikolay, Senior Technical Writer at Selectel
How much time do you spend at your desk per day?
At my desk, I spend about 14-16 hours a day. Since I have been working completely remotely for the third year already, I have completely completed the workplace according to my taste and needs.
The MSI GE60-2OC laptop plays the role of the main computer. It has served me faithfully for the eighth year already, but there is a "childish sore": once a year the cooler breaks down steadily, so you have to change it (there is always one backup cooler in the spare parts and accessories). Otherwise, this is a regular 4th generation Core i7, 16 Gb DDR3 and an Nvidia GT 750M graphics accelerator. Acer Spin 2-in-1 Chromebook is
used as a road trip... The other two Ultrabooks (Digital Vision LN-102 and Asus EeePC 900) are mainly used for hobbies and work with old devices.
Why is the workplace exactly the same as the current version?
I came to the option with two monitors a long time ago: it is convenient for typesetting texts. By the way, the main laptop screen is not used. Mechanics on blue switches with good tactile feedback were chosen as the keyboard. For writing texts, as well as for some games - ideal.
Since I have a lot of data, there is a small QNAP D2 storage device on my desk, paired with cloud storage. Network connectivity is provided by two Mikrotik routers: hEX S for wired connections and LAN, plus mAP lite for low-speed wireless connections. Incoming channel 1 Gbps over optics.
Are you satisfied with everything or would you like to improve / change something? What is your ideal workplace? We are talking about a chair / treadmill, the number of monitors, laptops, lighting, music, etc.
After I felt the first "bells" of carpal tunnel syndrome, I switched to the Logitech Trackman Marble trackball. I got used to it for about two weeks, but it was worth it. The model is not the most successful due to the lack of hardware scrolling and weak switches, which often fail (judging by the reviews, not only for me). So in the future I will switch to the professional model from Kensington. In the future, I also plan to replace the laptop with a stationary PC, switch from Intel to AMD and add another monitor.
What's your hobby?
I have a lot of them: radio monitoring, amateur photography and the study of various glands. Recent advances include SSTV (Slow Scan Television) image reception from the International Space Station. Now I would also like to try communication using the APRS protocol.
Is there a dedicated hobby area? If yes, share a photo too, please
Not yet, but in the future I plan to rent a small workshop where it will be possible to create antennas, print on a 3D printer and develop other projects that cannot be done at home for various reasons.
Dmitry, senior interface tester at Selectel
How much time do you spend at your desk per day?
Like any person whose work is connected with a computer, I spend all my working day at the table. True, minus lunch and coffee breaks with colleagues. I also change my Samurai chair with chairs in the meeting rooms for about an hour a day. But it's still the same sedentary job.
Why the workplace is like that. How did you arrive at the current version?
Mostly I work on a laptop, but in some cases I display the image on a large monitor. A 13-inch screen isn't always optimal. Previously, you could see a notebook and a pen on my desk - I preferred to write down important information and questions there. But then I switched to a digital recording system. Now I record and organize everything important in the notes of my Mac.
If you look closely, the monitor is on a spelling dictionary. You shouldn't look for any subtext in this, I just had to raise the monitor over the laptop, and it was the dictionary that came into my hand.
I love Star Wars (excluding the last trilogy from the saga), so there are many LEGO figures from this universe on the table, plus the huge Master Yoda. Most of the figurines are just decorations, but some of them are used to organize the workspace. So, I saw on the Internet how such figures are used as holders for wires and decided to use the experience. Now my phone charging cable is held by the stormtrooper, and in the LEGO claw I run thicker wires.
If this text is read by the same fans of the game Borderlands, like me, they definitely count the "Easter egg" from my mug. They gave it to me, in the phrase "True Vault Hunter" the word vault is replaced by bug. "Bug Catcher" is purely my working mode.
I kept my Duft Punk helmet after the Selectel costume party on February 23rd. In some cases, it is used for lighting - I screwed the LED strip to it myself. And such a helmet is a good alternative to masks during a pandemic (just kidding).
