Brook Sounds are Quite Popular

Yesterday I posted an MP3 that I use to give me ambient noise.  The audio is the sound of a brook.  Evidently brook sounds are very popular.  Here is what my outgoing traffic looked like for the past few days.

The blue line is my outgoing traffic, which suddenly jumped when it was posted.  It looks like a couple thousand people downloaded the file.  If you were one of the ones who downloaded it, please give me some feedback on whether it was useful or not.  I’ve got a few other ones with different sounds that I’m thinking about releasing and I’d like to know what was good or bad about the way this one worked.

If you didn’t download it and want to check it out, the link is in the bottom of the RSS feed.  You can get it by subscribing to the email feed or using and RSS reader.

Leo’s Desk

Leo Babauta talks about his minimalistic home office setup.

Getting the Most from a Large Monitor

Recently I read about a study that showed productivity increased (up to 52% increase for certain tasks) when people used a larger monitor–up to 24 inches. After that productivity started dropping off again. Having used monitors 24 inches or larger for the past 3 years, I’ve learned a few things about getting the most from screen real estate. I think I know why productivity doesn’t continue to go up with even larger screens.

To use a larger screen effectively you have to break a lot of bad habits developed over years of using smaller display devices. This is a lot harder than it sounds. In this article I want to explore some of the ways to get more from your screen as well as some tips to force yourself to use your desktop more effectively.

1. Don’t Maximize Out of Habit

People who are use to a 17 inch monitor tend to maximize the current application. This seems to be especially prevalent in Windows users, but I’ve seen many Mac users do the same thing. On a 17 inch monitor, this may be exactly what you need to do in order to see the whole application. It is hard to work when you constantly need to scroll back and forth to see everything.

However, when you do the same thing on a 30 inch monitor, you often end up wasting screen real estate. Most applications are designed to work on smaller monitors and there is no advantage to spreading them all over your screen. If the application simply stretches the contents of the window across the screen, you aren’t benefiting from the extra space.

This image is of Productivity501 maximized to fill the screen. While it is a very fine looking site, notice that 2/3rds of the space is just wasted with a lovely black gradient. We could open two more sites of the same width before we’d have to start minimizing and maximizing to jump from window to window.

Some people may prefer to maximize an application in order to block out other windows so they can focus. While this makes sense, the bad habit of maximizing everything isn’t worth developing. If you need to block out other things, minimize all the other windows and keep your desktop clear of clutter.

In some cases maximizing your application will actually make it more difficult to read. If you have a large monitor, try opening a text file, make it fill the screen at a normal sized font and then try to read it. Your aren’t made to read text like a long CNN ticker all the way across your screen. In normal reading your mind uses the shape of the paragraphs to help keep its place. With a super long line of text, it is easier to get lost and you have to spend a lot more effort on the reading process instead of the content.

This isn’t to say you should never fill your screen with an application. There are some applications that work very well full screen–particularly video/audio editing or large spreadsheets. But by default you should try to keep things at their most efficient size so you can open other applications while maintaining full visibility. This is especially true if you are trying to work with more than one application at a time.

2. Optimize Your Applications

Some applications are setup to take advantage of large screens automatically. Excel is a good example. If you fill your screen with Excel it will show you more cells and you can view more of a spread sheet at a time. Other applications take a bit of configuration to make things work efficiently. Since we talking about Office applications lets look at Word.

Word lets you view things in variety of different ways. With a smaller monitor the most effective way to view your page is in Web Layout mode. In Web Layout mode, your text wraps to the width of the screen. This means you can read a complete sentence without needing to scroll side to side - regardless of what zoom level you use or how big of font you are typing with. It isn’t a WYSIWYG layout. It is designed to let you focus on writing not layout.

Web Layout mode is great if you have a smaller monitor or bad eyes. It is also good if you are trying to work with several programs at the same time and need to see your text in a thin window. This image shows an example of Word in Web Layout mode (on the right), Email (center top), preview of this article (center bottom), and the window I’m writing this article in (left).

The Web Layout mode lets the text wrap to fit the screen. This keeps you from having long lines, but the height of the window makes it easy to see a lot of text.

However, on a large screen, if you are only working with Word and no other applications Web Layout doesn’t really take advantage of the larger screen. If you switch to the print layout you can see an entire page as it will be printed. This can be ideal if you are working on a shorter document or working with Word while referencing web pages or other documents in other applications.

If you are just focusing on writing, you may want to change the settings to allow two pages side by side. In the newest version of Office for OS X that is adjusted by going into the View > Zoom settings. You can select how many pages you want to show on the page at the same time and it will automatically adjust the zoom size to make them fit.

