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Feel Good Friday - The one tool or gadget that actually changed your life

Ananjan_miniOrange

Happy Friday, everyone!

We spend so much time talking about workflows, boards, and backlogs, but today, let's get personal. I want to know about the one piece of tech that genuinely, life-alteringly changed the way you work, think, or just exist.

Not the most hyped gadget. Not the most expensive. Maybe it was the first time you used a mechanical keyboard, or maybe it was a second monitor that turned you from a tab-switcher into a tab-overlord. It could also be an app, a standing desk, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, or, honestly, a really great cable organiser!

I'll go first: for me, it was a second monitor in 2022. I went from frantically alt-tabbing through 23 browser tabs to actually feeling like a person with a plan. Productivity went up. Stress went down.

Drop your story below, whether it's a $5 cable organiser or a $3000 standing desk, we want to hear it. Happy Friday, and have an absolutely brilliant weekend! 🧡

Comments

Liz Nixon

Great topic @Ananjan_miniOrange ! I'm looking forward to what others have to say on this one!

So far for me, it's my actual office desk chair. I work from home and from 2020 to late 2025 I've been using a rather old dining room chair. No arms. Smaller seat. Wicked uncomfortable after an hour. But I was stuck on the wood aesthetic and honestly didn't even consider anything else. Geez what a difference a chair makes! I just went with a simple one barely more than $100 from Amazon.

Looking for some awesome gadgets, etc from others to look into!

Amanda Barber

Love this topic! I love my standing desk - especially when I actually remember to switch positions throughout the day! Along with my standing desk, I really like this floor mat which invites you to change positions and it's made of memory foam.

Top Not-Flat Standing Desk Mat

Amazon.com: Standing Desk Mat - Topo Mini by Ergodriven | The Smaller Not- Flat Anti-Fatigue Standing Desk Mat with Calculated Terrain | Ultra-Thick Premium Comfort Foam, Durable, No PFAs or PVC | Obsidian

Arkadiusz Wroblewski

Hm, that was actually my first proper chair like that. Back in my school days, I did a bit of everything, sales, gastronomy, whatever helped me earn some money. Maybe that is why I appreciate it even more now that I do not have to hustle in quite the same way anymore. Still, in our line of work, the chair is serious business.

I stepped into IKEA, took one look at it, turned to my fiancée, and said, “Yep, that’s the one. I want it.”

Since then, it has been my trusted partner in crime. My command seat for administering Atlassian.

Barbara Szczesniak

2001 or 2002 was the first time my company gave me a laptop to work on, rather than a desktop computer. This made it much easier to travel on business—didn't need to worry about a desktop at the other office; had to carry it on the plane. But it also meant that you could take your work home with you—convenient when you needed to be home for a plumber to fix something; annoying when people expected you to check your email at 10PM.

Nowadays, the laptop has allowed me to work completely remotely for companies I would never have otherwise worked for because they are not located near where I live. I sometimes miss interacting with coworkers in person, but I am not sure I can handle rush hour traffic anymore.

P.S. I was going to say the television remote, but that made me feel lazy. 🦥

Kris Klima _K15t_

Philips Nino 200 - a Windows CE device.

A touchscreen pocket PC that was my trusty companion until I got a Handspring Treo

Back then, you could only store 100 phone numbers on a mobile phone's SIM card. Some mobile phones had no memory and if they had, there was no way to transfer contacts to another phone, especially if it was from another manufacturer.

It could record voice so I used it for notes and even to record an interview (I was a journalist back then).

It did my first PC-mobile device sync, first IR data transfer (phones used to have an infra red sensor for data transfer , and got me thru two hospital stays... because it had Solitair and Mine Sweeper

The point was that it gave me a touch screen experience back in 1999 - it felt like magic and it was my ticket into the IT world. Frankly, I'd probably would be a part of this community.

@Amanda Barber - check this Gymba Board - it moves and you have to move with it

Ananjan_miniOrange

This is nice, a comfy chair would definitely be a great addition!

Ananjan_miniOrange

Wow, this is really unique and interesting. I might actually end up ordering this one, thanks @Amanda Barber

Ananjan_miniOrange

A chair has to be the winner when it comes to desk setups. A good chair really is a total game-changer!

Ananjan_miniOrange

Oh yes, definitely. The laptop is one invention that truly changed everything in today’s tech world. Fully with you on that!

Ananjan_miniOrange

This one is super fascinating, too. Using a touchscreen back in 1999 must have felt so different. I loved this one, Kris!

Liz Nixon

annoying when people expected you to check your email at 10PM.

LOL! @Barbara Szczesniak this is so true! When my company first provided me with a laptop, this was the expectation from so many. But that's not the case any longer and without my laptop, I am also able to work fully remote.

Tomislav Tobijas

GPay for me 😅

It took me some time to start 'trusting' mobile wallets (mainly coz my parents are sometimes people who think everyone will steal their money if they start using something like that lol), but not having to take out the wallet, the cards and all of that saved me so much time and reduced panicking at the cash register.

Now I also remembered that app which Ikea has, where you just scan all products before getting to the cash register. If you mastered that, there's almost no line or wait when you get to the end. Quite cool stuff 🆒

Chris Rainey

Skype! My relationship with my partner started out long-distance for 4 years so skype was our way of connecting during that time. We were also close friends with this other couple and would sometimes do 4-way skype calls and we loved it - we all talk about those days fondly.

Honorable mention - fully committing to using a password manager.

Amanda Barber

Wow, love that @Kris Klima _K15t_ - adding it to my wish list!

Arkadiusz Wroblewski

@Ananjan_miniOrange

Oh yeah. When you think how much our professional Life we spend sitting, comfortable Chair are important as much as comfortable bed.

Stephen.Lugton

For me it was probably my first computer with internet, it may have been a slow dial up service, but all of a sudden I was able to access more of the world than ever before!

Dave LIAO

@Ananjan_miniOrange - I'm late to this post, but Süti's CurlyCable has been a worthy addition to my daily carry!

I love that I can find it in my bag pocket without wondering which cable it is, and it never tangles with anything. It's USB C-to-C, so I can use it to connect any of my devices to my laptop.

Süti didn't pay me to post this, but I wish they did. 😆

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