What's your hobby?
My hobby is best described by one of the Tirexes on my desk - with a guitar and a little mohawk. I play guitar and am in a corporate music group - Selectel Band. We get together 1-2 times a week, rehearse various covers and perform at company corporate events. The repertoire also includes "classics" such as The Beatles, The Cranberries, Chuck Berry, and such performers as "Roots", Lady Gaga, Shnurov, Lyapis Trubetskoy and others. We have suspended rehearsals for the period of self-isolation, but soon we will begin to restore the musical "form".
Is there a dedicated hobby area? If yes, share a photo too, please.
The Selectel Band rehearsal center is located on the Obvodny Canal, but there is a local music corner in the company's St. Petersburg office. There is an "electric car", a bass guitar, an electronic drum kit, a guitar and bass combo. Here you can also play Rocksmith (this is a more professional version of Guitar Hero) on Xbox.
Are you satisfied with everything or would you like to improve / change something?
Everything suits me. In terms of tools for the job, I'm well packed. Maybe someday I'll want to put a little pedestal on my desk to put my own T-Rex Band together. Nowadays there is only a guitarist and a vocalist in the "plush" dinosaur group.
What is your ideal workplace? We are talking about the chair / treadmill, the number of monitors, laptops, lighting, music, etc.
In a perfect world, a guitar stand is bolted to my desk, and there is room under the table for a combo amp and a LEGO drawer. The armrests would be removed from the chair so that they do not interfere with the guitar playing. And, of course, good headphones are needed so that colleagues do not hear my practices if they do not want to. Let dreams of a disco ball and light music at work remain dreams.
Alexey, Product Manager Managed Kubernetes
How much time do you spend at your desk per day?
An office desktop for me is a place to think about the outcome of meetings and negotiations on a product. This is where I start my work day and summarize. But I don't spend much time at the table. So, I talk a lot with the product team and customers of Managed Kubernetes, so it's hard to say how many hours a day are spent on sedentary work.
Why is the workplace exactly the way you came to the current version?
The focus of my workplace is, of course, a laptop. In addition to him, at all meetings with me, blank sheets of paper or stickers. This is my method of recording information - I first write down the key points from meetings on paper. After that I process the records, structure and digitize them, writing them down to the computer. This two-phase processing suits me completely - it is very effective.
On a large monitor, I usually display data that needs to be covered in volume. I also use it to draw up product reports or fact maps - two monitors help me stay focused, since I don't have to switch tabs in the browser.
My handbook this summer is Thinking. Systems Research ". I read it several times. It contains interesting thoughts about the structure of thinking and how to make it more effective. Also, not long ago, there was a book by Marty Kagan "INSPIRED: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love". But to be honest, she didn't really inspire me.
Tirex lives on the desktop on a permanent basis. A totem animal, perhaps, of every Selectel employee. I have a very rare blue color. Other elements of working "harmony" are a mug with fish, from which I drink green tea, and a footrest. I believe it increases productivity by 10%.
From the unusual - I keep my Hang not far from the table. It is such a metal percussion instrument that emits cosmic sounds. I usually play it in the evenings or in the morning so that everyone in the office can listen too.
What's your hobby?
First, I am a fisherman. Fishing is no longer a hobby, but rather a way of life - every weekend I try to get out to Vuoksa or Lake Ladoga. My hobby is the fish mug, the pike T-shirt I sometimes wear at work, and the Mac desktop background, a foggy lake with islets.
Secondly, I am a table tennis lover. If the passion for fishing is not particularly realized within the office, then the second hobby is easy. I love table tennis, and once a day I play a game. He even became the Selectel Golden Racket at the end of a corporate tournament.
In my free time I also go to the gym, play squash and chess.
Is everything happy in the workplace? Would you like to improve / change something?
