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I always find it interesting to see what personal productivity improvements highly successful people _do not_ implement. Considering that the typical productivi

I always find it interesting to see what personal productivity improvements highly successful people _do not_ implement. Considering that the typical productivity speel for technology & progaming tasks is tiling window managers (minimize mouse movement), mechanical/ergodox/split keyboards (ideal hand width and orientation), possibly linux or OSX w/ homebrew to automate tasks using scripts. It's interesting to see how relatively rare these setups are among CEO's (in tech) and how 'normal' the setups of successful people really are. There are several factors I see that are or have been impeding implementation of such setups. Firstly, many of the most common tiling WMs have only existed since the 2000s resulting while the current, mature segment of highly successful individuals likely started with the tools available in the 80s & 90s and by then both Windows and Mac OS were using desktop metaphor (floating) environments. The use of floating windows (even with snapping, etc) increases use of the mouse and decreases the relative benifit of highly specialized keyboards like the ergodox. And a lot of membrane keyboards nowdays can /feel/ decent w/o mechanical switches. The choice of OS is likely whatever they have been using since the 90s with some bias towards switching to OSX/MacOS and since it provides many linux-like capabilities in terms of shells for scripting(albiet often horendiously out of date). Finally, likely the largest factor contributing to having relatively normal setups is that the more involved tasks can be delegated to employees whom may or may not have highly customized setups.

distant_hat 8y ago
That's because a lot of gains can be realized from sticking to a given system. The hardest part is starting some system than sticking to it. Also, being a CEO makes things easier from other perspectives. You have staff to take care of your mundane stuff and people double check to make sure they utilize your time effectively. A random employee wouldn't walk over and lean on his desk to comment about the weather.
crispyambulance 8y ago
> It's interesting to see how relatively rare these setups are among CEO's (in tech) and how 'normal' the setups of successful people really are. I suspect that's because one's setup isn't really a big deal. Saving a odd second or two because you're using a split mechanical ergodox or whatever dvorak keyboard with no window manager and scripts to automate the wazzoo out of everything adds up to... not very much at all unless you're doing very repetitive tasks where seconds count. I mean, I think folks should just use whatever makes them happy, and it is interesting to see what people end up using like on usesthis (https://usesthis.com/ https://usesthis.com/). But really, people can be productive with almost anything.
dkersten 8y ago
Personally, I use tiling window managers and mechanical keyboards not to be more efficient, but rather for 1) physical comfort and 2) personal taste. By physical comfort, I mean that I rely on my hands too much to not take care of them to avoid RSI and personal taste, well, I like not having to reach for a mouse, being able to have what I need side by side with the press of a button and just the minimalist look of tiling window managers. Does it also make me more efficient or productive? Maybe, possibly, who knows! It probably does, as it removes roadblocks from my workflow, but its not something I pay a lot of attention to.
crodri54 8y ago
I almost wish more CEOs published something like this. It's quite fascinating to see what sort "manpower" it takes to help them run/lead their org at their greatest efficiency... the behind the scenes look. I imagine head fashion designers or Apple and Tesla execs have a troupe of people working tirelessly to make sure the boss doesn't scew up.

distant_hat 8y ago

That's because a lot of gains can be realized from sticking to a given system. The hardest part is starting some system than sticking to it. Also, being a CEO makes things easier from other perspectives. You have staff to take care of your mundane stuff and people double check to make sure they utilize your time effectively. A random employee wouldn't walk over and lean on his desk to comment about the weather.

crispyambulance 8y ago

> It's interesting to see how relatively rare these setups are among CEO's (in tech) and how 'normal' the setups of successful people really are. I suspect that's because one's setup isn't really a big deal. Saving a odd second or two because you're using a split mechanical ergodox or whatever dvorak keyboard with no window manager and scripts to automate the wazzoo out of everything adds up to... not very much at all unless you're doing very repetitive tasks where seconds count. I mean, I think folks should just use whatever makes them happy, and it is interesting to see what people end up using like on usesthis (https://usesthis.com/ https://usesthis.com/). But really, people can be productive with almost anything.

dkersten 8y ago

Personally, I use tiling window managers and mechanical keyboards not to be more efficient, but rather for 1) physical comfort and 2) personal taste. By physical comfort, I mean that I rely on my hands too much to not take care of them to avoid RSI and personal taste, well, I like not having to reach for a mouse, being able to have what I need side by side with the press of a button and just the minimalist look of tiling window managers. Does it also make me more efficient or productive? Maybe, possibly, who knows! It probably does, as it removes roadblocks from my workflow, but its not something I pay a lot of attention to.

crodri54 8y ago

I almost wish more CEOs published something like this. It's quite fascinating to see what sort "manpower" it takes to help them run/lead their org at their greatest efficiency... the behind the scenes look. I imagine head fashion designers or Apple and Tesla execs have a troupe of people working tirelessly to make sure the boss doesn't scew up.