12 Desk Essentials for a Productive Work from Home Office

How do you create a productive WFH desk setup? By default, the furniture and tools in your home will not be enough. When I first began working from home, I had to use my bulky kitchen chair, and I endured neck and shoulder strain when the height of my desk monitor was too low for my eyes. Thus, I learnt that mixing and matching furniture can be a recipe for disaster, if my goal is to work at my best efficiency from home.

Your desk setup is the most important part of your physical workspace, so it makes total sense to try optimising it.

Desk Essentials for a Productive Workspace Setup

When working from home, you have the freedom to customise your desk (unlike when working in a corporate office). If you suffer from sloppiness and low energy, making a few one-time changes can solve your problems. See improving your desk setup as a long term investment; it can help you avoid pain later in life.

Assuming you already have a work laptop and a standard sitting desk. What else do you need?

1. Comfortable office chair

Alongside your desk, your chair is the most important piece of furniture. You should avoid the cheapest chair. Sitting in a chair that is not specially built for long periods of sedentary time can seriously hurt your back. Avoid using random chairs from your kitchen, living room, or garage. Instead, get an extremely comfortable chair that will last a long time. Getting one with adjustable height will ensure that it fits nicely with your desk’s height.

The best office chairs are Herman Miller Aeron, Embody, Mirra 2, Steelcase Gesture, Leap v2, Humanscale Freedom, and a few others. It is good to go somewhere local to test out some office chairs before buying one, preferably somewhere with a good return policy (just in case a chair turns out to be unsuitable for you).

2. Daily and weekly goal tracker

This is the only piece of paper I recommend having on your desk, if you are going for a paperless workspace. Tracking your goals and habits will improve your life, and this becomes a non-negotiable if you work from home – unless you want days to pass quickly in a blur. If you are a remote worker with 2 jobs, or if you run a side business while you work at a remote job, extra organization is needed. You have to stay motivated, sharp, and on track every single day.

Having your goals and habits printed on your desk makes it harder to forget them.

3. Noise cancelling headphones

A good pair of headphones at your desk will come in handy for Zoom calls, listening to music as you work, and learning from podcasts. Better still, a pair of noise cancelling headphones may be on the pricier side, but work really well at blocking unwanted noise. If you have never tried one, you may be surprised at how effective they are. These come in handy when you cannot control how much noise enters your apartment or when traveling and working in crowded places. Thankfully, you can find noise cancelling headphones in the market for less than $100. These headphones are high in quality and well-reviewed.

4. Proper keyboard placement

Next, you want to ensure proper keyboard placement. If you use a normal keyboard, you want the letter “B” placed in the center of your torso (directly in front of you). It is the “B” key that should be centered, not your keyboard itself. Have your elbows at 90-degree angles while typing on your keyboard. If they are not, adjust the height of your chair or get a different desk to achieve this. Know what is good keyboard placement and this is one way to minimise wrist and shoulder pain from typing.

Better still, get an ergonomic keyboard. An ergonomic keyboard is designed to complement a comfortable posture for people who spend huge amounts of time typing away at their desks. It usually has a split keyboard design that allows optimal wrist positioning and reduces strain.

5. Second monitor

Research has found that most workers who must multitask in an office environment perform better with two monitors compared to one. Two screens allow you to display the applications you need visibly and accessibly. Thus, you can focus on your main task without dealing with the hassle of switching between applications on one screen.

The good news is that instead of a second monitor, a second screen can also come from a smartphone, tablet, or a second laptop. It all depends on the nature of your work, and how you set your workspace up for utmost productivity.

However, make sure you have enough desk surface area to hold both monitor screens and your other desk tools.

6. Thumb trackball mouse

It is tiring to chase a mouse around. A thumb trackball mouse is the device you should consider, specifically the Logitech M570 wireless trackball. It is less stressful and better ergonomically to have your hand, arm, and wrist stay in one place, while only your thumb moves. The trackball, under the control of your thumb, replaces the need to move your arms.

This tool frees up extra desk space that your mouse takes up when you operate it, and it is great for purposes like traveling and working on the road.

7. Laptop stand

If you work from home, the chances are that you own a laptop. A laptop stand is a versatile piece of equipment that allows you to switch from sitting to standing very quickly, during times when you are in deep work but experiencing fatigue from sitting. Moreover, if your laptop is too low, you would be hunching over your desk and this causes shoulder and neck strain. An adjustable laptop stand helps to customise the positioning of your neck, arms, elbows, and wrists.

If you are using a monitor instead of a laptop, tools like standing desk converters would work as well.

8. Standing desk mat

If you work at a standing desk, you would learn that standing is no easy feat. Standing while you work is a skill that takes adjustment to, and you may risk foot, leg, back pain, and other problems involving circulation and varicose veins if you stand for hours on end. To alleviate these risks, use some kind of floor mat to relieve the pressure. What works well is an anti-fatigue mat, or even a thick yoga mat placed under your feet. You can also wear shoes or sandals rather than work barefoot, provided that your footwear has enough support and padding. These tools help you work standing longer and result in better productivity.

Even without the proper tools, what you can do is to switch between sitting and standing frequently, every 30 minutes or so.

9. USB Charging cable

Perhaps you work on multiple screens and one of those screens include your phone, which you use for purposes like quick research, calendar planning, or calculations. This means you want your phone at your desk all the time with enough battery life.

Keep a charging cable handy at your desk, so that you can connect your smartphone with your power bank or plug it into your laptop. Keep your phone charged at all times without leaving your desk.

10. Desk plant

You can use a real plant or a fake plant on your desk. One reason is to add the colour green into your workspace. Green resembles the colour of nature and instills a sense of calm, creativity, and efficiency as you work. Even a fake plant can be especially useful if your workspace lacks a touch of green.

However, real plants are a productivity hack and can reduce sick days.

Whichever “plants” you go for, they help add personal touches to your workspace and can also help to obscure the mess of wires on your desk.

11. Notebook or writing pad

A notebook or writing pad is great for taking notes, brainstorming ideas, and making to-do lists. Sometimes, it comes extremely handy during deep work when you need to quickly jot down something that pops up in your mind, before moving on with your task. I always have my writing pad with me, along with some post-it notes that I scribble on throughout the workday.

Further, my writing pad comes into use when my computer screen is “busy” or cluttered with too many applications – when I prefer to jot things down on paper instead of digitally.

12. Drawer or pencil box

Visible clutter in your workspace hinders your ability to focus and concentrate. Too many things in your field of vision turns out to be distracting, so you would want to keep the unnecessary items in a storage place, such as a drawer or pencil box. I personally prefer to keep my items out of sight, and yet within reach. IKEA drawer units are very popular amongst home office workers, but any pencil box, mug, or storage container that keeps your desk tidy will do.

Climb from Home