Comment by bambax
11 days ago
What are those places? Do most people have multiple residences? Or do they think they might need it, and in practice never do?
11 days ago
What are those places? Do most people have multiple residences? Or do they think they might need it, and in practice never do?
I have a relatively high-end desktop with a nice monitor. I also have an aging laptop with a tiny screen and an anemic amount of RAM. Most of my computing ends up being done on the laptop.
With a family and a kid, it turns out I’d prefer to spend most of my time at the computer in common spaces; at the dinner table, on the couch, etc. so that I’m present and available for my family. This is far better than squirreling myself away in a room.
(Note that for work, I have a different computer, I’m talking about for life outside of work.)
You don’t see any conflicts between this:
> it turns out I’d prefer to spend most of my time at the computer in common spaces; at the dinner table, on the couch
And this?
> I’m present and available for my family
The conflicts arise when all you do is work. Every second of every day does not need to be spent staring at your children and still be a good parent.
I often sit with my kids and get a little work done on the couch while they're entertaining themselves. I can engage where appropriate, and of course I don't spend my entire life working. This flexibility allows me time to walk them to school, pick them up from school, leave early to go to their sports things, band concerts, or just play outside with them.
You know, nuance and balance.
2 replies →
Even multiple rooms in your home is compelling enough for many people, but for me it's about taking it on trips. Obviously you don't always want to take your computer on vacation, but sometimes I want to visit a friend and work from there, or go visit my family and work on a project while I'm there, that kind of thing.
On a smaller scale, I often bring my computer to the roof of my building or to a library or cafe. I can understand preferring the constraint of "when I leave my desk I don't have to think about the computer anymore", but for me all the additional flexibility is a good tradeoff.