Optimizing the office setup can have a great impact on a developers performance. Here are some things that I wouldn’t want to miss ever again:
Big Monitor or multiple Monitors
Not having to worry about screen estate is a must. Developers use lots of information from different sources all the time, so you should have a really big monitor (> 30″) with great resolution (3440×1440 or 3840×2160) or a multi-monitor setup with two to three monitors with good resolution.
Often vertical space is more valuable than horizontal space, so it makes sense to rotate at least one monitor to portrait mode. That way you can see full spec sheets, customer feedback pages or much more lines of code.
Personally I use a Philips BDM4065UC, which runs 3840×2160 pixels at 60 Hz in a 39.5″ panel with very thin bezels. Usually I have three portrait mode windows or six equally sized windows open at a time and I use AutoHotKey to layout them.
Things to look out for with big monitors are the refresh rate (should be >= 60 Hz), the connectivity (at least HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 to actually get that 60 Hz) and a possible VESA mount.
Because often big monitors come with TV-like stands, that further increase their height, a custom mount is advisable. I use an Ergotron to keep my monitor safe and in a position that fits my needs. This has the additional benefit of enabling me to easily turn the screen around and watch movie from the couch or pulling it up and work in a standing position.
Keyboard and Mouse with macro keys
We give our computer systems much more input than A to Z, 0 to 9 and some special characters, therefore macro keys or “hotkeys” can enhance your performance by starting actions that would otherwise take multiple keys or even clicks.
Personally I have been using the original Logitech G15 (blue) for many years now, which has 16 macro keys (times 3 profiles), 5 media buttons, a wheel to control sound volume and an extra screen that displays date/time, currently playing song, system performance or other information.
My mouse is a Logitech G600 which also has 12 macro keys (times 3 profiles) on the side and an extra click button.
Very common macros or actions that I assigned to macro keys are Page/Tab/Workspace back and forward, Close/Refresh tab, Play/Pause/Stop, Next Song/Previous Song, Volume up/Volume down/Mute, Delete current song, Layout window (9 different positions).
If I have to do something repedeately but not often enough to write a script or without the possibility to script it, I create temporary macros to do that.
Right now I’m thinking of replacing my keyboard with a mechanical one. Options are a small Lioncast LK20 (with MX-Brown switches) combined with an additional macro keyboard like a Logitech G13 or a big keyboard with fully programmable keys.
Headphones with active noise-canceling
Focus, flow and “being in the zone” aren’t just buzzwords but really important to get complex and/or complicated things done. Interruptions and noise keep us from reaching maximum performance, as they drag away our focus. To cancel out all those distractions noise-canceling headphones come to the rescue.
Important things and features to consider with headphones are active noise-canceling, comfortable pads and low sound leakage. Ideally they are wireless too, so you won’t get distracted by a wire that creates scratching noises while swinging around.
Personally I just got a Sony MDR-XB950N1 and I’m really impressed with the noise-canceling feature. Noise-canceling on -> world off -> focus mode!