I wrote an article called “the cluttered home office” around 12 years ago. My opinion on this hasn’t changed one bit, but my work circumstances have changed, so I thought I would discuss whether this setup that was initially built around the concept of a man cave actually works for a professional working at home.
Like many people, my job moved from an office to the house at the outbreak of the pandemic. This meant that instead of using my home office a couple hours each week, I was using it at least 40 hours, not including the time I use it for my own hobbies. I posted a recent video and received the comment below that mirrors a few of the comments on webpages like Lifehacker and other tech websites that featured photos of my office a few years back:
“ Gadget over kill - you will ignore most of this in a week. Your lack of use space is extreme. You are going to spend a lot of time just untangling and maintaining your toys and gimmicks. Too many screens and each will distract from each other. Not a work desk simply a show desk of little to no utility. Nightmare to keep clean and dust free. CLUTTER CLUTTER CLUTTER”
Part of this post was obviously well thought out because it hit some of the same points I have seen in the past. Of course, it had some of its own over the top ridiculous rhetoric that makes it stand out, as well!
Like many people, my job moved from an office to the house at the outbreak of the pandemic. This meant that instead of using my home office a couple hours each week, I was using it at least 40 hours, not including the time I use it for my own hobbies. I posted a recent video and received the comment below that mirrors a few of the comments on webpages like Lifehacker and other tech websites that featured photos of my office a few years back:
“ Gadget over kill - you will ignore most of this in a week. Your lack of use space is extreme. You are going to spend a lot of time just untangling and maintaining your toys and gimmicks. Too many screens and each will distract from each other. Not a work desk simply a show desk of little to no utility. Nightmare to keep clean and dust free. CLUTTER CLUTTER CLUTTER”
Part of this post was obviously well thought out because it hit some of the same points I have seen in the past. Of course, it had some of its own over the top ridiculous rhetoric that makes it stand out, as well!
First, let's start with the video of my cluttered office. As I mentioned in my "show notes", this video is me just talking about the space off the cuff.
“ Gadget over kill - you will ignore most of this in a week. “
The area has had toys and gadgets in it for going on 15 years , so this comment is uninformed, if I am being polite. Yes, a few items have been added, but let’s talk about them:
Baby Yoda - It’s a stress reliever that my wife bought me for the room. As I stated, she gets some fun coming in here and tapping the top of its head to get one of its many interactions. It is just sitting under the monitor on the side of my desk, so it never gets in the way. I am a fan of Mandalorian, so seeing it puts a smile on my face during a stressful day. Similarly, the R2D2 and Elvis Bobblehead are also here to cheer me up on stressful days. The person saying this must not have any paintings, books, photos, etc. on display because once you see something once, it must get ignored in their world.
Loopedeck - this actually tucks away next to the thunderbolt dock behind it, but I rarely pull it off of the desk. It is so convenient to launch apps and websites at the touch of a button.
Baby Yoda - It’s a stress reliever that my wife bought me for the room. As I stated, she gets some fun coming in here and tapping the top of its head to get one of its many interactions. It is just sitting under the monitor on the side of my desk, so it never gets in the way. I am a fan of Mandalorian, so seeing it puts a smile on my face during a stressful day. Similarly, the R2D2 and Elvis Bobblehead are also here to cheer me up on stressful days. The person saying this must not have any paintings, books, photos, etc. on display because once you see something once, it must get ignored in their world.
Loopedeck - this actually tucks away next to the thunderbolt dock behind it, but I rarely pull it off of the desk. It is so convenient to launch apps and websites at the touch of a button.
Tivoom Max - this may be the one thing in the area that gives “anal-rentitive” people fits. If you are the type that easily gets put off by distractions, the Tivoom can be setup as a clock (see above), which I mentioned in the video. I personally can easily focus with it in front of me and maybe that’s because when I first started my career, I worked for a company that put us into half cubicles. No walls and plenty of distractions. Hearing every cough, nails being clipped…yes, one person cut their fingernails every week at their desk…and phone calls from multiple people going on simultaneously were the norm. Having something on my desk with a screen is hardly any kind of distraction. It’s more of a pleasure since even when I don’t have it on the clock, I get to enjoy some of the fun pixel art which I change or add to on occasion.
The Echo Show is one of the newer items on the desk (July 2023) with another screen. I had an Echo Spot before that (2017) and I just found the screen to be too small. What does that have to do with work? Nothing. However, it allows me to see video cameras on my property, so I can see who is at the door when someone knocks. It is a way to know if I really need to get up or just get something off the porch when I can break free. How this would distract me when it is just running a slideshow or clock, I really don’t know. The big upside for me is being able to control music (it can control music on the Wiim Ultra by voice). I also like to run 4K YouTube screensavers when I am working on hobbies and it is great for knowing when a product is delivered or for checking weather.
The three monitor setup - I love having 3 monitors. I wrote about how that started a while back, but I just want to mention why I prefer it. Each monitor has its own use case. The ultra wide is used for work and I can hit a button and it works with my home computer or my Denon receiver. It’s the beauty of having multiple video inputs and why I no longer have an iMac on my desk. The side display is for podcasts, music, messenger, email and other things that might have me picking up my phone instead (which can lead to more distractions). This makes checking a text or email a lot faster than using my phone since I can just glance over when I get an alert. I also like having it for hobbies....like using Final Cut on both screens or Lightroom.
The one display that you could say is overkill is the Vizio above my main display. I don’t usually have it on during work hours, but when I go into music listening mode, I like to have it on for album artwork ( both iPad running Apple Music or Wiim running Amazon Music). It can also run Alfred (hit a button to launch apps quickly on my Mac) or I like to have AppleTV running on it. It’s great for playing back sports and concerts while I am working on photos, as one common example. Yes, I could lose it and not miss it most of the time. However, I would just have some artwork up there, so why not have something that is often quite useful?
