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Using the best home office equipment for our personal needs and preferences can make the work-from-home experience much more enjoyable and effective. Based on what I’ve used and use, here are my top home office furniture ideas.
Of course, it’s always good to start with the goal of our office setup. I break that down as follows. I want it to be:
- Functional – things need to work and need to have a reason for being there
- Comfortable – that means while I’m sitting or standing
Currently, my office setup looks like this:
I also use this to live stream and record my podcast, which is why I have so many lights.
But let’s go one by one of the home office products currently used in my home office and studio.
The return to office debate
I honestly don’t get the whole working from home doesn’t work debate. Yes, I like to see people in person every once in a while too. But you can definitely collaborate on a Zoom call. I literally just did it this week. Also, for anyone creating anything whether it’s content or code, or whatever, there is no benefit to sitting shoulder to shoulder with anyone else. If anything, that’s distracting. Why do you think people wore headphones while sitting in the allegedly collaborative open office environment?
So it really comes down to what are we trying to accomplish. Is office attendance really more about control? We see people so we know they’re working? But how do we know that they are driving business results just because they look busy? We don’t. If the goal is control, everyone needs to be in an office. No doubt. But if the goal is business growth and performance we are way better off designing the work setups that help our teams accomplish that. And speaking from personal experience, for creators the work from home set up has many advantages.
Maybe if in-person collaboration is needed the way to do that is to have quarterly or semi-annual in-person, offsite meetings.
Of course working from home, also comes back to your setup. If you keep working at the kitchen table while sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair, I wouldn’t enjoy working at home either. But with the right set up it absolutely can work. For me that includes a comfortable chair, a standup desk, and the right technology to make virtual meetings work.
The chair
I can’t believe how many lousy office chairs I’ve sat in over the years – without even realizing it. For complete comfort, I recommend a gaming chair – even if you don’t game! They are super comfortable and come in different sizes.
And if you don’t want to go with the gaming chair, office chairs have come a long way as well being comfortable.
Some chairs even come with foot/leg rests, but I sometimes use a footstool to put my feet up.
The desk
I’m a fan of a standup desk, and there are certainly many options available. I use an older VariDesk that can be placed on top of an existing desk.
The one negative about this stand up desk is that it’s manual. If you want something a little easier to move up and down, this one is an option.
Computer setup
Since I spend much of my day writing, on calls, or producing content of other types, my computer setup is also essential.
That includes:
A good keyboard and mouse.
I prefer a Bluetooth keyboard and a wired mouse.
An excellent external microphone helps me with voice dictation of content and to sound good in meetings and podcasts.
Finally, an external camera can help look good in meetings and livestreams.
Having the right amount of monitors matters. I currently use three – one for my active work, one for email/calendars, and one for instant messaging.
The surroundings
There are ways to make the surroundings nicer and more functional as well. Put up some photos, for example. Maybe a plant.
On the more functional side, perhaps, lighting matters. I use these floor lamps for my typical lighting.
I use a couple of ring lights for podcast recordings.
Sound panels on the walls and even the ceiling can make you sound better on calls. They also look nice.
I use several types and discuss them in this article.
To tidy things up
To declutter the office, I also use this cable management system to hide away at least some of the cables.
So that’s the home office equipment that has and is working for me, and I hope you find these tips and product recommendations helpful to set your home office up in a way that makes sense for you, is comfortable, and enables you to do your best work.