I quite enjoy seeing other people’s workspaces, particularly the people I only know of through online means. I have finally figured out a work routine I’m happy with here in Los Angeles. I can’t say I’m sold on the city quite yet, but that’s another blog post.
I have been working from a shared desk at the WeWork in West Hollywood a few blocks from my house. My current living situation is such that there isn’t a great place for me to work at home, plus I don’t think I’d want to anyway. I have worked out of coworking spaces consistently for about five years, and I don’t intend to stop now! Although coworking can be expensive, the tax write-off is nice and having a physical space 100% dedicated to working is invaluable for productivity and mental health, not to mention the networking and potential new friends that come with coworking.
Here’s my setup:
- Macbook Pro, early 2013. OMG my computer is almost five years old. It still works, really well! The battery not so much, but I’m rarely without an outlet so it’s not a huge problem. A new computer is in my future at some point, but not quite yet. Like all the cool kids, I use Visual Studio Code for text editing and am currently jamming on the Nord color scheme.
- Home-made, home-roasted cold brew coffee! LA may lack the volume and proximity of third wave coffee shops, but it does allow the space and weather for me to resume home-roasting. This brew is a Honduras bean, purchased from the ever wonderful Sweet Maria’s.
- Nut mix. Raw almonds, cashews, and “pistachio nutmeats” from Trader Joe’s, and a dried cranberry/tart cherry mix from Ralph’s (e.g. Giant Eagle or Safeway of the west coast). I’m pretty addicted to this mix and use it as a meal substitute on occasion.
- H20, of course. WeWork usually has this fruit infusion water that’s pretty fire.
- Intuos 5 Wacom Tablet. I hadn’t used this thing for quite a while, but now that I’m back in illustration mode and loving all of the possibilities with SVG, it has again become indispensable!
- Apple bluetooth keyboard. I’ve had this thing for at least six years and it still works! Well, I hadn’t used it for several months and thought all was lost when it didn’t turn on, but then I used the aluminum foil trick and voila!
- Logitech Wireless Mouse. This is the M510 version and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it is to use! There are forward/back buttons on the thumb side that can be customized, and it generally feels like a nice quality item. Only $20!
- Mouse pad with wrist rest. I was just working on my laptop with no mouse and keyboard for some time, then noticed some wrist pain and other unhealthy tingling in my shoulders. No bueno. The mouse pad helps a lot.
- Moleskine dotted notebook, large. I like to keep this nearby for any time I need to sketch out a quick layout or just down blog post ideas/ The dots and large size are 👌.
- Los Angeles parking ticket. Despite my attention to detail when writing markup for a button, I neglect to read street cleaning signs on occasion.
- Apple headphones. Good enough to play “Cognition Enhancer Extended Version For Studying – Iscochronic Tones”, my go to YouTube pick for a productive boost. Otherwise, some favorite work tunes are Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, the Spotify playlists Concentration Maxiumum and Mellow Beats, and the playlists Original Ska – (Mostly) Instrumental by my friend Scotty Darda, and my own “Hip to the Hop” playlist for busy work that doesn’t require intense focus. I have also been known to listen to the Harry Potter soundtrack when I need a confidence boost.
- WeWork access card. I miss the independent coworking spaces of NYC, but there aren’t many here in LA. This WeWork is close to where I live and not a bad option at all.