Forem: Codeidoscope

Mech Keebs 101 - How to get started!

Codeidoscope — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 20:27:34 +0000

This article is part of my Mechanical Keyboards 101 series in which I talk about mechanical keyboards, their components, customisation and how to get started. Read the rest of the series here.

I - How do I get started?
II - But there's so much choice!
III - Group Buys
IV - Where to get the latest news?
V - Where to buy keyboards and keycaps?

How do I get started?

Back to table of content

So where do you get started? Thankfully, there is no need to look at building a keyboard from scratch if you want a simpler solution. There are plenty of mechanical keyboards ready for use, and your challenge will only be to pick the one you think will suit you best.

Just a word of warning, this hobby can get very, very pricey very quickly. You will find just about anything in any price range, but the quality only increases with the price, and some items can reach stupid prices ($200 for a keyset?! $2100 for a keyboard?!!!).

Step 1: Decide what size of keyboard would suit you better.

If you do not use a numpad regularly, consider opting for a TKL keyboard so that your mouse is closer to your keyboard. If you want a compact TKL, opt for a 75% keyboard. If you don't use the function row that much but are attached to your arrow keys, go for a 65%. If you're happy without arrow keys, a 60% will do just fine. If you want to go smaller, just make sure you're comfortable with switching layers!

Step 2: Decide what switches you want to use.

If you can get your hands on a switch tester, I would highly recommend it, if only to make sure that your intuition is correct. If you can't get a hold of one, brown switches are good all rounders, being quiet enough for use in an office, but stiff enough to stop you from making all the typos.

Step 3: Decide what keycaps you want to put on your keyboard.

This might be the trickiest part. You will find lots of fun keysets readily available on the internet, but a lot of the cool ones are only available through Group Buys, which makes it trickier to buy new keysets.

GMK Vaporwave on Anne Pro 2 with Kailh Red Box switches

But there's so much choice!

Back to table of content

That's true, there is a lot of choice. A good strategy is to start by buying from a well-known reputable brand like Filco or Ducky (or HHKB if you want a layout with a twist). They offer most sizes, with classic switches so you don't have to worry about that and can just yank the keycaps to put your own if needed. You will find a list of shops that sell these brands further down.

If you're a developer and you're after a good 60% keyboard to get started, I am entirely biased, but the Anne Pro 2 is an excellent choice. It is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux, it has a decent choice of switches, it comes at a reasonable price and you can easily customise the keys via the software provided. I have been typing daily on mine since July last year, and it's my little baby. You can find it on Banggood and although the site looks seriously dodgy, I've have no problems with them so far.

Once you figure out what you like and what you want, you will feel more comfortable to dig around for info or even to be involved in group buys, and you will be able to get closer to your endgame (spoiler: there is no endgame in this hobby!)

Group Buys

Back to table of content

So what are Group Buys? Both a useful strategy, and a very annoying one at once. Because mechanical keyboards remain a rather niche-ish market still, group buys allow the community to support an idea to completion.

Creators will create keyboards and design keysets, and ask if people would be interested in buying them. This is called an Interest Check (IC), and if the IC shows that there would probably be enough demand, the idea will move from IC to Group Buy (GB).

During the GB, people will buy items that do not exist yet. They work on the same model as Kickstarter, etc. During a month or less, people can buy the promise of an item being delivered when made.

Once the GB is concluded, the creator, often with the help of a retailer, will submit the order to the manufacturer, who then delivers it a very, very, very long time later. GB usually take months to be delivered, and it's common for buyers to wait 6-7 months before receiving their products.

Once the product has been manufactured and sent to the retailers in charge of shipping to customers, those same retailers may put up for sale a number of items that they had purchased to make a profit on (called "extras"), allowing people who may have missed the GB window to get their hands on the desired product.

This means that when you first get into the hobby, you may see many keysets that you cannot buy because they are not on sale anywhere. Reddit's Mech Market will sometimes be your saviour, although people might put the prices up as demand soars for items.

This can be very frustrating, but keeping an eye out on the right websites and Discord channels may mean luck in the future! People often wait a long time before they can put together their keyboards as components are bought through GBs and take forever to arrive.

DSA Mystery on Anne Pro 2 with Kailh Red Box switches

Where to get the latest news?

