We did spend a lot of time writing on paper, reading from books and documentation binders, and reading and annotating program listings. The small screens weren't much of an issue, as we multitasked a lot less. Resolution was also low enough and we rarely had more than 80 columns of text, so we could read them even if they were a bit further away. A lot of smaller terminals and monitors had tilt-and-swivel bases that placed the screen a bit higher. Nixdord even had some really cool ones with monitor arms that allowed the screen to "float" above the desk.