“Your lack of use space is extreme”
This one I don’t even understand. The desk is 60x30 and the side monitor can be pushed away from the desk because it’s on an arm. The keyboard on the desk is wireless and can be moved. I wrap presents on the desk, so I think it can handle anything I would need to do on it. Also, I want to be able to reach anything I put on my desk, so a bigger desk would mean having things outside my reach. I wouldn't want that.
As a side note, the room itself is definitely small. I picked the smallest room in the house for my office when I was using a roll top desk and maybe came in the room once a month. There are benefits to its small size, though. It allows me to reach most of my audio & video stuff from the cockpit without getting up. I love the fact that I can flip a record by just spinning around in my chair. I am 6’5 and I don’t feel constrained, so I doubt it would be a problem for most humans...maybe Shaq would find it limiting.
I do wonder what people that make comments about the limited space do for a living? Arts and crafts? I work on a computer and could do my job in a chair at the airport using a laptop (though, I would definitely miss the large screens). How would a room with a 60x30 desk be space constrained in comparison?
I need monitors, keyboard, and a mouse to do my job and there is more than enough space for that. For some reason, I am picturing one computer, one mouse, and one keyboard in a huge space as the only thing that would work for this commenter.
As a side note, the room itself is definitely small. I picked the smallest room in the house for my office when I was using a roll top desk and maybe came in the room once a month. There are benefits to its small size, though. It allows me to reach most of my audio & video stuff from the cockpit without getting up. I love the fact that I can flip a record by just spinning around in my chair. I am 6’5 and I don’t feel constrained, so I doubt it would be a problem for most humans...maybe Shaq would find it limiting.
I do wonder what people that make comments about the limited space do for a living? Arts and crafts? I work on a computer and could do my job in a chair at the airport using a laptop (though, I would definitely miss the large screens). How would a room with a 60x30 desk be space constrained in comparison?
I need monitors, keyboard, and a mouse to do my job and there is more than enough space for that. For some reason, I am picturing one computer, one mouse, and one keyboard in a huge space as the only thing that would work for this commenter.
“You are going to spend a lot of time just untangling and maintaining your toys and gimmicks”
I got the Tivoom Max five years ago. The amount of time I have spent ”untangling and maintaining” is maybe one minute to plug it in. The Echo Show is also one power cord. If someone knows what they meant by that statement, please let me know. By the way, I don’t care about cable management. Yes, if I was anal, I might spend time untangling when I change something out, but not for the gadgets on the desk. The main source of the cable mess is heavy HDMI cables and Ethernet cables, but perfect cable management is a waste of my time and more difficult with a standing desk, so I don’t obsess over it. It’s a very low priority in my setup. I believe I discuss that in the video.
Too many screens and each will distract from each other. Not a work desk simply a show desk of little to no utility.
This is just a dumb statement. No offense to the person that wrote it, but I have worked in the space for almost five years. If I was unable to work here, I would have been let go. The utility is the screens. If you are using one screen, good for you. But hundreds of jobs use multiple screens. Where I work, it's the norm.
To quote my prior article on the subject:
"There is more empty space on this desk than the one I have at work. At the office, I have a ten key, phone, stapler, two large monitors, a radio, a fan, papers, and a notepad on the desk, and it leaves me with a lot less space than I have here. If you think this area is cluttered, you should visit an office where people work."
I realize some have an issue using more than one screen, though.
To quote my prior article on the subject:
"There is more empty space on this desk than the one I have at work. At the office, I have a ten key, phone, stapler, two large monitors, a radio, a fan, papers, and a notepad on the desk, and it leaves me with a lot less space than I have here. If you think this area is cluttered, you should visit an office where people work."
I realize some have an issue using more than one screen, though.
“Nightmare to keep clean and dust free. CLUTTER CLUTTER CLUTTER”
Compared to what? Yes, it is more to dust than an iMac and some earbuds. Who cares? I do agree it has clutter, but that gives it personality and a sense of who I am. I like those type of “so-called” distractions. Please see my past article that discusses this in more detail. I do have an air filter than runs in the room (2nd video when I record it). It keeps dust at a minimum, but "dust free" has never been a goal of mine. After reading the comments, I think this person was related to Felix in the Odd Couple or is an angry Alice from the Brady Bunch.
All in all, this space is not for everyone. Especially, if they have ADD or some similar ailment. It was designed with only my needs in mind and it is custom made to have both personality, allow me to do my job, and to have fun with my hobbies. As I mentioned in my prior post, I have no desire to surrender my room to just work. Others may need a sterile room with no personality because they have no ability to focus, so I would definitely not recommend this type of setup to them. Actually, now that I think about it, I wasn’t recommending it to anyone, I was just describing how my desk is setup. Stay away from my upcoming video with the rest of the room. The amount of stuff that has to be dusted may send this type of person to an institution just from seeing the number of gadgets in the space!
Anyway, I appreciate the comments, even critical comments if they are well thought out. Occasionally, it makes me reconsider something or brings a different idea to mind that I may find useful. Not really in this case, since I love the current configuration of my setup, but well thought out critiques in general, even alongside some weird comments, can often be useful. Anyway, I thought I would have some fun with one comment that I knew would launch a fun article (at least fun for me to write it).
Anyway, I appreciate the comments, even critical comments if they are well thought out. Occasionally, it makes me reconsider something or brings a different idea to mind that I may find useful. Not really in this case, since I love the current configuration of my setup, but well thought out critiques in general, even alongside some weird comments, can often be useful. Anyway, I thought I would have some fun with one comment that I knew would launch a fun article (at least fun for me to write it).
RSS Feed