Other applications can be optimized in other ways. For example, I do most of my programming in Eclipse. Eclipse organizes open files in tabs. This is very efficient on a small monitor or when you only want to dedicate half your screen to Eclipse and the other half to a web browser or Dreamweaver. However, when you plan to work in Eclipse only for a long period of time you can split the document window in two and display to sets of tabbed documents side by side. This is extremely efficient if you want to work on Java code in one window and the corresponding HTML in another

3. Rotate Your Monitor

Most monitors are wider than they are tall. Most documents and files are longer than they are wide. This means we are constantly trying to fit vertically oriented materials into a horizontal space. Many monitors are made to rotate 90 degrees so they are tall instead of wide. For many types of applications, this is ideal–especially if you have a medium size monitor (22- 24 inches) and are working on something that is vertical and requires a lot of detail. Examples would be doing the layout on a single page flyer that uses a lot of graphics, working on an excel spreadsheet that is very long but not very wide, or working on your dissertation past the point where your eyes start to blur and you need to set your zoom to make the words as big as possible.

Writing code can benefit from a vertically oriented monitor but often it will encourage you to write longer methods than you would with a monitor with less vertical space. A rotated monitor can also be a great way to read on the computer. You can keep things large so there is as little strain on your eyes as possible. The vertical layout allows you to see more of the page while maintaining a shorter side to side scan distance.

4. High Resolution

I have seen people buy a large beautiful monitor capable of very high resolution, decide everything is too small and fix the problem by bumping down the resolution. If you plan to do this, don’t buy a monitor. Go to Walmart and buy a big LCD television with a DVI or VGA input. LCD televisions are lower resolution to start with and you’ll pay a lot less than you will for an equivalent size (physical size) monitor.

Here are two screen shots on my 30 inch display. The first is at 2560 x 1600 pixels. The second is at 1280 x 800 pixels. Notice how much bigger this site looks in the seconds. The site isn’t actually bigger, the screen is just using 4 pixels as a single pixel in the low resolution version. This means windows take a lot more space on the screen since every pixel is now 4 times as big.


With an LCD monitor the highest resolution possible is going to be the optimal resolution. (There may be some exceptions to this in monitors that try to “fake” higher resolution, but this isn’t the norm.) At optimal resolution each pixel in the computer maps to one pixel on the screen. If you use a lower resolution, each pixel in the computer maps to multiple pixels on the screen. This will usually make things look fuzzy.

If you need to make things bigger while maintaining high resolution look in your operating system settings. Windows allows you to change the font size used in menus and on the desktop. OS X was supposed to have the ability to fully scale everything in 10.5, but it didn’t make it into the final version.

Also consider adjusting your applications. For example, in Office you can set your zoom size to make things bigger. In code editors you can adjust your font size. With web browsers you can adjust the font size up and down. (Apple + and Apple - on the mac)

When I first upgraded from a 24 inch monitor to a 30 inch, I had a friend ask me if I found myself pushing back from my desk because of the monitor size. Actually I found the opposite was true. I had to move closer to my monitor than I had with the 24 inch because the new monitor had more pixels per inch than the older one. This meant I needed to be closer to make things the same relative size in my field of vision.

There is talk about making operating systems with complete resolution independence, but that hasn’t happened yet. When it does, you will be able to adjust the size of everything on your screen while still maintaining the best quality possible.

5. Setting Proper Program Sizes

If you don’t feel you are using your space efficiently and your applications just seem to get larger and larger until they fill the screen, here is a trick that might help you. Try temporarily adjusting your resolution down, adjust your programs until you can see them–even if this means simply maximizing all of them, then go back to your regular resolution. The applications should stay the same size (from a pixel standpoint) so when you go back to full resolution they should be much smaller and you can arrange them on your screen however makes the most sense.

This seems to work best if you have a very large monitor with high resolution. On a 20 or 22 inch monitor it might not help you very much.

This is just a trick to help you resize your applications. You can do just as well by watching for empty space and trying to avoid it. If you find you are spreading single applications wider than they need to be, simply resize them down.

This image shows Wordpress when I was writing this article. All the white space on the right hand side is a good indication that I’ve stretched my window more than what is useful. By itself this isn’t a bad thing, but if I have to minimize windows or move things around to get to other applications I’m trying to use at the same time it slows me down. By making the window less wide I now have more room for my other applications. Which means less time spent switching back and forth.

6. Watch Your Workflow

Watch how you actually use your computer. If you are constantly minimizing and maximizing applications, see if there isnt’ a way to keep them both in view at the same time. Even if your monitor isn’t big enough for two applications side by side, you may be able to get some of the benefits by overlapping them with one sticking on the right and one on the left. This lets you switch back and forth without needing to maximize from the dock or menu bar.

Keep in mind that you probably have years of practice in not using a large screen. It will take some time to identify the best way to use it for your particular setup and needs.

No Refund

If you live in the US, today is the day your personal taxes are due.  It is also a good time to take a look and consider whether or not you got a refund.  If you got more than a couple hundred dollars back beyond the economic stimulus payment, it is a sign you need to adjust your deductions.  Don’t get excited when you get money back.  It simply means you’ve over paid and gave the government an interest free loan.  Your HR department should be able to help you readjust your deductions.

