Some of the links in this article contain affiliate codes. This means that I will earn money at no cost to you if you choose to purchase something. The products mentioned are items I actually own and purchased with my own money.
At ProTrainings, we’ve always had a remote-friendly culture. We waited nearly five years before renting our first office space. As a tech company, we can work from anywhere, and we’ve taken full advantage of that!
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When the pandemic hit in 2020 and we pivoted back to work-from-home, I began making incremental upgrades to my home office setup. Here’s the current iteration.
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Let’s break down the equipment I’m using:
- The 4-monitor setup is powered by a 2010 classic Mac Pro tower I bought off eBay for under $1000. It’s a 12-core 3.46 GHz Intel Xeon with 48GB RAM, an RX 580 GPU, 2 TB SSD, and 600 GB 7200RPM HDD. It runs exceptionally well and is my primary machine at home.
- The center screen is a 28″ 4K Samsung and the other three are standard 27″ displays.
- The three floating monitors are mounted using these brackets, which can support up to two monitors on a single bracket.
- My keyboard is a Keychron K3. It can be wired or bluetooth, it includes keys for Mac or Windows, the keys glow in configurable patterns, and it makes a very satisfying clicking noise when you type. I love this keyboard!
- I use an Apple Magic Trackpad 2. This was upgraded from the first generation, which I used for a couple of years before purchasing the second generation. I was happy with the first generation trackpad and wasn’t sure I needed the new one, but I’m glad I upgraded. The new version is more precise, more responsive to clicks, and significantly wider.
- My keyboard and mouse are sitting on a dark blue desk mat I purchased on Amazon. It has a grippy and water resistant surface, plus I think it just looks nice.
- For graphics work, I also use a Wacom Intuos tablet. My editing suite of choice these days is Affinity by Serif.
- You will notice a webcam mounted atop the Samsung monitor in the center. This is a Logitech Brio 4K webcam. I previously used a 1080p HD Logitech webcam, but my old webcam suffered from auto-focus issues and I abandoned it. Logitech has fixed the problem with the Brio and the picture quality is much better for Zoom calls. I also own an Elgato Cam Link for connecting a DSLR to my Mac for use as a webcam, but most of the time I’m fine with the Brio.
- The microphone is an Audio Technica ATR2100 USB (with stand) and an inexpensive foam cover. This is a cardioid mic, which means it reduces unwanted sounds from the sides and rear. It works well for Zoom calls.
- My chair is a Steelcase Think chair that I was able to pick up from the Steelcase outlet here in Grand Rapids through a friend who works at Steelcase. I got this chair a couple of years before the pandemic. I’m thankful I was able to get it at such a massive discount. I’ve used it more than I ever expected!
- My M1 Macbook Pro is sitting on an impressively collapsible and portable stand made by Roost. This stand positions the laptop at an ergonomically correct height and can be easily stowed in a backpack.
- It’s hard to see, but behind the laptop is a desk lamp with a long, adjustable neck and a wireless charging area on the base.
- Another notable fixture in my office, although not pictured, is my Fujitsu Scansnap. It’s a sheetfed scanner that rapidly scans the front and back of a stack of documents, saves them to PDF, and automatically performs OCR (optical character recognition, or image to text). This scanner has been wonderful for receipts, tax documents, contracts, and more.
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One more device I have to mention is the Remarkable 2 tablet. I seriously can’t recommend this device enough. I saw an ad for the Remarkable 2 on Facebook and I was sold. It’s an e-paper tablet with a stylus that’s meant for taking notes. I have an iPad Pro, and while it’s a great device, I don’t like taking notes on the slippery glass screen. The Remarkable’s screen has just the right amount of resistance to make it feel like paper. I find myself using my Remarkable as a scratch pad while I’m writing code, as my daily to-do list, for taking notes during Zoom calls, for in-person meetings and events, for drawing diagrams and wireframes. The notes sync to the cloud, so I can access them from anywhere, even when I don’t have my tablet on me. I seriously use this device multiple times a day. Be sure to use my referral link for $40 off when you order one.
I’ll keep adding to this blog post as I upgrade my setup. I may also write a follow-up post covering the other side of the room, with my gaming PC, TV, and VR headsets :).
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