Ask HN: Who programs outdoors and how do you do?

What do you mean specifically as "outdoor"? Occasionally I am working home and love to go with the notebook in the garden. Mostly I work on my garden table, but some times live to be on the hammock. I didn't need any adaptation whatsoever. When not listening to music the song of the birds is actually a very nice distraction. Comfort: I find it also therapeutic to have short breaks walking around the garden.

I don't do actual work outdoors, but I'll do meetings outdoors on a nice day. Turn the screen brightness up, use really good noise cancelling headphones to try to stop the wind from becoming a problem on the call, and enjoy the fresh air.

Sometimes with a laptop (requires shade, either naturally by time of day or artificially by a garden umbrella); usually with pen and paper.

I usually find the glare and/or relative dimness of laptop monitor to be too distracting. But an occasional walk outdoors to think through a problem is great!

> Anticipating the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere

Well, that's kind of an issue that's about to start: heat from the Sun will melt your laptops, your thermal firmware won't like it. Also the screen glare.

I, specifically, have to close the blinds in my office otherwise I can't see shit. And when I do benchmarks I put the laptop on top of the AC vent pipe.

I'll occasionally work outside at a coffee shop or park. I just my phone hotspot. Sometimes I take a portable picnic table to the park.

I've also worked outside while on trips in my camper van. For that I use a Starlink dish.

I sit on the deck with my macbook. I have to sit in the shady part of the deck to see well enough.

I walk, and solve the problem in my head.

I have also programmed in a hammock, but I had to let it close me in like a cocoon, otherwise I would be too distracted.

Ah for the days in the 1990s, when you could buy a laptop computer like the PowerBook DUO 280 with an active matrix grayscale LCD screen. It was a super legible screen in all situations but it was the best in direct sunlight without backlighting

I would create a minimal RAM Disk containing Mac OS with WriteNow or BBEdit. The hard drive would only spin up to save a file. I could run off battery for maybe 5 to 6 hours.

I take my laptop outside for a 1-2 hour stint quite regularly. Helps if I want to disconnect and focus on a particular thing. If you're comfortable working from a laptop, I recommend just giving it a go.

devaslife on YouTube does, in the Japan outdoors, fairly often[1].

1. https://www.youtube.com/@devaslife/videos

I do it all the time. The most important things are:

1. Be prepared for weather - appropriate clothing, a good hat, an outdoor umbrella. Mostly to help manage temperature and glare

2. Shift stand / sit / movement positions frequently - I have a bistro table, a couch, a place to stand and work (really a ledge that's the right height for standing)

3. Distractions / noise pollution - I'm out in my backyard near woods, which is nice natural sounds, but not distracting from a social / noise pollution standpoint. When there's construction I go indoors.

No. Batteries too short, chairs too hard, screen too dim, keyboard too keyless.

I'd love to d othat - many parks have tables for eating and I could lunch and code there for a couple hours. Maybe I should try one of these "laptop sun shades" ...

In addition to what others have mentioned, I find it really helpful to temporarily switch my IDE to high-contrast light mode, when working outside in bright conditions. Otherwise I prefer dark mode.

A larger and/or high-contrast mouse cursor can be helpful too.

A foldable riser and external keyboard & mouse are essential for good ergonomics. I like a ferris since it's a split keyboard so folds up nice and small but can still be quite wide on the table.

I go outside in the mornings for my coffee, standup meeting, and perhaps some PR review or other little tasks that I naturally flow into.

Once I’ve got my fill of sunlight or want to get into some heavier duty work with the comfort of my keyboard and external monitors, I head back inside.