The WFH Setup Edition
On desks, ergonomics, and adapting
Noah here. When COVID first hit and work from home began in earnest, my office setup started with what was available. Luckily I had some space to carve out for myself, but it was a repurposed room, with a repurposed table, and a laptop stand. Using my separate keyboard and mouse required carefully balancing coffee table books on the pulled-out drawers of the table. I tweaked and shifted things until I finally invested in an adjustable desk, which was as much about being able to sit and stand as getting the ergonomics right. After speaking to an ergonomist at Herman Miller a number of years ago I’ve had a healthy fear of “turtling.”
Since then my setup has continued to expand, with two monitors (with arms—how did I have a desk without monitor arms?), a nice mic, some new speakers, and a whole bunch of other junk. I love my setup now and can’t really imagine ever going back to an office. Presumably, I could transfer everything to that space, but that would almost definitely not happen. One thing I’ve wondered, actually, is why I have devoted so much more time and energy to ensure I have a comfortable and productive place to work than I ever did in an office. It’s probably partly to do with it being my house and my space, but I feel like there’s something deeper at play that I haven’t fully figured out.
Why is this interesting?
As a small celebration of work-from-home setups, we collected a bunch of desk photos from WITI contributors and friends of WITI on Slack. Hopefully, there’s some inspiration for you.
Noah Brier
Colin N.
Chris P
Ryan Anderson
Buzz Andersen
Felix Salmon
Graydon Gordian
Eric Matthies
Edith Zimmerman
Rick Webb
Ryan McManus
Guan Yang
Todd Osborn
Matt Locke
Rex Sorgatz
Perry Hewitt
Thanks for reading,
Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Assorted WITI crew
—
Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).
What’s the name of the chair in both Noah’s and Ryan’s setup?
I love all the variety! I’m thinking making your space your own is another aha moment for people who used to work in an office. The idea that hey my employers don’t own ME they pay for my TIME. Ed Zitron’s Substack newsletter is kicking ass writing about remote work and the push by big Corp to get people back into the office.