How To Set Up The Perfect Desk

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Hello! Coming to you LIVE from my desk!

I started grad school this fall, and even though I'd been working from home for more than a year, my workspace needed serious upgrades.

I think I kept thinking in the back of my mind that WFH was just a temporary thing and that my setup was good enough. But I have an old neck injury that can't tolerate five hours crouched over a laptop. Plus that's... terrible regardless of how healthy your back is.

I knew grad school would mean lots of late nights spent at a desk. So, me being who I am, I spent hours doing research about my ideal workstation. I am pleased to report that I have landed on the PERFECT desk set-up! I should mention that I use a Macbook Pro, so my tech picks speak to that. Hopefully, you stumbled across this blog post early enough in your research process for me to save you a few hours of obsessive searching. Either way, I present to you: the perfect desk.

Ergonomics

A good desk

First things first, I have a sit-stand desk that y'all seem to LOVE on Instagram. It's the Skarsta desk from IKEA, and as far as standing desks go, it's very affordable. While most models like this are motorized, my desk has a hand crank that you turn to raise and lower the height. It usually takes me about 45 seconds to adjust it, and unless you have mobility challenges, I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. For reference, I have the 45" desktop size and it's plenty spacious.

Ergonomic chair

Alright, I know what you're thinking. Ergonomic chairs are too expensive. And yes, a lot of the time, they are quite pricey. And sure, it's an important investment. But I needed a Herman Miller alternative because a top-of-the-line chair wasn't in the budget. Enter: Branch Furniture's ergonomic chair. It's just over $300, which isn't cheap, but it's a far cry from the $700+ I was seeing. I've been using mine for about a month now and I don't walk away from my desk feeling sore, which is really all I can ask for. I did notice a little manufacturing grease when I was putting it together, so keep that in mind. You can use this link for $20 off your order, too!

As an aside, if you already have a chair that you'd like to ergonom-ify, I've been very curious about Cushion Lab's lumbar pillow and seat cushion. In fact, I might pick up a set for my office at school.

Laptop stand

Please, I beg of you, do not spend another second hunched over your laptop. It will only lead to pain and misery! Bring your laptop up to eye level with a stand. This is the one I have, and while it's pretty good and has clean lines, I think I'd rather have one that can adjust or one that tilts the screen a bit higher. Or this stunning, wood-carved one that's made in Italy.

External monitor

When I posted on Instagram to ask what y'all wanted to know about my desk setup, more than half of the requests were about my second monitor! I can't recommend it enough – between Zoom calls, programming homework, and just generally keeping a lot of tabs open, I consider my external display to be essential. My setup includes a monitor arm from Fully, an inexpensive ViewSonic monitor (the one I bought is sold out, but this looks similar), and a DisplayPort to USB-c cable to connect it to my laptop.

Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse

YES I have a pink keyboard and YES it makes me so happy to look at every day! I have the Logitech K380 keyboard in rose and the MX Anywhere 3 mouse in rose. I like that this mouse has a bit more of an ergonomic shape than the pebble mouse in their lineup. Ports are precious with Macbooks these days, so I appreciate that these are bluetooth. They connect and stay connected beautifully. But what's really cool is that I can pair them to my iPad and to my iPhone, and there's a button you can use to switch between devices. So helpful! Oh, and this is a picky thing, but a lot of wireless keyboards don't include a CMD button that's compatible with Macs, but this one does – preserves all of your keyboard shortcuts!

Desk Organization

Cord Management

I hate clutter. I find it deeply distracting and difficult to work when I have any amount of clutter near me, and cords are THE WORST. I bought this cable organizer and screwed it to the underside of my desk. It holds my power strip and corrals all of my cables neatly. I think something like these cable holders would also help keep things under control.

Catch-all and Wireless Charger

Like I said, I hate cords. My CATCH:3 charger from Courant looks luxe AF, holds my AirPods and Apple Pencil, and charges my phone. What more can you ask for? Oh, and you can save 20% on your order from Courant with code DOMMDOTCOM. I'd also like to note that Courant gifted this item to me, but only after I reached out to them. I'm in love with it.

Tablet Stand

I use my iPad for notetaking, and sometimes I need to stand it up out of my way. This cookbook stand from Yamazaki Home (gifted as part of my One Room Challenge kitchen project) fits the bill. It's small, adjustable, and the white metal and light-toned wood blend don't add visual clutter to my desk.

To complete the setup, I have a couple of wall-mounted shelves and an adjustable sconce, all from IKEA. The shelves are mounted somewhat high to accommodate my desk when it's in the standing position.

What's your desk missing? Any questions about what's on mine? Thanks for reading, friend!