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It definitely takes getting used to. I've been exclusively WFH for 8 years now and it's hard to imagine going back at this point, but it took a while to develop

It definitely takes getting used to. I've been exclusively WFH for 8 years now and it's hard to imagine going back at this point, but it took a while to develop that groove. My first job out of college, my boss actually told me "Don't miss meetings, don't miss deadlines and I don't care when you're here." About 3 weeks in I was dying to go to the office and just stayed there all the time. In order to make WFH work for me now a few things had to fall into place: 1. My wife got so busy with her business that she has no free time to deal with anything at the house during the day, so any random person that needs to come by (contractors, cable repair, etc) I'm already here for. Additionally, most days I can use my lunch break for any errands that need to be run without it interfering with my after work hours. 2. I have 2 dogs that keep me company. 3. I've found other friends of mine who work from home or are up for grabbing lunch in the area. I tend to meet somebody out for lunch at least once a week. 4. I keep a TV on in the background, out of sight (usually the weather channel). I don't know why, but it makes the house feel less empty all day. 5. Facebook and some relevant community message boards (Clemson sports, local programmers Slack). Just need some type of social outlet.

ghaff 6y ago
>I keep a TV on in the background, out of sight (usually the weather channel). I don't know why, but it makes the house feel less empty all day. I think the world is split into people who really need a background soundtrack of some sort and those who hate it. Back when I sometimes had a roommate on group (non-work) trips, one of the things that drove me craziest was someone who just had to turn on the TV as soon as they walked into a room. The funny thing is that I'm pretty much fine with ambient people sound. I just don't like background TV and, for the most part, I don't even turn on music when I'm working.
- brightball 6y ago
  The key for me is noise that I'm not trying to listen to. The weather channel can be on and I have no need to try to focus on it. If I put music on, it needs to be pretty consistent tempo with no words so that it's "there" but I'm not listening to it. The original Ironman soundtrack was my goto for this for years.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Yeah, for something like sleeping on a plane, I'll usually put something like new age-y instrumentals on. I just can't really ignore something even as uninteresting as The Weather Channel. It's like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
- dinkleberg 6y ago
  I dream that one day I’ll be able to turn my ears on and off at will. Earplugs work alright, but complete silence would be fantastic (personal safety be damned)
  - ISL 6y ago
    When you get old-enough, a cochlear implant is exactly that.
  - nickelcitymario 6y ago
    I haven't tried them yet, but to my understanding this is a key selling feature of AirPods. Any chance anyone knows how successful these are at noise cancellation (without the use of music to drown out said noise)?
    - ghaff 6y ago
      All noise cancellation is much better at canceling low frequency noise (like the engine on a plane) than voices, for example, which it mostly just muffles. For example, I have music playing in my house right now. If I put in my AirPod Pros and turn them on, the music gets quieter but I can still clearly hear it.
      - SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
        I find that on my over ear headphones, the physical barrier of the headphones blocks out a lot of higher sounds to some amount and the anc kills the low sounds. I can still hear stuff while I'm not playing sound but when I turn on music I can't hear anything around me.
        ghaff 6y ago
        Yes. Closed back over ears are definitely the most effective way to block external noise. And I've heard of people wearing over the ear protection over noise canceling that works even better. For me, basically the only time I really care (or want to be that isolated) is on planes though and I travel really light so over the ear headphones is a non-starter.

ghaff 6y ago

>I keep a TV on in the background, out of sight (usually the weather channel). I don't know why, but it makes the house feel less empty all day. I think the world is split into people who really need a background soundtrack of some sort and those who hate it. Back when I sometimes had a roommate on group (non-work) trips, one of the things that drove me craziest was someone who just had to turn on the TV as soon as they walked into a room. The funny thing is that I'm pretty much fine with ambient people sound. I just don't like background TV and, for the most part, I don't even turn on music when I'm working.

brightball 6y ago
The key for me is noise that I'm not trying to listen to. The weather channel can be on and I have no need to try to focus on it. If I put music on, it needs to be pretty consistent tempo with no words so that it's "there" but I'm not listening to it. The original Ironman soundtrack was my goto for this for years.
- ghaff 6y ago
  Yeah, for something like sleeping on a plane, I'll usually put something like new age-y instrumentals on. I just can't really ignore something even as uninteresting as The Weather Channel. It's like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
dinkleberg 6y ago
I dream that one day I’ll be able to turn my ears on and off at will. Earplugs work alright, but complete silence would be fantastic (personal safety be damned)
- ISL 6y ago
  When you get old-enough, a cochlear implant is exactly that.
- nickelcitymario 6y ago
  I haven't tried them yet, but to my understanding this is a key selling feature of AirPods. Any chance anyone knows how successful these are at noise cancellation (without the use of music to drown out said noise)?
  - ghaff 6y ago
    All noise cancellation is much better at canceling low frequency noise (like the engine on a plane) than voices, for example, which it mostly just muffles. For example, I have music playing in my house right now. If I put in my AirPod Pros and turn them on, the music gets quieter but I can still clearly hear it.
    - SulfurHexaFluri 6y ago
      I find that on my over ear headphones, the physical barrier of the headphones blocks out a lot of higher sounds to some amount and the anc kills the low sounds. I can still hear stuff while I'm not playing sound but when I turn on music I can't hear anything around me.
      - ghaff 6y ago
        Yes. Closed back over ears are definitely the most effective way to block external noise. And I've heard of people wearing over the ear protection over noise canceling that works even better. For me, basically the only time I really care (or want to be that isolated) is on planes though and I travel really light so over the ear headphones is a non-starter.