Back to table of content

Geekhack is undoubtedly one of the best place to keep up with mech keyboard news, ICs and GBs. Deskthority and KeebTalk are other boards to keep an eye out on. Reddit's r/MechanicalKeyboards and r/MechanicalKeyboardsUK will also prove very useful.

Retailers and creators may also have their own Discord channels and Instagram accounts, so it is worth subscribing to have the freshest news and ask your questions.

Where to buy keyboards and keycaps?

Back to table of content

This list is by no mean exhaustive, so please do your own research if you don't find what you want in here! Being based in the UK, I have a very limited knowledge of retailers in the rest of the world, so apologies for the lack of options!

First check out if there is a shopping guide for your country on Reddit. The UK one is available here, and there is a more general guide available here. If you're looking for second-hand items, r/MechMarket is the place to be.

If you are in the UK:

If you are in Europe:

If you are in North America:

Drop (ships worldwide)
NovelKeys
DixieMech
Kono
DeskHero

If you are in Australia/New Zealand/South Asia

If you want some cheap(ish) and cheerful keycaps, keep an eye out on Amazon, Aliexpress and Banggood! Brands like MaxKey and Tai Hao also tend to be more readily available than keysets that were sold through group buys.

Good luck young padawan!

This concludes my Mechanical Keyboard 101 series! Thank you for sticking with it to the end, and to read the rest of the articles in my Mechanical Keyboard 101 series, head over to this page, or read about the different types of keyboards, or how to customise a keyboard.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try answering them!

Mech Keebs 101 - Customising a keyboard

Codeidoscope — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 20:27:33 +0000

This article is part of my Mechanical Keyboards 101 series in which I talk about mechanical keyboards, their components, customisation and how to get started. Read the rest of the series here.

How do you customise a mechanical keyboard?
I - Cases
II - PCBs
III - Switches
IV - Keycaps
IV - Cables

How do you customise a mechanical keyboard?

This article is a long one, so get yourself a cuppa and don't hesitate to bookmark it if you want to keep it for later!

Cases

Back to table of content

Cases make for one of the most important parts of the keyboard in terms of aesthetic as they are, along with the keycaps, the most visible part.

You can find cases in so many different materials, although metal and plastic seem to be the most common ones. People have been getting creative with concrete and wood cases, however. The type of case you choose will impact your typing experience, mostly in terms of how your keyboard will sound when you type. Metal cases are often used for higher-end keyboards, and can be pretty hefty, weighing between 800gm and 1.5kg+!

An aluminium keyboard - src

A concrete case - src

PCBs

Back to table of content

Printed Circuit Boards are not as customised as the rest of the keyboard parts, but for each size, you will find different PCBs. Some will have LEDs incorporated so that you can light up your keyboard in different colours. Some allow you to programme your keyboard entirely, depending on the software they ship with. Some will require you to solder your switches to them, while others are 'hot-swappable'. Your PCB will also determine the type of connector to use, whether it's USB-C or micro-USB or other.

A PCB - src

Plates

Back to table of content

Plates are another hidden component that still has its importance. They're not available on all keyboards, but if you use one, it will likely bear the weight of the switches (as opposed to the PCB doing that). This impacts how your keyboard sounds when you type, and the material in which the board is made also affects this. It also stabilises switches more than if they are PCB-mounted.

An aluminium mounting plate - src

Switches

Back to table of content

Switches are one of the most customisable parts of a keyboard, and are also probably the most difficult part to choose when starting. The switch is what determines your typing experience. Do you want to hear audible clicks when you type? Do you want a fast key for gaming? Do you make lots of typos? Do your fingers tire after a while typing? These are all dependent on switch.

I - Types of switches

Arguably one of the most important thing to get right when building your keyboard is to pick the right switches.

Matrix of switch variables

There are several variable to take into account when choosing a switch:

The pre-travel distance, which indicates how far down a keycap has to travel before the keystroke is registered by your keyboard
The actuation force, which is how hard you need to press the key for it to move (the higher the number, the harder it is to press the key)
The feeling, which determines what kind of feedback (audible or tactile) you will get
The sound, which is generated by a buckling spring, which produces an audible click, or can happen when a key "bottoms out", meaning that the stem of the switch goes all the way back into the casing. The "thock" sound a keycap makes when it hits the casing, if you will.

There are three main categories of switches: Linear, Tactile and Clicky.

