Boy 🛸

Sorting through some old stuff I want to sell I came across my original bleem! disk. I remember it blew my mind when it came out. Playing Playstation games on my computer seemed impossible at the time. Let alone with decent performance.

Convincing my parents to enter their creditcard info on this shady website must have been difficult.

I remember it working fairly well on my computer. It didn’t replace my Playstation though.

Here are a few more pictures of the disk.

The manual is amusing.

LGR made a video that’s worth a watch if you want to see bleem! in action.

I love Sliders. In season three, episode 17 (The Exodus, Part 1) they’re using SEGA Mega Drive controller as their super sophisticated inter-dimensional-portal-opening timer prop. 🎮👌

I’m selling all my Game Boy Advance carts. While taking pictures I noticed two cartridges looking a little off. The logos on both Metroid Fusion (AGB-AMTP-EUR) and Final Fantasy VI Advance (AGB-BZ6P-EUR) seemed fuzzy.

The circuit boars aren’t looking much better.

Read more over at posts.boy.sh.

This is an excerpt from a post a published at posts.boy.sh.

Time is a huge distractor for me. Time indicators more specifically. The moment I look at a clock while working, it changes my mood.

10.00 – Only 10 am?? It feels like I’ve been doing nothing for ages.
11.30 – Better not start something new because it’ll be lunch time soon.
14.00 - Sheesh this day is never going to end…
16.00 – It’s already 4 pm?? Well, too late to start working now.

Hide the clock

To remedy this, I stopped wearing my Apple Watch and hid the clock on my Mac and my PC.

The effects are noticeable; I can just sit, work and not care about how the day is progressing. It’s much easier to lose myself in what I’m doing.

There are downsides: it also stops me from getting up and do basic things like drink water or getting some fresh air. I work from home and if I’m not careful I skip lunch and scramble to make something for diner, because I forgot to buy groceries.

Notifications

I set notifications and reminders for important events that I should not forget. To avoid becoming a slave to my calendar, I came up with a different way to give me a sense of time passing (and make sure I eat properly). It’s an app called Timeless.

Timeless

At its core Timeless gives me a general idea of what part of the day I’m in: morning, lunch time, noon etc. It lets me continue working when I’m still in the time range I’m expecting to get stuff done. Then, in a glance, it lets me know that I’ve entered a new part of the day. If it’s between 12pm and 2pm I should probably get lunch.

Beta sign-up

I’m getting ready to let others give this a go as well. If you’d like to be invited to try the beta, subscribe to the mailing list. Thanks!

I changed my workspace at home a few weeks ago. Instead of a dedicated room, I now have a closet to work in.

That’s right: I fit my entire office inside of a cabinet. This includes a monitor, desktop computer, laptop, three game consoles with peripherals and a bunch of binders.

It made me think about where else I work on my apps. Currently there are three major workplaces that I alternate between: my closet, a desk at Blendle and random Croissant affiliated coworking places¹.

Working from home

This is my default. I usually wake up and get started straight away at my office-in-a-closet. It’s where I’m most comfortable and get a lot done.

The downsides are a lack of social interaction and fresh air. I really need to force myself to get out of the house at least once a day. Camping inside feels incredibly unhealthy. Grocery shopping is a great excuse to spend time outdoors.

I’m still getting used to the current situation. Ergonomically it’s a significant step down from the separate room with a standing desk I had before.

My desk at a previous employer’s office

It’s a bit unusual, but I ended up with a desk at a place I used to work.

I enjoy the atmosphere, talking to my old colleagues, discussing the product they work on, helping out if I can. It gives me a sense of cohesion and collaboration, even though we work on different projects.

The sense of belonging does get less with time passing and it’s becoming harder to invest myself in the problems they encounter to provide helpful insights. This might not be something that lasts forever.

Coworking

I’m a fan of the various coworking locations that are available in the major cities in the Netherlands.

Croissant makes it easy to access a whole bunch of them without having to pay for each visit. My buddy Niels and I usually pick a spot in either Amsterdam or Utrecht to work from together. It’s wonderful.

The right location and audience is vital for productivity though. I’ve had times where somebody would be making phone calls continuously, or a venue that looked good on paper ending up being a total disappointment.

There are a few places that are mostly excellent.

Conclusion

It took me a while to figure out which environment works best for me. Taking into account cost, space required, productivity and social interaction, my present setup is very efficient.

In the early days of my company I rented an office. In hindsight this was a luxury; comfortable sure, but overkill and mostly yet another place to store stuff.

I’ve also shared a space with co-founders and a couple of other people. It’s alright and resembles being at a ‘regular workplace’. The main takeaway is that there will be annoyances and paperwork. Avoid being the main tenant.

Like I said: I enjoy working from home the best. Some people struggle with distractions, I embrace it. Building my own apps grants me a lot of freedom around deadlines and office hours. Being able to watch a TV show, play a video game, take a stroll or go bouldering when ‘I am not feeling it’ or just to clear my head is crucial to my mental health.

If you want to discuss or comment on this, let me know on Twitter. I’d love to hear about your experiences.