All you want to do is process the collected information and remove all the pieces of paper. To clear the table, like the brain, of unstructured data.
What is your ideal workplace? We are talking about the chair / treadmill, the number of monitors, laptops, lighting, music, etc.
I think I already have an ideal workplace.
Is there a dedicated hobby area? If yes, share a photo too, please.
Vladimir, tester at Selectel
How much time do you spend at your desk per day?
Usually a full working day with a break for lunch and a game of tennis.
Why is the workplace exactly the way you came to the current version?
I don't like it when something interferes with my work. Therefore, I try to keep the table in order. When the workplace is littered with all sorts of things, it seems that they are pinching you. If there are too many tasks, stickers appear on the table and screen - this way I free up memory a little.
Now I have a RAID controller on my desk. Perhaps I will soon write a review text about him in the Selectel blog on Habré.
Are you satisfied with everything or would you like to improve / change something?
For the most part, everything is fine. Ideally, I would like to connect the laptop to the monitor, charger and mouse with one wire, but, unfortunately, my work laptop cannot do that.
What is your ideal workplace? We are talking about the chair / treadmill, the number of monitors, laptops, lighting, music, etc.
For my dream workplace, three identical monitors, an external mouse and keyboard, a comfortable chair (which necessarily folds back!) And full-size headphones, if possible wireless, are enough. The laptop in this entire installation must work exclusively as a system unit.
What's your hobby?
My hobby, which, unfortunately, I do not practice very often - weaving baubles from floss, in rare cases - bracelets from beads.
Is there a dedicated hobby area? If yes, share a photo too, please.
In terms of weaving, I am quite undemanding. A hardcover A4 book, a paper clip and good lighting are all I need.
Maxim, media editor of texts for Selectel
How much time do you spend at your desk per day?
Almost all daylight hours (or even longer). There is always work to either start or get done, so there are no special limits. True, sometimes I get distracted by a hobby, when, for example, a new package arrives. But my hobby is also connected with "iron", so there is no radical change of occupation during the day.
Why is the workplace exactly the way you came to the current version?
I am a remote worker with many years of experience. My work is related to writing texts and communications. The permanent working tool is a laptop. For many years, I have been using laptops, and not always from a stationary workplace. I tested various options, including work from the seashore. I was flattered by all these beautiful pictures. By the way, the worst thing to work is on the seashore, even in a cafe with air conditioning, internet and silence. Even reading something light from a laptop screen by the pool or by the sea is impossible, there is no need to talk about work, it is impossible.
Then he nevertheless came to the conclusion that a stationary workplace is extremely necessary for effective work. It became an ordinary writing desk. After moving to a new apartment, this table was placed in a separate office, which had an extremely positive effect on the efficiency of work. A little later, I put the laptop on the shelf, connecting a 27-inch monitor from LG to it. After making sure that this is the right step, I added another monitor (my laptop is a Sony Vaio with VGA and HDMI). On one monitor - text editor and browser. The second is messengers, WhatsApp and Telegram. They are always active.
Recently ordered a chair with massage function. The chair is comfortable, there is no particular use from massage. But, overall, everything is fine.
What's your hobby?
Guitar (acoustic) and electronics repair. For this there are two additional tables with all the necessary devices and instruments (except for the oscilloscope).
As for the guitar, no special equipment is needed here, I just play when I have free time or when I need to relax. 5 minutes of the game - and you're back in business, stress is relieved.
Are you satisfied with everything or would you like to improve / change something?
Everything suits me. I would probably like an even cooler chair than I have now, but I understand that this is already pampering. Perhaps, I would have updated the lighting in the office - I started to make a smart office, but for various reasons the process stopped, so after a while I plan to improve the lighting and make it "smart".
What is your ideal workplace? We are talking about the chair / treadmill, the number of monitors, laptops, lighting, music, etc.