Linear switches are quiet and require very little force to press, making them reactive and quiet, which is useful for fast typers, gamers who may need to repeatedly press the same key, and people who work in offices and don't want to disturb everyone. They give the user almost no audible feedback, and no tactile feedback.

Cherry Red linear switch

Tactile switches give the user more feedback. They require a little more force to press than linear switches, and are often a good compromise for those who want quiet switches that are less mushy than linear switches. They give the user tactile feedback, but little audible feedback.

Cherry Brown tactile switch

Clicky switches, however, require the most force to press down, and make an audible click when pressed. They give the user both tactile and audible feedback. They will probably annoy everyone around you, but they make for great ASMR if that's what you're into!

Cherry Blue clicky switch

To get an idea of what the switches sound like when typing, I invite you to watch this video, which extensively compares the sound of the different types of switches.

You may have noticed in the matrix above that different switches have different colours. The most common switches you will find are Cherry switches. Other brands such as Gateron and Kailh model their stems on the Cherry switch to ensure compatibility between keycap sets. There are variations, of course, with "box" switches offering more stability and less wobble for the keycap, for example.

Kailh Red box switches

There also exists Alps switches, and Topre switches, although compatibility with those may affect what possible keycap sets you will be able to use.

Alp switch - src

Topre switch - src

Keycaps

Back to table of content

Now for my favourite part, the keycaps! Keycaps are what most people will notice first when looking at your board. You might want some regular plain keycaps, some keycaps that let the light of your RGB through, or just some over the top, ridiculous keycaps!

The bad news is the choice is vast... The good news is... The choice is vast! Let's dig deeper. First things first, each section of your keyboard has a name, which can be useful to understand what people are talking about when they refer to things like modifiers or function keys.

The sections of a keyboard

Remembering these sections is useful when figuring out what keycaps are needed for your own keyboard. Some kits are sold without a numpad, so you're fine if you have a TKL or a 60% keyboard, but you will be missing keys if you own a 100%.

Next, it's important to know that keycaps have different profiles. The profile of a cap determines its shape and height, which in turn will inform your own comfort when typing. I enjoy flat keys that are more stable, so prefer higher keys.

Keycap profiles - src

You are likely to encounter these profiles in the names of the keycap sets that members of the community design, such as GMK Vaporwave (GMK is a German manufacturer that uses a Cherry profile), or DSA Mystery.

In practice, this is what two different profiles might looks like:

Cherry profile

DSA profile

The next thing to take into consideration once you've gone down the rabbit hole that is mechanical keyboards is the materials used to make the keycaps. They are usually made out of plastics (ABS, POM, PBT) that have different properties. POM are known to be a little slippery, and ABS to get shiny pretty quickly, for example.

A DSA Mystery keyset

The keycaps that are not made of plastic can be made of pretty much anything. There are sets made of brass or wood, and there is also a subcategory of keycaps called "artisan" keycaps. These are handmade or made in very small quantities, and are pretty much guaranteed to burn a hole through your bank account. They can be made to match your keyboard, or to represent whatever you want.

An all-brass keyset by Salvun - src

An all-wood keyset - src

An artisan keycap by tinymakesthings - src

Cables

Back to table of content

Finally, let's discuss cables! You might not need one if you keyboard supports Bluetooth, but cables can very much be a statement accessory to complete the look of your keyboard.

They currently tend to be handmade, although you can buy kits to make your own if you want to practice your soldering skills. Cables are coiled or straight, depending on the look you're going for, and some people also add aviation connectors to add a little something to their cables.

A custom cable - src

Congrats, you made it to the end! Now that you know about the types of keyboards you can find, and can parts can be customised and how, let's get you started with mech keyboards!.

Back to table of content

To read the rest of the articles in my Mechanical Keyboard 101 series, head over to this page, or read about different types of keyboards or how to get into mechanical keyboards.

Mech Keebs 101 - Types of keyboards

Codeidoscope — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 20:27:31 +0000

This article is part of my Mechanical Keyboards 101 series in which I talk about mechanical keyboards, their components, customisation and how to get started. Read the rest of the series here.

What type of keyboards can you find?
I - Sizes
II - Layouts

What type of keyboards can you find?

Keyboards come in very many shape and sizes, so let's have a look at a couple of important things first: the size and the layout. The size of a keyboard will dictate how many keys you will find on a keyboard. The layout dictates the order in which the keys are arranged.

