Home Office Desk

2022-02-19 Daniel Improving your Creativity, Infrastructure, Other Tools, Tools 0

Remember: Nobody ever lay on their deathbed thinking «gee, I wish I had spent more time watching TV/reading blogs/at the office.»
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Unable to work in the office (testing required each and every day, followed by showing the test to someone else to proof that I am not lying about the result, which is … yeah), I invested some time and effort in my home office.

Gruesomely expensive, but given the time I spend here, I think it was worth the price.

Among others, my desk is now adjustable in height (Inwerk Masterlift 2, only the base, given that the plate of my desk is fine). I also got two LED lights (RALENO, double pack). And given that I want a stable work environment, I bought some wood and started building a desk … organizer.

The sketch:

Whiteboard sketch. Devices that need power (P) with equipment (Notebook) and a place for the webcam (on an extendable arm).

The final(?) version:

Overall, the sketch worked out well. Camera is on a Manfrotto tripod extension (just the extension, screwed into a board and fixed. I’ve added a physical barrier, although I can unplug the camera easily to ensure it’s off (see below). The LED lights are on Elgato Wall Mounts, simply screwed into the boards. They can be adapted in orientation.

Here’s a close-up of the camera:

Tripod arm extension fully extended. It’s fixed with a nylon band to the board and screwed in. When the physical barrier is folded up, two pieces of post-it notes are visible, both as clear signal that the camera might be transmitting image and to have two “eyes” to look into.

and with the physical barrier in place:

The physical barrier folded down. Just some duct tape with a coin in it. Otherwise the duct tape is too light. With the coin, it stays up/down. I used Scotch tape to attach it to the camera (easier to put it up/down than duct tape).

I am not sure whether this will be final version. I like the idea of the iPad in front of me, and the notebook got a nice place. On the other hand, the space in front of me might just be too crowded with the iPad, and connecting the notebook might be a pain in the ass. I’ll see.

However, the best home office (even with some art) cannot replace the joy of working in the office. Walking each day to and from the office, meeting colleagues (and students), *sigh*.

Still, should make the work less sucky.

 

Update (2022-02-27):

Added a tea bag holder. The first iteration used paperclips:

which worked … okay’ish but not well.

Next iteration is an upside down drawer-part (I guess, found it at a hardware store):

Looks fine.

Update (2022-02-28):

Added an iPad holder — which uses a clothes hook. Works really well:

Update 2022-03-08: Hmm, I can put the lights vertically, and have more desk space … interesting … (and yeah, I bought an LED light chain 😉 ) 😉