One of the many reasons why I love being a Software Engineer is because of the hardware, software and tools that I am able to use daily but a big part of this role is having the correct setup. I think it's very important to have access to a setup that helps you maximise your efficiency when carrying out any type of engineering work.
I have to admit, my setup journey has been just that... a journey. It's strange to think that when I first started to code, I was content with just one screen, but ask me to do that now, and I will struggle. I guess you can thank lockdown for that mindset change.
So as time went on, and as it become more apparent that majority of my time would be spent at home, I thought it was time to give my setup a 'glow-up' and invest some money into the space.
Don't get me wrong, I loved my previous setup. By looking at it, you could kind of tell what type of things I'm into however I realised that I wasn't as productive and efficient as I wanted to be and this came down to the fact that I didn't have the right setup and tools for my role. My space was very limited and the external monitor I was using wasn't the best. Having a glass desk also meant that I was constantly spending time cleaning it and so I made the change.
A big difference right? The first thing I did was move my setup to a more spacious room as it gave me a lot more space to utilise. Having two 4K monitors is really a dream come true; I now have the IDE on the vertical screen, and then the browser on the opposite one. Previously, my laptop was always tucked away, simply because I didn't have enough space but I'm now able to have my laptop on my desk, along with my iPad that I use for note taking, watching videos, listening to music etc. I'm also a big fan of RGB lights so I jazzed up my setup by placing some LED strip lights behind my monitors, which completed the whole look and gave it a subtle glow.
I also invested in some great quality peripherals. A few of them are:
- Logitech MX Master 3s
- Logitech MX Mechanical Mini
- CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 Dock
- Invision Dual Monitor Arm Mount
- Sony SRS-XB32
I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out, however I know that this is something that will continue on evolving as time goes on.