Sizes

Back to table of content

Commonly, keyboards tend to be "full-size", complete with a numeric pad, all the function keys, and arrow keys.

Full-size keyboard - src

Full-size keyboard

If you remove the numeric pad, the keyboard becomes a "ten-key less" (TKL) keyboard, but it retains all its function keys and arrow keys.

TKL keyboard - src

TKL keyboard

Once you remove the function keys on the right-hand side of the keyboard, you're left with a "75%" keyboard. These keep the top row of function and some others keys like "Page up" and "Page down", and the main keys.

75% keyboard - src

75% keyboard

And you can go smaller still! A very common layout amongst programmers is the 60% layout, which gets rid of arrow keys and functions keys and only keeps the "core" keys. This gives a more streamlined look and a smaller keyboard that's easier to carry around.

If you need your arrows keys too much, though, you can settle for a 65% keyboard, which will have arrow keys and a few function keys to balance out the look of it.

60% keyboard - src

60% keyboard

If that's not small enough for you, well, you can still go smaller! 40% layouts remove the number row of other keyboards, and will give you the bare minimum to work with. If you like the tiny look, this one's for you!

40% keyboard - src

So how do you access all those missing keys when you type on a smaller keyboard? Often, these boards will have software that allows you to layer your keys. For each key that you have, if you press a combination of a function key and a given key, it will do the same as the dedicated key would do on a bigger keyboard.

In the illustration below, you can see how I configured my layers. By pressing the Fn1 key, I can access the arrow keys (which I have mapped to vim arrow keys), so Fn1 + H becomes the left arrow, etc. And by pressing the Fn2 key. I can access the screen brightness settings and other settings.

Accessing the layers of a 60% keyboard

Layouts

Back to table of content

The layout of the keyboard, as mentioned earlier, dictates the order in which your keys go. It will depend on your language and region, and may vary very wildly.

Two common layouts for English speakers are the ANSI and ISO layouts. They differ in subtle ways, not in the order of the letters, but rather where the special characters can be found, as well as the size of some of the keys.

ANSI VS ISO

If you're a Czech or a French speaker, you will notice some differences in the placement of the letters and the special characters:

French AZERTY layout - src

Czech QWERTZ layout - src

So why do we use different layouts? Often it's because they were created by typewriter producers back in the olden days, and they've stuck through the decades and centuries. The QWERTY layout was developed to avoid typewriters getting stuck as letters that were too close together would jam when pressed by fast-typing typists.

They tend to be adapted to the language of the country where they're used as the need for accents and special characters differ from language to language. If you want to see a wide range of them, head on over to this Wikipedia page.

Some layouts keep ergonomy in mind, and look at the frequency at which letters are used, in order to keep them on the home row for easier access. Colemak and Dvorak are two such layouts, and have been gaining popularity.

Comparison of the frequencies of letters - src

Ergonomy is not only reflected in the layout of the keys, but also the shape of the keyboard and the size of the keys. Ortholinear keyboards have keys that are all of the same size, in order to reduce the travel distance of the fingers between each keys. Split keyboards and "ergo" keyboards are aligned differently to put less strain on wrists as you type.

Ortholinear keyboard - src

Split keyboard - src

Ergo keyboard - src

Now that we know more about the different types of keyboards we can use, let's have an in-depth look at how we can customise them.

Back to table of content

To read the rest of the articles in my Mechanical Keyboard 101 series, head over to this page, or read about how to customise a keyboard or how to get into mechanical keyboards.

Mechanical Keyboards 101

Codeidoscope — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 20:27:29 +0000

Welcome to my Mechanical Keyboards 101 series! In this series I hope to introduce mechanical keyboards, their components, how to customise them and how to get into the hobby. This article is meant for people who don't know much (yet!) about mechanical keyboards, and will gloss over the details of a number of things that more curious people can research in their own time.

As the subject is pretty dense, I split this series into a number of articles. Please follow the table of content to access each section of the series (some links will open in new tabs/windows).

I - What is a mechanical keyboard?
II - Why get a mechanical keyboard?
III - How does it work?
IV - What type of keyboards can you find? (opens in this window)
V - How do you customise a mechanical keyboard? (opens in this window)
VI - How do I get started? (opens in this window)

What is a mechanical keyboard?