Commercial Memory Application

Jeff wrote in to say that he has a created a commercial memorization application based on the technique and tool I demonstrated in the How to Memorize post.

Ambient Sound Download - The Brook

Have you ever wished you could tune out background noise–maybe to drown out an annoying co-worker or just to stay focused? I know a lot of people use music for this, but personally I find music divides my concentration (a possible side effect of my training in music theory and composition). To help concentrate I need something that will stay in the background. Trying a bunch of sounds, I’ve found that water seems to be the most effective. Someday I’ll probably get a fountain for my office, but until then I’ve created an MP3 file to help me concentrate.

I’m making the file available as a special bonus to RSS and Email subscribers. If you’d like to download it, just subscribe to the RSS feed using your favorite feed reader or using the Email subscription box in the upper right hand corner of the site. You’ll find the download link at the bottom of any post or email.

The file is 10 minutes long and you can set it to loop with most MP3 players in order to get continuous sound. Try using it next time you are being distracted by sound and see if it helps you focus.

Update:  We have created several more files that are much higher quality including hour long files that are available for sale.  You can get the free versions by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.

Mac Audio Input

If you try to use your Mac for Skype you’ll probably want to get a headset microphone of some time.  Be aware that Macs don’t actually have a microphone input.  They have a line in input.  This means with most microphones the signal will be too soft.  You can get around this problem by getting a USB headset or some type of preamp.  Hopefully this little bit of knowledge will save some readers a few hours of time and 3 or 4 trips to Radio Shack. (I speak from experience on this.)

Taking a Break

A common mistake I see performance oriented people make is not taking break when they need it. Taking a break is like changing the oil on your car, it is a basic need and your performance will suffer if you decide to just “press on through”.

Lets say you normally operate at 70% to 90% of your potential, but when you get burned out, your capability drops to 20% to 30%. Simply trying to spend more time at your reduced effectiveness just doesn’t make sense. You will be far better off to take some time off and come back at your normal 70% to 90%.

You need breaks on different levels. You need daily breaks like taking time off for lunch, weekly breaks like taking time off on the weekends, and seasonal breaks like going on a week vacation a few times each year. I also feel like you need sabbatical style breaks where you take at least a month or so off every few years to do something different. If you don’t give yourself these periods to revive, your creativity will suffer and you will be working with a handicap.

Short Term Breaks

Here are some ideas for taking shorter term breaks.

1. Go for a walk. It is hard to beat going for a walk as a way to take a break. You get the physical exercise along with a chance to disconnect and let your subconscious work on any pending problems.
2. Call a friend. Taking 5 or 10 minutes to talk with a friend can be a very good way to get refreshed before going back to work.
3. Walk through a pet store. I find that spending 10 minutes browsing through the fish section of a nearby pet store is very refreshing.
4. Draw something. A few minutes sketching can be a great way to give yourself a break. It doesn’t matter if you are a good artist or not. Just grab a sheet of paper and do some drawing. Your goal isn’t to produce a masterpiece of art–it is to give your brain a chance to do something different.
5. Play a video game. This is only useful in moderation. If you spend 30 minutes playing a video game to take a break every few days, it can be helpful. If you spend 6 hours each day playing, you probably aren’t making the best use of your time. I prefer games with short levels so it is easy to spend 5 or 10 minutes, complete a level and then head back to work. I also prefer puzzle type games. Enigmo 2 is a good example of this. More recently I’ve been trying a game called Portal that in the first few levels seems to fit this criteria nicely.

Longer Term Breaks

Here are some things I’ve done to take longer breaks.  Many of these weren’t really vacation because I continued working, but they did give me time out of my normal environment.

1. Summer school. Many universities offer summer classes lasting 4 to 8 weeks. My wife and I spent a summer in Cambridge, MA a few years back. I took a few classes and worked remotely. It was a very rejuvenating experience. The educational experience was great and it was nice to have a change of scenery of being in a different part of the country for a few months. I hope to repeat this every 5 years or so.
2. Extended visits with relatives. This will of course depend on your relatives, but we’ve spend several weeks with my wife’s family. I continued to work remotely during the day and hung out with family in the evening. This worked particularly well when I was designing something that took a few weeks or needed to do a lot of writing.
3. Visit another country. We’ve gone to Mexico several times–most of the time as tourists. Our most recent stay was for several months. It was quite a change of pace and very interesting to get to know another culture.

Do you have anything unique you do to take a break? Please share your suggestions and idea in the comments.

QWERTY vs. Dvorak

An article about standards and another from Reason.com both look at the comparison between Dvorak and QWERTY keyboards and suggests that there is a less of a difference than is commonly advertised. Of particular interest is the look at how the research was conducted for the Dvorak layouts.

Adapx

Adapx is another company selling a digital pen.  This one converts your writing into computer text.

« Previous Page — Next Page »