Two computers
The typical pattern is to use a business computer for all. Private and Business stuff.
I’ve been doing it for most of my life.
It is not that secure. But it gives you just one computer, and you do not need to pay attention to juggling two. Probably for Site Reliability Engineers, it is even more comfortable to have just one? That was my impression.
Recently, I’ve started paying attention to sleeping quality, and realised - I was wrong.
Based on the recommendation of my friend Marek, I’ve started separating work and private stuff to separate devices. It is brilliant. Much better than I expected. Works well for overall mental health and for not wasting time at work.
Principles are.
Business Computer
No Facebook. No Signal. No WhatsApp. No private email. Company Chrome profile. No private calendar. Private calendar events synchronised to the business calendar as “Personal Commitment” to avoid overbooking. No private documents.
Private Computer
No Slack. No company email. No company GSuite. No Jira. No company virtual whiteboard. Private Chrome profile. No business calendar. No work documents.
Overlaps and improvements
Notion application. Sometimes at work, I find getting some data from my private collection helpful.
Having two separate desks or rooms (lol) would be amazing, but my flat is not that big.
I also do not have a drawer in the room. I would love to keep one computer inside a drawer and another on my desk. Never two on the desk.
I could also hide my private mobile phone in a drawer when I work. Mobile phones are the root of all evil. More than premature optimization and naming.
Maybe it is time to get a drawer.
I see where you’re coming from, but at the same time, I think I’m at the other end of the spectrum regarding that matter.
For over 17 years, as long as I even used a business computer, I always used it for both work and personal stuff. Moreover, I’ve done professional stuff on my personal hardware, I used personal accounts for work, as well as paying for some of the strictly work-related subscriptions out of my own pocket.
I have one life, and it’s a mix of work, family, friends and personal time. This is reflected in the hardware I use. And for the better part of my journey, no employer objected to that. I don’t see the benefits of separation myself too.
That’s why it came as such a shock when Docplanner abruptly changed the status quo, which in fact was one of the final impulses for me to move on. Since then I actually see the pattern more commonly (perhaps I started working with more mature companies now).
Currently my business laptop is 100% isolated from my personal stuff, and vice-versa, due to company policy. I feel like I’ve lost a limb! All those decades of experiences, habits, tools are inaccessible to me, and I have to build from ground up. I don’t believe it’s worth it for me, just so I wouldn’t accidentally look at a slack notification after 5PM.