Back to table of content

A mechanical keyboard is a keyboard that is built with spring-activated switches. A switch is the little mechanism under the keycap that allows your keycap to spring up and down.

A mechanical switch - src

There are many other types of keyboards that have different switches and that you've surely encountered before: membrane switches are found on the keyboards of microwaves and other appliances, for example.

A dome switch - src

Dome switches are often found on the old keyboards you'd get when buying a Windows computer, and which close an electrical circuit in order to register the keystroke. Scissor switches also close an electrical circuit, but the "scissor" mechanism allows the key to bounce back.

A scissor switch - src

And finally, if you've ever thought about how much better the old Mac laptop keyboards were, know that the newer ones that have a tendency to break are butterfly switches.

Why get a mechanical keyboard?

Back to table of content

I decided to get a mechanical keyboard because I wanted more customisation than was available to me with the Apple keyboards we had at the office. I wanted a colourful keyboard that would not look like any others, and I also thought they just looked cool in general!

Having a mechanical keyboard means it's customised to your preferences, and will keep those preferences in store regardless of the computer you work on. This is ideal if you pair and have to share a screen, or you use your keyboard both at home and at work, as you won't need to remember key combinations because the keyboard will do that for you.

Mech keyboards are very highly customisable, with some people buildings theirs from scratch. You can choose the shape of the keyboard, the type of switches you want, the layout of the keyboard, the number of keys you want on it, and - of course - the keycaps. Let's explore further how you can make a keyboard your own by looking at how they work and what types exist.

How does it work?

Back to table of content

A keyboard is composed of five main components. A case, a printed circuit board (PCB), a plate, switches and keycaps.

Parts of a keyboard - src

The case holds the PCB, to which switches are mounted (soldered or not), and which hosts the software of the keyboard. Once the switches are mounted, the PCB is usually covered by a plate made of a variety of materials, which helps to protect the PCB from dirt and dust, and improves the aesthetic and the sound and feel when typing.

A complete board without keycaps - src

I will talk about switches in more details further below, but they're the mechanism that allows you to actually type and register keystrokes. They have a housing, which encloses the different parts of the switch including the stem, and the spring, on which the stem bounces up and down when you press it. The stem is the part on which the keycap attaches.

Anatomy of a switch - src

Finally, keycaps are the plastic caps that go on top and allow you to type comfortably. The mechanical keyboard community has been designing keycap sets for years, and some have amazing concepts and colourways.

Keycaps

Combined together, these components give you a typing device that you can truly make your own. Now, let's get into even more details, and look at the different types of keyboards that you may encounter.

Back to table of content

To read the rest of the articles in my Mechanical Keyboard 101 series, head over to the table of content, or read about the different types of keyboards, how to customise a keyboard or how to get into mechanical keyboard.

Top Tips for Working From Home

Codeidoscope — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 18:53:23 +0000

I love working from home. I like the peace and quiet it brings me, and how much more focused and productive I can be when I'm not in an open-space office. However, it's an adjustment to make, and with the apocalypse that's heading our way and forcing more of us to "WFH", I would like to share some of my best tips to adapt to working from home.

First things first, remember that you will need to work on your boundaries when working from home. After all, your house is your home turf, no-one will see what you do, so the temptation to wear nothing and eat all the snacks might be quite... overwhelming at first!

Here are a few things to help you create healthy boundaries between your work and your personal life. These are merely suggestions of things that may work for you, so feel free to pick and mix for a better experience!

Structure

I - The timetable
II - Keep your body in shape
III - Keep your mind in shape
IV - Social life
V - Work environment

I - The timetable

Defining clear-cut starting and ending times for your day and lunch break means you are less at risk of never taking breaks. If you struggle with stopping, announce those times to your teammates so you can hold yourself accountable, and so that they know when you're about to log out. However, don't be too dogmatic. If you're in the middle of the best piece of work ever and you feel like carrying on, then don't feel guilty for doing so!
In order to make the transition from home to work easier, keep a defined routine as you may have had when going to a physical office. Set your alarm up at your normal time, get breakfast, get some exercise, shower and show up to your laptop at your given start time. You can even give yourself a commute by taking a walk around your area before you start working!
Wearing regular working clothes can also be a good way to make the boundary between home and work clearer. Even though the temptation to not get out of your PJs can be strong, making the effort to dress enough to be able to out at a moment's notice is very helpful. A good in-between is to wear gym clothes, which are comfier than regular clothes, dressier than pyjamas, and give you 0 excuses to not exercise when your brain tries to get out of it.

