The working from home thread: tips and advice

Ouch.

You mean you don't even have an open-plan toilet?

Can anyone recommend me a microphone headset (ideally with a USB plug)? many thanks

These are good and lightweight

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005BFCNYU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Avoid the microsoft ones - they are just odd. Heavy. Wierd in-line control placement and strange ear foam texture.

I wear these

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/steelseries-arctis-5-rgb-2019-editie-gaming-headset-zwart-pc/9200000067171623/?Referrer=ADVNLGOO002012-G-87274366483-S-854373656778-9200000067171623&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6uT4BRD5ARIsADwJQ19QjDIZNbnaC01SVBCd7ZK3JExV0dsJatLHzDzt5eUwr352kSMfHusaAijlEALw_wcB

(Sorry Dutch link, but they are on amazon)

The lighty up bits are annoying (although the red light on the mic when muted is good). Sound quality is good enough for me to listen to music on. I wear them pretty much all day

Hey, I’m doing a project about working from home and life post c-19. I was just reading this thread and thought some of you might like to take part. It’s a small time commitment and it’s well paid. Here’s a link to the project in case anyone’s interested. Hope some of you will join and share your stories! Cheers - Ben

https://benedictmortimer.typeform.com/to/S89dRC

Unless you need an integrated headset it could make more sense just to buy a nice microphone and then wear any old headphones? I use a Zoom H1 on a gorillapod and just use a normal pair of headphones with it. Something like this will make you sound really good :)

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XQ39XCY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CSDgFb6D7BWFS

I just use wired iPhone headphones. My laptop headphone socket is a combined headphone/microphone socket so the microphone on the iPhone headphones works perfectly well.

Much nicer than a dedicated headset.

+1
This is the best solution for most situations. I only use a mic if I need to record or present

Thanks all - I had a brainwave and contacted the helpdesk, they biked me round a nice set of Sennheisers within 4 hours !

has anyone made a physical (usb?) button with light to mute and unmute calls?

ctrl+shift+m?

In other news, kneeling chairs. Are they all that?

THE KNEELING CHAIR
The Benefits

a. The sloping seat keeps the spine in a healthy S shape 
b. Designed to open up the angle of the hips, encouraging a lordotic posture 

The Disadvantages

a. Puts pressure on the knees, keeping them in a fixed position. 
b. Limits your ability to move your lower body restricting blood flow 
c. Does not provide any support for the arms – our arms are surprising heavy and if you sit for long periods of time without supporting your arms, tension can quickly build up in your neck, shoulders and upper back, arms and wrists, increasing your risk of frozen shoulder and RSI. 

The lack of adjustability & movement resrtriction make it a big no for me.

But then, I did just drop a lot of money on a new chair, so I'm looking to reinforce my decision as much as possible.

really interested - as I've been unpacking a lot of my own WFH anxieties/reflections lately! just applied.

I'm currently sat at a desk that was hacked down for the kids (the jokes write themselves these days) on a kids stool. Is generally ok.

Great - Thank you! I’ll be confirming places in the next week or two.

The two headsets I have here have physical mute buttons.

My headset has a mute button, but it doesn't work over Citrix.

#fwwfhp

Is it not a hardware mute then? I know some will simply trigger a mute command in Windows but some, like mine, will do a proper electronic mute. You get double the muting power, which is very handy when you have a gob like mine.

I did just drop a lot of money on a new chair, so I'm looking to reinforce my decision as much as possible.

I currently have a very comfy chair but no desk to work at. With WFH looking increasingly more long term I'm going to sort myself out with a desk before long. My back is starting to hurt!

Happily sharing my screen on a big conf call just now when I realised it was displaying a PM from a colleague stating "I really struggle on these calls" (amongst other, more professional chat). Obv. shut it down straight away and no-one has said anything ... so hopefully I got away with it. I get on well with him so I am cross with myself for being careless. Stupid work, stupid conf calls FML etc etc

2 screens minimum. Get into the habit of only putting things on the secondary monitor that you would be happy anyone (relevant to the call) seeing. Keep all smut/IM/email on t'other.

Unless Zoom wants to be a wanker and decides on a whim what is Screen 1 and what is Screen 2, then you have to double check which screen you are about to share.

This is what I usually do... pure carelessness on my part. in my defence it is a monumentally boring call...

could have been worse I suppose ...

You mean you don't even have an open-plan toilet?

Late to the party I know, but I've seen a few of these in loft conversions.

Weird.