I have an almost ideal (for me) workplace. The only thing, I would like the office to be located not in the apartment, but in the house. And not in the house itself, but in the form of a dome over the roof of your house, and with a huge panoramic window. I once saw a couple of similar offices - I liked them very much. When I have my own house, I will definitely do something similar.
Is there a dedicated hobby area? If yes, share a photo too, please
Yes, over time the hobby has increased in scale, so I had to take two tables at once. Soldering station, BGA station, laboratory power supply, microscope with HDMI output, 3D printer - all this is located on two tables and a small nightstand. Unfortunately, nothing else will fit in my office, so I use a vertical rather than a horizontal layout.
Tatiana, editor of the Selectel blog
How much time do you spend at your desk per day?
I work remotely most of the time. I spend at the table from 5 to 10 hours a day. But during the day I constantly move around the apartment with laptops, changing locations and landing.
Why is the workplace like this?
The workplace changes frequently due to moving. In 2020, this is my fourth table. More often I occupy half of the dining table, although it is not always convenient for others, but practical. Since 2011 I have been working in the MacOS environment, the tool is MacBook Air. They are good for everyone, especially the low weight of the laptop - I always go to the office with a small bag. Usually, I have two monitors turned on, so it's trite more quickly. However, only one of them is connected to the VPN. Therefore, if you need to immerse yourself in a task or complex text, you can do it without unnecessary triggers.
How did you arrive at the current version?
Now we live in a house with a stucco molding on the facade, erected by a famous Moscow architect of the last century. With a mustard-sandy atmosphere and courtesy of neighbors, the house resembles Petersburg. All residents leaving the "front door" to Prospect Mira are pompously greeted by the "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" monument. When you live next to one of the main arteries of the city in a historical place, you want to create every minute. Especially when it's your job. In the wake of a spirited mood, I wanted to decorate a separate #writers' office in the apartment in the same retro style. I always thought that I adored hi-tech, but the table and the room with a hint of the era of Agatha Christie answer deeper internal needs.
Are you satisfied with everything or would you like to improve / change something? What is your ideal workplace? We are talking about a chair / treadmill, the number of monitors, laptops, lighting, music, etc.
I like everything here. I think this is my ideal workplace. In the office - furniture from the second half of the last century. View of a quiet green part of the city. The lyrical mood is set by exhibits from the Soviet "shop of antiquities"
The typewriter from the GDR is the Daro-Optima model. I got it as a gift from a colleague who accidentally found out about my passion for direct-printing machines. He, in turn, inherited it from his academician grandfather.
The Kristall camera is from my grandfather, who has been fond of photography all his life. This model was produced only for a couple of years in the 60s, the total circulation is no more than 65 thousand copies. The silver skull is a reminder of my studies at the British Higher School of Art and Design (BHDS), from which I made sketches. BHSAD is not about academic drawing, so my skull is appropriate. For lighting I use a regular IKEA table lamp. When I get tired of sitting on a chair, I migrate to the living room on a soft sofa. But the dining table is always ready to receive me.
What would you like to change?
The only thing I dream about is the iMac all-in-one. Everything else suits me. In the next room, the children have an exercise bike, a stepper and a large bookcase where they can satisfy their most unexpected literary needs.
What's your hobby? Is there a dedicated hobby area? If yes, share a photo too, please.
Convenient when you are an author and editor, and your hobby is blogging. This is partly true. I have several of them, while in their infancy: a blog on MEL on a child-parent theme, a channel about the everyday life of writers in Telegram, a personal blog on vc.ru.
Several years ago I started to paint. The size of the table allows you to fulfill any fantasy, plus there is always a floor - the favorite place of artists.
Another little hobby is sewing. Four years ago, for the sake of experiment, I bought an electric sewing machine Janome 100, I wanted to launch a handmade-shop of men's accessories. As a result, I learned how to sew bow ties, as in the photo. There is also a second car in the apartment - a Hungarian foot-operated Pannonia with a wooden table.
Tell us about your jobs and your hobbies. We are waiting for you in the comments.