II - Keep your body in shape

Stay hydrated. If you're the kind to forget to refill your cup once you've drank it, or you look at it and think "I'll fill it up later", you may have more luck getting a Very Big Water Bottle. I've been using Camelbak's 1.5L Chute bottles for 3 years, and I only need to fill mine once a day, which gives me no excuse to skip on drinking water!
Unless you always cook, or your food delivery budget is unlimited, or you live in a food court, chances are you may to have to cook more than you did before. In order to not spend your entire lunch breaks cooking, I recommend sticking to simple recipes when you need to cook, or batch-cooking for a week at a time so that you can simply re-heat your delicious meals. The great things about cooking are that you will likely save a bunch and eat healthier if you didn't already cook!
Snack smart. If you know you have no self-control when it comes to snacking, and that you're the kind of person that inhales a packet of cookies in a split second, it might be best for you to rethink your snacking strategy. Buy boring snacks that won't entice you so much (rice cakes, anyone?), or keep them healthy (a slice of cheese will satiate you better than a biscuit) and keep them far enough away that you have to consciously decide to go get a snack. Try not to take the whole packet with you, but rather restrict yourself to a couple of pieces/items so you don't eat all of it at once.
Probably my single favourite thing about working from home, take naps! You finally don't have to pretend you're a robotic being that's always awake and never tired during your workday, all it takes is 20-30min of closing your eyes and you will reap the benefits of being that little bit more rested by being more focused and productive after having had a nap. If you're a coffee drink, scientists recommend drink your cuppa before your 20min nap, and you get a double energy boost when waking up.
Keep your body moving. You're likely going to go out a lot less, you might stop going to the gym, and not walk as much, but keep some time during your day to do some exercise. Go for a 30min walk or run, get a mat and do some yoga, or a HIIT training session, or a 7-min training session, or if you can afford it, a bike trainer or an indoor bike! Here are a few programmes and apps recommendations:
Down Dog has a series of app to which they're giving free access until April as we all deal with COVID-19. Yoga, HIIT, 7-min training, it's all there so grab your mat and get sweating!
C25K - The Couch to 5km programme is a running training plan to help you start running from scratch. Many versions and apps exist, many of them free and available on iPhones and Android (or Garmin if you have their smartwatch!)
Yoga With Adriene - A delightful Youtube channel where yogi Adriene will walk you through easy and short (15-30min) routines that focus on different parts of your body. I like this routine to keep my hips and lower back relaxed and stretch them after sitting at my desk for a while.
Zwift - If you have a bike and are thinking of getting a bike training, invest in Zwift to get more fun out of your workouts, and push yourself that little bit harder in your training.
Strava - And to keep track of all your exercise sessions, sign up to Strava and start recording! They offer integrations with smartwatch apps, or you can enter your sessions manually.

III - Keep your mind in shape

Your body is not the only thing you should take care of when working from home. Keep your mind in shape by practicing gratitude and compassion. It will help you appreciate the small things and worry less about, well, everything, and maybe especially COVID-19 at the moment.
If you feel anxious by the news reporting, consider taking a break from it entirely. Anxiety is often brought about by uncertainty, and while we crave certainty, the news does not bring any of that, you we end up feeling worse and worrying more. Take a step back, and go to a happy place instead.
Practice meditation to help you refocus faster when you find yourself spiralling out into negative thoughts. Apps like Calm, Buddhify or Headspace have a bunch of guided meditations to help you get started, build a habit or find short-term relief during anxious times.

IV - Social life

Communicate with your coworkers. Tell you teammates what you're doing if you're going to be away from the screen so that they don't expect an instant reply when you've gone to find lunch. Let them know what time you want to start and end, when you're available to pair, what time you'll be out for your driving lesson, or your run, or your appointment.
Also, organise social time online! Plan one-on-one calls with your favourite coworkers to chat about everything and anything. Get your company to set up a team-wide Zoom call at lunch time, or create a tea break Google Hangout that people can drop in and out of for some light relief.
Stay in touch with the people who matter to you. Call, text, email, Slack, Zoom, Discord, Facetime, Whatsapp, etc. Whatever works for you, but ask for updates, see how they're doing, and catch up to see if everything is fine!
Find online activities you can do with friends. Video games (Mario Kart and Stardew Valley can be played with other players online!), watching and live tweeting or messaging what happens in TV shows and series, exchanging silly snapchats, etc.

