399 - Nick Smet

Nick Smet is a freelance mobile developer. He originally started out as a full-stack developer and progressed to mobile development through out the years.

He is also the co-founder of iOS DEV Tools, where he is making it easier to discover new tools that will make you a better iOS developer. They have a growing library of tools as well as a newsletter with nearly 3,000 subscribers.

In his free time he likes to stay active.

"As someone who sits all day for his profession, I think regular exercise is a must."

Twitter (X) → twitter.com/iOSDevTools

Inside Nick's Workspace

Interested in a video walkthrough of this workspace makeover? Check it out here!

Workspace Items

• Shure MV7 microphone
• DELL UltraSharp U2722DE monitor
• MacBook Pro - 15 inch, 2019
• Skadis shelving from Ikea
• Brocoon Laptop Stand
• Apple Magic Keyboard
• Apple Magic Mouse
• Seagate 2TB hard drive as a Time Machine for Mac

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

My new shelving. It is the SKÅDIS collection from Ikea and easily the best 50€ I have spent on my home office. I always had the problem of all the stuff laying on my desk, unorganised. Tons of cables, devices on top of each other, pens, post-its, …. Now everything is neatly organised and still easy to reach for. The desk went from total mayhem to completely zen.

How do you spark creativity?

I write a lot. I have notebooks full of thoughts, random ideas, even solutions to coding problems I have faced. I feel taking a step back from the computer and just doodling, and writing everything that comes to mind down helps to think outside of the box. 95% of what is in those notebooks you will never look at again, but the other 5% is going to come back to you when you face a similar issue or challenge.

How do you manage work-life balance?

Working full-time from home is challenging, and work-life is not always fully balanced. For me a couple of things are really important:

1)  When the sun Is out you go for a walk of at least 30-40 minutes. Move around, get that sunshine and be away from the screen for a bit. If you were in the office you would go get a coffee, have a chat with a co-worker, go grab lunch, etc… Don’t feel guilty for taking that time to go out, you waste a lot more time in the office probably. If you really can’t go out during the day, maybe the weather is really bad or really too much work, go out in the evening. Be away from your home and put some distance between you and your office.

2) Disable company messaging platforms on your phone, e.g. Slack, mail, Teams,.. If it is really important they will call, if they don’t: it can wait. That isn’t a sign of being lazy or maybe not motivated enough. Being constantly online, and available takes a toll. Maybe not now, but keep it up and you will find getting burned out.

What do you think is the main benefit of remote work?

Time! I worked in offices for a long time. This meant being stuck in traffic for almost 2.5 hours a day / a day and a half…. That is a huge amount of time you just got back. That’s time you can spent with your children, do more work around the house, build out your own business, learn new skills. By far that for me is the biggest advantage of working from home.