The Modern Architect #5 - Desk Setups
Stack: Tech, Desk, WFH
Welcome to the #5 edition of The Modern Architect newsletter. In this edition we going to talk about desk setups, with the proliferation of work from home dialing in your desk setup just might help you be more productive.
Mobile Development Planner
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The Desk
Standing desks are all the rage, my recommend is to either get a 3 stage dual motor model or if you're on a budget manual crank model. I find both to be pretty stable. As far as tabletop I recommend getting one with at least a 30” in depth with 60” x 30” being ideal. This article by the Wirecutter showcases some of the best standing desks on the market today.
I also suggest installing simple low cost pencil drawer under the table top to store away pens, pencils and other office accessories. They come in multiple depths to suit how much space you have under the top.
Mount-It! Under Desk Pencil Drawer - 12.2” Wide, 6” Deep
Mount-It! Large Under Desk Pencil Drawer - 21.25” Wide, 16” Deep
The Monitor
Dual monitors, ultrawide, super ultra wide or a single large screen those are the choices you have. My recommendation at minimum is to get a model with USB-C power delivery so you can charge your laptop at the same time. For screen size I also recommend 34” QHD utrawide monitors with PBP (Picture by Picture) support which will allows two computers to be displayed on a single screen.
If you have or want a dual monitor setup, ThisIsE (Iskren) explores all the different combination and use cases in his Dual Monitor Productivity Setup Guide.
This slightly older video by David Zhang also showcases what can be achieved with two screens:
Cable management
This video by Edward Lee showcases one of the best techniques I have seen to hide you cables under desk, I have repeated this technique many times on multiple desks.
Accessories
Keyboard & Mouse
An external keyboard & mouse is a must and there are plethora of options out there, my recommendations in this are models that work with multiple devices.
The Logitech MX Keys & MX Mechanical series of keyboards are a great choice and com win both full and mini sizes.
The Logitech MX Master series of mice are also a good option to pair with MX Keyboards.
Another neat feature that some Logitech Keyboard & Mice support is Logitech Flow, which is a technology that allows a single keyboard and mouse to be shared between two computers and will automatically move between devices. This even works with Macs & PCs.
Speakers
Popular desk speakers from you-tubers tend to be the Kanto YU2 or Audio Engine A2+. I personally have the Audio Engine A2+ in white and they work great and support line in, usb and bluetooth for inputs. There is also a subwoofer available if you want even deeper bass but I haven’t had the need yet.
Laptop Stand
You will need a place to store you laptop on your desk you can either use a vertical stand to reclaim the most space on your desk or one that holds the laptop open with the screen visible. I myself use the Twelve South Curve.
Wrapping Up
That’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed reading this post and got some value out of it. Please share with your friends & colleagues.
Please leave a comment if you have any feedback or suggestions. If you liked my post and feel it was of value, please share it.