V - Work environment

I've kept the work environment for last as it is an important one. I live in a house share with a desk in my bedroom and do not have a family, so you may have to adapt to your own circumstances!

Set up yourself as comfortably as you can. If you have the space for a desk (Ikea makes some tiny ones), consider investing in one. If you have a kitchen table, don't hesitate to use it if you can't get a desk and are reluctant to sit in a sofa or on your bed. This will make it more comfortable to work, but it also does not let your brain associate your bed with work (or the other way around, when you just feel like sleeping simply because you're in bed).
If you have the space and/or the money, consider buying a monitor to plug your laptop in, should you wish to work on a bigger screen. Alternatively, you can buy a laptop stand to raise your laptop and avoid neck and back pains from looking down at your laptop. It's a cheaper investment, and takes less space than a monitor. I own this one and it's served me very well, as I cannot quite fit my laptop and a monitor on my teeny desk.
If you get one of those, consider investing in an external mouse and keyboard, to make the experience more comfortable than awkwardly typing with your hands above your elbows. If you have not explored the wonderful world of mechanical keyboards, now is your chance! Also a special shoutout to my vertical mouse, which looks weird and feels very weird at first, but that has helped me avoid Repetitive Strain Injury over the last 5 years by making sure my tendons are correctly aligned when I need to use it.
If you do own an iPad and work on Mac, the latest ones ship with the Sidecar app, which extends your desktop and lets you use the screen of the iPad as an external monitor. I have an iPad arm that I set up to have both screens side by side, and it works a treat.
Invest in headphones that are comfortable, have an inline mic, and have noise-cancelling features. Sony, Bose or even Apple all have excellent noise-cancelling products that will let your work without being distracted by the neighbour's kids screaming outside, or the dog barking, or the washing machine being too loud. Being able to hear and be heard reliably is key to working remotely.
You don't have to put the video on. Sometimes it's nice to see everyone's face and make sure everyone is engaged. It lets you see if the person is at their desk or turning around to pet their cat or care for their baby. But you don't have to. Sometimes it's nice to leave it off so that you can fidget to your heart's content, or so you can run get a delivery, or because you're in your bedroom and it's not tidy and you don't want your boss seeing it.

So, what does it look like to work at my desk? Just like that!

1 - My Camelbak Chute 1.5L to stay hydrated all day long
2 - My vertical mouse and mechanical keyboard (Anne Pro 2 w/ Kailh Box Red + GMK Vaporwave), for a better typing and navigating experience
3 - My laptop stand, to keep my screen at a better height for my eyes and neck.
4 - My iPad + Mac Sidecar set up, ft. the iPad arm to hold it in place!
5 - Handcream and lipbalm, to moisturise my overwashed hands and keep my lips happy.

That's it for me! I will be writing specifically about working remotely, the software I use, how to stay engaged when you're remote, etc., but I wanted to dedicate this post to my set up and my tips and tricks for healthier boundaries when working from home.

What about you, what are your favourite things to do to make your WFH experience better?

Tracking your progress to improve your confidence

Codeidoscope — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 14:12:04 +0000

I create a log for almost every day that I code, and have done so since December. I do this to keep track of my progress mostly, so that I can see how far I've come, and also to stop myself from thinking I can't do it. Programming is hard, and it's important to reflect on how much we learn while programming, because it helps us realise how far we've come, and reminds us of all the efforts we've put in.

Often, we think others know a lot more than we do, or that they are naturally better at programming than we are. What we don't see, however, is the efforts they put in, the failures they encountered, the hardships they faced. We usually see the effortless part of programming, and feel demotivated when it doesn't feel the same when we do it.

By logging my work every day, I can physically see what I did during the last three months, and how far I've come. It helps me realise that little by little, I'm growing and getting better, and it has helped me become more confident in my coding abilities. I'm writing about logging today in the hope that it helps others who, like me, may be struggling to see what they've achieved.

What is logging?

Logging is simply recording some information that you want to keep track of. A log is a file in which you've written down what mattered to you, in a format that you find useful. I will be detailing how I record my logs further down, so keep on reading!

What are the benefits of logging?

Keeping track of your progress

By logging what you do every day, you can see how much you've learnt since you started logging. It makes it easy to see when you learnt something, how long ago that was, and it is also pretty nice - if you log regularly - to see how much time, work and effort you have put in.

Keeping track of the issues you've encountered

When I have a problem with my code, I sometimes write it down in my log. This forces me to think of a way to explain my problem clearly, which helps me find a solution faster. Just like rubber ducking! And if I need to ask someone, then I am sure that I can express my problem well enough that the person I asked can help me.

Keeping track of the solutions you found to your problems

Once I've written down my problem, I'll write down the solution to that problem so that when I encounter it again, instead of Googling everything all over again, I can just find it in my logs and fix it faster.

Keeping track of the resources you used when solving a problem

I keep a list of links to blog posts, Stack Overflow answers, Safari O'Reilly books, etc. that have helped me solve a problem or taught me more about a topic. That way, I have those links within the context of the problems I was trying to solve, so that I can refresh my memory if I need to revisit them.

Keeping track of the topics you want to read about more later on

Often, I will come across a new idea, concept, or technology that I want to learn more about, but don't have the time for when I'm working. So I write it down in my log, and dig it up later when I have time for it.

So, how do I log?

I have been using the following template for a few months, and it works well for me. The beauty of logging is that you can make it your own and decide what you want to keep track of, so if something does not help you, change it!

# Codelog #X - XXXX-XX-XX

-----

## Plan for the day

-----

## To investigate

-----

## Learned today

-----

## Done today

-----

## Plan for tomorrow

-----

## Resource list

With "Plan for the day", I set my intentions for the day and decide what I will be working on, which keeps me accountable and helps me set goals. "Plan for tomorrow", on the other hand, is where I will put the overflow of tasks I may not have been able to complete on a given day, or I will set intentions for the next day, which I will review when I start my log on that day.

I keep track of what I want to read about in "To investigate", I keep track of my issues and their solutions in "Learned today", and I keep track of the useful links I have found in "Resource list".

Here is an example of a completed log:

Where do I log?

I used to keep my log on my blog, but I have since moved them to their own repository as there were too many of them and it was getting difficult to keep track.

EDIT: If you want your own logs repository, I have created a template repository for you to use as you wish.

You can keep track of your logs in a Word/Google Docs document, or in a note-taking app, or in a notebook, or on your website, or anywhere you want! Just make sure it is easy to find and navigate for when you need to look back through what you have.

Conclusion

After a while, you will see your log collection grow. You will be able to revisit your logs and remember times when you solved a tricky problem. You will be able to find the answers to a problem you already had much faster, and you will not be able to tell yourself that you can't do it, or that you are not smart enough, or that you don't know enough.

Because you can do it, and you are smart enough, and learning is a lifelong process! So best of luck with logging, and I hope you find it as useful as I have!

Forem: Codeidoscope

Mech Keebs 101 - How to get started!

Table of Contents

How do I get started?

Step 1: Decide what size of keyboard would suit you better.

Step 2: Decide what switches you want to use.

Step 3: Decide what keycaps you want to put on your keyboard.

But there's so much choice!

Group Buys

Where to get the latest news?

Where to buy keyboards and keycaps?

Mech Keebs 101 - Customising a keyboard

Table of Contents

How do you customise a mechanical keyboard?

Cases

PCBs

Plates

Switches

Keycaps

Cables

Mech Keebs 101 - Types of keyboards

Table of Contents

What type of keyboards can you find?

Sizes

Layouts

Mechanical Keyboards 101

Table of Contents

What is a mechanical keyboard?

Why get a mechanical keyboard?

How does it work?

Top Tips for Working From Home

Structure

I - The timetable

II - Keep your body in shape

III - Keep your mind in shape

IV - Social life

V - Work environment

Tracking your progress to improve your confidence

What is logging?

What are the benefits of logging?

Keeping track of your progress

Keeping track of the issues you've encountered

Keeping track of the solutions you found to your problems

Keeping track of the resources you used when solving a problem

Keeping track of the topics you want to read about more later on

So, how do I log?

Where do I log?

Conclusion